Miniature Outward Bound course
Over two days I photographed ITO students on their activities in a designed Outward Bound scholarship programme. The programme is geared specifically towards young apprentices and puts 26 like-minded trades people together in the Outward Bound camp in the Marlborough Sounds, to find their outer limits, both physically and mentally.
Stuart, an Outward Bound instructor and my guide and minder for the next days, I met on Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. on a foggy and wet day. We started the hiking trip 8.30 on sea level and reached Mount Cullen’s summit (1055m) 3 hours later, where we caught up with one of the two ITO watches who had spent the night in the bush.
After a hearty lunch between the moss covered trees …
… backpacks got shouldered and shoelaces were tightened …
… we started the descent where I took photos in a non-interfering way as requested by the instructors. Although a few times I was close to yell out “go that way” because it looked better over there.
Running downhill over rocks and roots with a back-pack and the camera in one hand to capture the boys from all angles …
… was a bit of a suicide mission as I landed pretty hard on my back several times.
Sometimes the boys were lost…
… but good equipment …
… and a team who had just learnt how to use it …
… and we found the way down and finally reached the truck at 5:30 p.m.
It was a long and exhausting day and my shoulders, back and knees were really sore!
—–
The following day started at 8 a.m. with ITO student group shots. Despite the rain the guys were in a good mood…
… because they had no idea what would follow.
It is not everybody’s piece of cake to be suspended from the side of a mountain with a metal clip and a length of rope.
Stuart made sure that I was properly secured when I climbed along the highest point of the wet rock-face to capture the action from above. The slippery rock left an uneasy feeling…
After a quick lunch break we drove out to the river to capture the other ITO watch on a two day’s kayak trip.
Getting ready and listening to instructions…
… a safety briefing and no fear …
… and off into the wild waters …
… but not everyone can walk on water.
It didn’t take long and these highly motivated apprentices had mastered the tricky rapids.
Stuart was fantastic. Without his help and knowledge of how to get to the best spots, many images weren’t possible. We heaved a huge canoe uphill and downhill and over boulder banks to get to the best spot. He waited patiently in the rain for me to finish shooting. A big kudos to him. As Stuart said, I participated in a miniature Outward Bound course over the past two days.
Overall, I experienced some fairly tough conditions. My camera and equipment got soaked a few times, my body aches and the bruises are colourful. 
