Students discover a spirit of adventure

It was 6.30am and Rangitikei College student Te Rere Waiora Rakatairi-Jetson was sound asleep.

Suddenly, she was woken by the piercing shrill of bagpipes being played by a crew member aboard the Spirit of New Zealand.

The 14-year-old got out of bed, changed into her togs and hurled herself overboard.

She did this every day for all five days of her experience on the Spirit of Adventure voyage with nine of her Year 10 classmates.

“Waking up at 6.30 was the hardest part, and the water was freezing,” Te Rere said.

“When I first heard about it, I was angry; I thought they were having us on.”

The Marton-based students took part in the voyage thanks to some great fundraising efforts, especially from former attendee Sophie Ward.

The five-day Spirit Trophy voyage runs six to nine times a year. It is for 12- to 15-year-olds and challenges them to work as a team.

“I was mainly scared when I first heard about it, because I didn’t know what it was, but when I did more research I became excited and I was keen to go,” Te Rere said.

“On the way there, we were all hyping it up, and I didn’t know what the ship would look like. When I saw it, it reminded me of being a pirate.”

Rangitikei College students were joined by peers from Burnside High School, Wairarapa College and Dunstan High School onboard and they took part in a string of activities, i ncl uding s hi phandling, problem-solving, water sports.

“My favourite part was meeting everyone and making new friends,” Te Rere said. “People should go and have this experience. I know they’ll like it.”

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