Some stunning photos by Instructor April from a 3-day sea kayak trip with Rangiora College, Canterbury. April says, “We left from Cass Bay, stayed on Ōtamahua (Quail Island) for two nights, then paddled to Ripapa Island. Ripapa Island is tapu so you can’t eat on the island, so we had lunch on this unnamed beach on the mainland near Ripapa.”

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“This is an awesome programme, just right to get out of my comfort zone. It is very diverse, challenging people in different ways.”

Our Christchurch branch has been running an Adventure Therapy “Inspire” programme for adults, one day a week over 8 weeks, each school term during the year.

The programme has been a phenomenal success so far, with participants commenting on how much they enjoyed the activities and valued the connections they made within the group.

If you are interested in coming along on an upcoming Inspire course, get in touch!

The post INSPIRE: an Adventure Therapy programme for Adults appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.

What is coasteering?

When I first started working at Adventure Specialties, I had no idea what it was!

I wasn’t even sure what the instructors were saying at first.

Co-steering? Whaaaaa?!?

Anyway, after asking around, looking at photos from our programmes, and watching this staff video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InsOe3LoDwo&t=37s), and (of course) asking Wikipedia, I slowly figured it out …

Firstly, it’s combination of the words “coast” (surprise!) and “mountaineering” (the activity of climbing a snow-covered mountain).

Coasteering is an outdoor adventure activity where you make your way around a section of coast, on foot and by water.

So it can involve walking, climbing, scrambling, swimming (normally with wetsuits and life jackets), jumping off rocks or waterfalls, climbing up rocks, diving, the occasional back flip … anything to get you from one spot on a coast to another, with maximum fun!

The appeal of it comes from travelling through the “impact zone.” The area where the tidal ocean meets the land, a high energy zone.

Both our Auckland and Christchurch branches include coasteering in our outdoor adventure programmes. I haven’t had the chance to try #coasteering for myself yet, but I’m definitely keen to tag along at the next available opportunity!

Have you tried coasteering? Or anything similar? What is it like?

– Bex

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What happens when we take 10 students on a 10-day “Project K” journey through Karangahake Gorge, in the Waikato region of New Zealand?

There’s fun and laughter, there’s team building activities, there are even a few goats! There are some tears, some serious discussions, there are challenges and opportunities for growth. And, of course, lots of our favourite outdoor adventure activities like abseiling, cycling, hiking, camping, and more!

What is Project K?

Project K is a 14-month programme designed for Year 10 students, created by the Graeme Dingle Foundation.

It involves three parts (wilderness adventure, community challenge and an individual mentoring partnership with a trained mentor).

The wilderness segment is run in partnership with various outdoor providers like us, Adventure Specialties Trust.

“Project K focusses on building confidence, teaching life skills, promoting good health, relationships and encouraging a positive attitude. The aim of Project K is to arm rangatahi (youth) with a belief in their own ability to complete tasks and achieve goals, and to help them find purpose and direction, transforming their lives.”

More photos from the programme:

www.adventurespecialties.co.nz/getting-a-better-sense-of-your-inbuilt-character-strengths

More about Project K:

dinglefoundation.org.nz/project-k-mauri-t%E1%BF%A1-mauri-tau/about-project-k

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One of the many stunning locations we travel to is the Central North Island. These photos are from a 4-day expedition with Kings College students, as part of their Duke of Edinburgh journeys. They hiked up to a peak on Mt Ruapehu, tented overnight above the clouds, cooked their meal over gas stoves, then hiked back down and carried out other outdoor adventure activities, like caving, rock climbing and sailing. Don’t we live in a beautiful country?!?

Find out more about our outdoor adventure programme on our “partnering with schools” webpage or our “partnering with community” webpage.

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“I see people having difficulties in life, in this difficult time. My hope picked up, during in this programme. I made friends, I helped others and was helped in return. I felt encouraged on the way.”

“This programme increased my patience and my understanding because I see people having weakness and strengths in different areas.”

“I’ve always known I had strengths, but this has helped me to tap into them when they were locked away.”

“I loved the experience of the outdoor activities, I learned knowledge of the environment, and I loved the spiritual/wellbeing conversation too.”

“I feel a lot calmer around water, and I feel more confident.”

“[I loved] being outdoors with nature.”

“[I learned] to talk more and ask for help. This will be useful in all aspects of life.”

“[I learned] you don’t know it all. You learn something new every day.”

“I’ve learned I can work with others and I don’t need to be alone.”

“[I enjoyed] helping others achieve things they otherwise wouldn’t.”

“[I enjoyed] the mindfulness, being in the moment.”

“I’ve learnt I have internal strengths that I didn’t know I had.”

“I discovered my ability to persevere even when I’m not entirely confident.”

“The programme gave me more confidence that I am capable and determined.”

“I enjoyed] being outdoors in all weather. I want to encourage my family to spend more time outdoors in nature.”

