Duke of Edinburgh

Duke of Ed – Silver/Gold Award - NZ Expedition 2017

Prayer Points

Health and safety for all the team members (Year 10 students - Gio, Chloe, Fiona, Kassandra, Mykaela, Joel, Jerry, Ben, Samuel & Daniel Idrees, Caz Castle)
God’s protection
Good weather conditions
Sound sleep
Quality team bonding
God’s strength and safety in enabling us to complete skiing, canoeing, bike riding journeys.
For God to guide students and me to lead devotions during the expedition which changes lives.
Spiritual growth for all the team members as they trust God to come out of their comfort zone and do things they have never done before.
Building character.
Smooth flying (flights).
Creating unforgettable life memories and have loads of fun

Daniel Idrees

Duke Of Edinburgh Coordinator

Duke of Ed New Zealand Expedition

Rotorua, New Zealand

Our first day in New Zealand was a blast, as it was the first time two of our students flew internationally. The day was a chill and relax day as we all were getting used to the climate and the change of weather. The majority of us got little to no sleep on the plane, however we all got our beauty sleep on our 3 hour bus trip to Rotorua. We stopped at a Countdown supermarket which was New Zealand's version of Woolworths. We all bought and prepared our meals for lunch and dinner as we set out our tents at a beautiful campsite. Most of the guys including Mr Idrees decided to spend a relaxing arvo in a sauna whilst the girls enjoyed chilling at the campsite playground. We spent our evening adventuring out and experiencing geothermal hot pools which was a once in a life time opportunity. It was so amazing to view God's creation in a different country and still appreciate His wonderful world around us.

Joel Julien

Year10 Student

Duke of Ed Cross Country Skiing Excursion

Friday, 11th September, the Duke of Edinburgh bronze class of 2017 took a trip up to Lake Mountain. When we arrived to the top of the mountain we were met with 50cm of soft powder snow. We all rugged up and rushed out of the bus to get a glimpse of the picturesque views (the two hour trip up was well rewarded by the conditions!).

Making our way into the ‘ski room’ we strapped on our gear, made the last trips to the toilet and got our first ski lesson. We practiced falling properly (on our back- not our wrist) and how to manoeuvre up hills without slipping. And then we were off!

We started our trip on a fairly flat section at times travelling slightly uphill. Along the sides of the trail were special groomed tracks that our skis fit into perfectly. Along the trip we had many great opportunities to have snowball fights that we certainly didn’t waste.

It wasn’t long before the group reached the highest point of the track (which was when we got to the fun part) and begun the downhill runs. Using the techniques that Paul previously taught us, we skied down with (relative) ease; and was one of the most fun experiences I have ever had!

During the snack breaks we took, two of the students in our class also shared a devotion each: one about courage and the other about trust. Each were equally encouraging and uplifting. If I had to name the best part of the day, it would have to be when we reached the lookout point. It was here that the snow was so deep and soft that when we fell back we literally fell into the snow, creating body imprints. Encased in snow, we did not even feel the cold as we were wearing our warm snow gear. Overall, I will definitely remember this wonderful experience for a long time yet!

Rachael Song

Year 9 Student

“ A fantastic day, loads of fun, developing resilience and 12 km of XC Skiing! To finish off, it was wonderful to hear the students sharing lots of moments from the day of how God helped them in their Skiing.” – Daniel Idrees