Odyssey Overview

By Tanya Laybourn –Sports and EOTC Coordinator – Primary and High School

What do you get when you combine 11 days of sun, lots of ocean, plenty of adventures, 55 amazing, respectful and resourceful adolescents and 6 tireless teachers? Well, you get Kawakawa Odyssey 2016 in the Marlborough Sounds! As always, the Adolescent Programme started the year with some intense community building and a power collection of learning experiences.

The learning focus for 2016 was the ocean – marine conservation, historic whaling, paua farming, endangered birds, salmon farms, marine rescue programmes, history in the Sounds, tangata whenua history and a bit of fishing. And the challenges of sea kayaking, mountain biking, day hikes up big hills and cooking meals for the class.

We loved our long stay at Mistletoe Bay, a beautiful, eco-friendly spot with a fabulous jetty for jumping off, excellent kitchen and comfy cabins. We also relished a couple of days cruising around on the cosy Tutanekai (a 75 year old Kauri-planked, classic launch) viewing the Sounds through stories from a couple who have campaigned for years to protect this area. Our last few nights were hosted by Waikawa Marae in an ornately carved wharenui and treated to catered dinners!

The Odyssey meets several of the learning the needs of the adolescent. Firstly, the adolescent is wired to learn in a very social and interactive way; living alongside your peers for 11 days certainly involves a lot of social interaction. Secondly, the adolescent learns in a very experiential and hands-on way and the Odyssey provides lots of opportunities to learn from actually being there at the place of action/history and by doing things. For example, we visited the site of the historic whaling station to learn about the whaling of yester-year and were guided through a fascinating paua farm for a first-hand look at how they are grown. The students’ encounter with the very endangered Hector’s dolphins made a lasting impression and many personal challenges were overcome during mountain biking and sea kayaking. And let’s not forget cooking in a team to feed 60 has its challenges too!