THREE-WEEK COURSE

The fitter you are, the more you will enjoy it! With that being said, Outward Bound is not a bootcamp. In fact, our instructors are experts at creating an environment where the most powerful challenges are mental and emotional, not just physical. The goal isn't to be the fastest or strongest. It's to learn what you're truly capable of.

As you'll be on your feet a lot, we do require a basic level of fitness to ensure you can safely and confidently participate: to run or walk 3kms within 25 minutes and to be comfortable in water with a life jacket. It's much more achievable than you think!

Check out 'Preparing for Outward Bound' to learn more about fitness and swimming requirements.

Letter writing is a great way to keep in touch during your course. Your friends and family are welcome to send you letters as well. You can find Outward Bounds Anakiwa postal address here.

We will ask you to hand your mobile phone in at the start of your course so you can make the most of your experience and not get distracted. You can use our phone to make and receive calls in an emergency.

Yes! Select Outward Bound courses can be used to complete your Adventurous Journey section and/or Residential section. Find more information here.

We keep you well fed with healthy and delicious food. This includes all meals and snacks. We also cater to a variety of dietary requirements. Just make sure you tell us about any dietary requirements when you enrol. If you request a particular diet, we ask that you please consume the meals that have been specially prepared for you.

We can cater for vegetarians and vegans, for halal and kosher diets, and for gluten or dairy free diets. We may also be able to accommodate some other restrictions or specific allergies, but not all – for example we can’t do 100% peanut-free (or most other life-threatening allergies), paleo, low-carb, whole-food only diets. As we regularly use wheat flour in our kitchen we are unable to guarantee no traces of gluten. We are also unable to provide facilities for you to cook your own food.

In some cases, we will suggest bringing your own snacks for when out on expeditions.
We strongly recommend that you do not start any new diet for your Outward Bound course. We also recommend against any optional diet that restricts your choices or energy intake – a course is busy and physically demanding, not the best time to cut down your fuel options!

Outward Bound is the leading outdoor learning and development provider. We aspire to make our programmes as genuinely adventurous as possible in order for participants to gain maximum benefit.

To support this aspiration, we have robust systems of safety and risk management in place. From internal and external safety audits to a dedicated advisory committee, we believe we have the right measures in place to assure the safety of your group.

Firstly, every Solo experience is unique. Our highly skilled instructors manage the experience for each group based on a number of factors: the time allocated within the course type (it can vary from 1 to 3 days), the group’s emotional and physical requirements, the nature of the solo area programmed, and the weather. Students are always briefed about Solo by one of their instructors immediately before it begins.

A solo area is made up of multiple defined solo sites, selected to be separate from other sites. Each site is within hearing distance (a shout or whistle) of at least one other site, which is one of the ways we can be assured that students remain safe. The students are dropped off one-by-one at their individual site, which truly fulfils the idea of being ‘solo’.

Students are required to stay within a 10m radius of their sleeping site. It is not a survival experience, and students are provided with adequate shelter, food, and water. Toileting provisions are covered.

Instructors check in at least once a day on students to provide water refills, administer any medication needed, and check on their general well-being. An emergency phone and first aid kit are located at the halfway point of the solo site area. All students are made aware of the location of these and provided with instructions to follow in the event of an emergency. On our courses for 16 and 17 year olds, instructors camp right there at one of the solo sites so that an increased level of supervision is provided, and so that students can more easily access help or guidance if they need it.

All sites have been selected for their safety, serenity, and protection from the elements,. Each solo site is checked for hazards prior to a student being placed there.

Why do a solo?

The Solo experience on an Outward Bound course can foster self-awareness, self-confidence, a development in maturity, stronger personal values, and compassion towards others. Solo offers an opportunity to connect with our natural world and is positioned within the course at an appropriate time to have a well-earned rest. Having the time to sit with yourself is a great gift in a world where we move, with unbridled haste, from one transition to the next. Our mission at Outward Bound is to change lives through challenge and discovery, and the Solo experience embodies just that.

Depending on which course you choose, your group will be a mix of ages. Your watchmates will come from all over NZ, from a range of social and cultural backgrounds. Many find life-long friends at Outward Bound.

There will be up to 14 people in your group and you will have two Outward Bound instructors leading you through the activities. Our watches are mixed gender (unless specified).

If you get your period while on course, you’ll be fully supported. We provide private spaces for you to manage it, and your group will carry a period kit with extra supplies and hygiene items. Our staff will guide you on how to manage your period in an outdoor environment, and your watch will be encouraged to support one another with respect and care. For a more detailed breakdown of how we support students who menstruate, click here.