Ngaruawahia High School Yearbooks 1994-2009 Ngaruawahia High School Yearbook 2007 | Page 40

Snow and speed for senior Tourism class
A

fter two terms of selling
(eating) chocolates as
fundraising for our trip, we set
off to experience what tourists
do when they visit our country.
The first activity was putting
up with Mrs Gray’s and Sonia’s
driving – all the way down south
of Taihape to the Mokai Valley
where we travelled along a very
narrow road with strange time
signs – the closer we were, the
longer it would take.
Eventually, we arrived at the
Gravity Canyon activity centre
where we had to walk up, up
and up further to the starting
point of the fastest flying fox in

the world.
After we were strapped into
our harness together in threes,
we zoomed, amid many
screams and shouts down the
canyon – unfortunately, we did
not know the microphone and
video camera travelling with us
could pick up everything we
shouted!
However, we all made it
back down to the vans (after
some of us had two rides) and
then it was off to stay the night
at Ohakune and snowboarding
at Turoa ski field the next day.
The weather report was for
fine, fine, fine all day and there

was lots of snow. Our lodge
rooms were quite luxurious for
the price, with en-suites and tvs
for each room.
After Mrs Gray (herself)
cooked us all breakfast and
Sonia and Marcelle cleaned up
the kitchen, we piled into the
vans again (Mrs Gray had
finally found out how to drive
them properly) to head up the
mountain.
Unfortunately we had used
up all the sun the previous day
and the weather this day was
cloudy with a forecast for more
snow.
This did not deter this bunch

of happy campers and amid the
falling snow, we had lots of
falls, lots of laughs at other
people’s falls and somehow,
most of us managed to master
the art of snowboarding or
skiing that morning.
Jethro and Melanie were the
top markers here, zooming
around like experts all afternoon
after just one lesson.
The trip home was only
marred by Mrs Gray following
the advice and instructions of
the students to take a ‘short-cut’
from Otorohanga and managing
to get back only half an hour
behind the other van!

? A stop-over at “Gumboot
City” (Taihape) before
travelling on to Mokai
Canyon (above) for a
160kph flying fox and
bungee experience.
Rear: Harmony Te Huia,
Rimutere Wharakura and
Morgan Harper.
Front: Jethro Martin, Dallas
Rangi, Jahna-Lee Deacon,
Chelsea Hiini, Melanie
Rowell, Maraea Whare,
Marcel Waters and Toko
Whare.
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