“When I see people having a hard time, it increases my empathy towards them.”

“This programme has encouraged me to encourage others.”

“I learned to respect the choices of others to do new or unusual things.”

“I didn’t think I would be able to finish anything. Start as a team, end as a team.”

“I learned to keep going when things get tough.”

“We enjoyed everything! It’s encouraged me to be more active.”

“All the different activities were new or uncommon to me and I want to try more of them.”

“I learned the importance of being active and being responsible for your own wellbeing. Making better choices for yourself.”

Anneke, our Adventure Therapy clinician, explains what this programme is all about …

“Our INSPIRE Adventure Therapy Programme for adults, run from our Christchurch branch, involves two of our staff working with a group of 6-8 adults (eighteen and older).

“We meet together to go on a different adventurous activity each Wednesday over a series of eight weeks. This includes sea kayaking, rock climbing, walking, mountain biking and high ropes all around the greater Christchurch area.

“This programme supports people in a journey of wellbeing; we do this by connecting with nature, with each other, and by taking part in these adventurous activities together.

“Along the way, in this safe and supportive environment, we discuss, wonder about, reflect on, and share with each other about what it means to be well, and the many dimensions of this.

“We have been looking at Rose Pere’s Te Wheke model of wellbeing. It is based on the eight tentacles of the octopus and each tentacle of the octopus represents aspects of a person’s life that need to be supported in order to sustain balance and wholeness.  The tentacles are:

• te whānau (the family),
• waiora (total wellbeing for the individual and family),
• wairuatanga (spirituality),
• hinengaro (the mind),
• taha tinana (physical wellbeing),
• whanaungatanga (extended family),
• mauri (life force in people and objects),
• mana ake (unique identity of individuals and family),
• hā a koro ma, a kui ma (breath of life from forbearers),
• whatumanawa (the open and healthy expression of emotion).

[More info: https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/populations/maori-health/maori-health-models/maori-health-models-te-wheke]

“Our staff work together to provide the two sides of the programme: the outdoor adventure technical skills and the therapeutic skills to support participants.

“Participants have told us that as a result of coming on this programme, they feel more hopeful and positive. That they feel calmer and that this helps them with all their relationships. That they can better articulate their strengths and gifts. That they have more confidence and self-worth. That they feel better equipped with strategies to get through challenging times. That they have new ideas to maintain their emotional, social, cultural and physical wellbeing. That they feel more connected and are leaving with new friendships.”

The Christchurch team are running this INSPIRE programme on a regular basis, so please contact Anneke (anneke@adventurespecialties.co.nz) if you would like more info about the programme or if you would like to register for an upcoming programme!

The post Stories from our adult INSPIRE programme appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.

“Research shows that taking part in positive activities can help to improve young people’s engagement at school and to give young people an alternative to risky, antisocial behaviours.”

This quote is from the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), who fund our Break-Away school holiday programme. Thank you, MSD!

Since 2010, MSD have been funding Break-Away school holiday programmes to young people (aged 11 to 17 years) whose families are not able to provide them with such activities. They currently offer 30,000 placements, available each year in areas facing social or economic disadvantage, mainly in Auckland, Northland and the East Coast.

During these most recent school holidays, we took our kids caving, abseiling, rock climbing, cycling, frisbee golf, and sliding down giant sand dunes on boogie boards! We use these fun activities to encourage the positive change that MSD are wanting to stimulate through these programmes:

• Build their social, interpersonal and communication skills, so they can manage and respond positively to challenges and make positive choices about their lives
• Avoid high-risk, anti-social behaviour such as experimenting with drugs or being involved in crime
• Improve attitudes and engagement with school and improve their self- confidence and self-esteem
• Learn about the importance of being physically active, gain adaptable skills through participation and become aware of physical activities available in their communities.

Read more on the MSD website or find out more about our next Break-Away school holiday programme on our Break-Away webpage.

The post Thank you, MSD, for funding our school holiday programme! appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.

Do you know the story of Helen Keller?

Born in Alabama, USA, in 1880, she lost her sight and hearing after a bout of illness at the age of nineteen months.

She then communicated primarily using home signs until the age of seven when she met her first teacher and life-long companion Anne Sullivan, who taught her language, including reading and writing. Sullivan’s first lessons involved spelling words on Helen’s hand to show her the names of objects around her.

Helen Keller also learned how to speak and to understand other people’s speech using the Tadoma method.

After an education at both specialist and mainstream schools, she attended Radcliffe College of Harvard University and became the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

She worked for the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) from 1924 until 1968, during which time she toured the United States and travelled to 35 countries around the globe advocating for those with vision loss.

Helen Keller was a prolific author, writing 14 books and hundreds of speeches and essays on topics ranging from animals to Mahatma Gandhi. She also campaigned for those with disabilities, for women’s suffrage, labour rights, and world peace.

– Summarised from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Keller)

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