Jo, Classic course 18 - 26 years

I completed the Outward Bound 21 day course this year and loved it.  I was a member of 'Cobham-who....COBHAMWATCH' as we would chant it. I am a TV Presenter and Les Mills Personal Trainer, and last year hosted a rangatahi show called 'Squirt' on TV2 where I was lucky enough to participate in some really extreme activities but, none that compared to the experience I got at Outward Bound.  It was incredible.  I believe the course should be compulsory at high school level as your experience here really influences your life choices. I had heard about the course and wanted to try it first hand, so there was no hesitation to give it a 'crack'.  I was very keen for a challenge. The activities were Tu Meke.  Sailing, rock climbing - blind folded, high ropes, abseiling, tramping, to name a few, were all fun, challenging, made you think, and instilled life long skills. 
 
There were many highlights along the journey.  The weka inviting himself into my tent for a nosey at solo, running then plunging into the freezing cold river at the crack of dawn, (you think you would hate it but its totally refreshing), our many team chants, attacking gorse, completing the marathon, oh the list goes on. One I remember clearly was when we were sailing, I was the skipper, and a pod of dolphins were swimming beside us.  I was so into what the dolphins were up to that I pushed the tiller to the side which caused a bit of 'freak tacking'.  Everyone just stared at me, their faces were priceless.  Straight after the wind died down so we ended up rowing for hours and hours singing away, loud as we could, way out of tune with no one actually knowing the right words.  Good times.
 
Another highlight was meal time at base.  We were always the first crew lined up at the door.  As soon as that bell went there was no mucking around.  After the welcome and words of wisdom all the other crews would sit down and pass the food around...that kind of didn't work for us...instead we all stood up, loaded our plates up, moved around the table, eating as we walked, even dished our desert, and then finally sat down to eat.  It was like we had never seen food before, and we would all laugh at ourselves afterwards as everyone else sat quietly eating.  But believe me the food was amazing and don't hesitate to 'get amongst' it, you need it for energy, and don't even let it cross your mind that you will gain any extra weight - I was eating 5 pieces of toast with peanut butter and honey, a huge bowl of porridge and fruit for breakfast, along with every other meal and never gained a thing.  You tone up more than anything. I am passionate about helping people grow, and for me it was great to take a step back, tautoko and watch others gain more confidence every day, come out of their shells, open up, find who they are and where they wanted to go in life.  That was so rewarding.

Outward Bound also really increased my environmental awareness, as before the course I took a lot of nature for granted.  I was aware of the global effect humans were having on the environment however never really did my part in helping to make it cleaner and greener.  I now recycle, and actually know what to recycle.  Actually, when I got back I was really into weeding the garden and raking up all the leaves and my neighbour came over with the camera saying they had to get a shot of this. So, overall Outward Bound is an opportunity not to be missed.  You meet new friends, challenge yourself, learn who you are and how to overcome fears, eat well, play hard, work hard and most importantly have a ripping good time while your at it.