The horror of the raging Mangatepopo Stream has not dimmed Sarah Brooks' adventurous spirit one bit.
The 16-year-old still goes swimming, camping and rock climbing eight months after six of her classmates and teacher Tony McClean were swept away by the rain-swollen river on a school canyoning trip.
She told the Weekend Herald that she initially suffered from nightmares, dreaming that she was trapped under water, but it was not long before she ventured back into the water.
"I thought I'd be scared of swimming again, but we went to Lake Taupo and it was fine. It was freezing though," she said.
Sarah said the hardest part - after attending each of the seven funerals - was the birthdays of her classmates.
Her chemistry class celebrated the birthdays of Floyd Fernandes, Tara Gregory and Natasha Bray, who were part of the class.
"It was nice but it's really hard to do it," said Sarah.
And for Anthony Mulder's birthday, they took his famous spud gun to school and fired it off in his memory.
The Brooks family are close to the Mulders, and a pot luck dinner was also held to remember Anthony's birthday. Church, school and youth group friends filled the Mulder home.
Sarah said normality and routine were what helped her cope.
"Not that it ever will be normal really, but you just want to get on with it."
Sarah returned to the Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre three weeks after the tragedy, but did not go to the stream. She plans to one day.
As for the future, Sarah is still undecided, but she has exam results to look forward to in January.
"I'll go back to school next year because Dad says I have to. He wants me to go to university as well after that but I don't know what I'm going to do.
"My friend and I might go to Camp America, I don't know. I definitely want to travel, though."
Sarah recently undertook her public profession of faith at her family's church, and coloured her blonde hair brown.
She says the events of this year have made her see life a bit differently.
"We were playing poker the other day - not for money or anything - and I thought, 'Well, you only live once,' and I went all in. I lost.
"I just do more stuff than I used to. You never know how long you're going to live so you might as well do some good stuff."
