2018 HNHS School Magazine HNHS Magazine 2018 | Page 20

The Duke
Of Edinburgh
Hillary Award
Switzerland Trip
we had finally made it to the top. It was an amazing sense
of achievement to reach the summit where tourists were
rugged up arriving in cable cars. It was the look on their
faces that gave such satisfaction when they realised we’d
arrived by foot.
Our time in Switzerland over the holidays was a trip of a
lifetime that we will never forget. There was never a moment
that we weren’t in constant awe of the mountains and valleys
surrounding us. After 25 hours of flying and a few train trips,
we based ourselves at the bottom of the Swiss Alps with
waterfalls cascading over the cliff faces and Swiss chalets
dotted across the landscape.
Our rest day included a bike ride into Interlaken where we
spent hours on a rope swing, jumping into the amazing
blue waters of the Brienzersee lake. Our spontaneous kiwi
attitude played a part in us having as much fun as we did. We
launched ourselves off waterfalls while canyoning, swam in
a -1 degree mountain lake, took a track which was better
designed for mountain climbers and skated down the north
face snow on our raincoats. The amazing scenery, sunsets
and sunrise, glaciers, snow, and huge mountain faces were
breathtaking and it was hard to believe we weren’t looking
at a postcard.
First up, we completed a three day practice tramp. Day one’s
incline woke us up with a bit of a shock, including a 1500m
incline. After an incredible sunrise in the Alps, we saw the
North Face itself and hiked around it like true Kiwis - we
tied our raincoats around our waist and sledded down the
snowy slope. Our laughter and screams echoed through the
valley.
We then completed our four day qualifying tramp up and
over the other side of Lauterbrunnen U-shaped valley.
The much anticipated hike to Schilthorn contained most
of our highlights of the trip. Despite hostel staff telling us
we weren’t cut out for the hike, we ignored their doubts
and set off to prove them wrong. At a whopping 2,970m
A massive thanks must go to Mrs Gertsch for the incredible
amount of work she put into this trip and creating an
itinerary so challenging, yet rewarding for everyone. Also
to Mr Wilton, thank you for making the trip full of laughs
and fun times. You made the trip run so smoothly and thanks
to both of you, all of us had the trip of a lifetime and made
amazing lifelong memories and friendships.
Words: Jasmine Roydhouse-Ross
Photographs: Erin Kelly
Members of the group: Terri Morrison, Jaime Shadbolt, Erin
Kelly, Mikaela Wroe, Felicity Keane and Ben Vautier. Mrs
Gertsch and Mr Wilton.
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