Against the Elements at Field Centre
Field Centre 2025 began with the familiar energy that has carried this programme through more than half a century. Months of planning, fine-tuning, and training had prepared staff to welcome nearly 400 Year 10 students across two consecutive weeks, supported by around ninety staff and based across eleven lodges on the slopes of Mt Ruapehu. The momentum was strong, the structures refined, and expectations high. Yet this year would become memorable for reasons far beyond the itinerary.
Just days before the first group was due to depart, wildfires broke out across parts of Tongariro National Park. Conditions shifted hourly as tracks closed, access routes were restricted, and visibility and air quality became unpredictable. For a programme of Field Centre’s scale, such disruption could easily have unravelled the first week. Instead, it revealed the collective resilience and professionalism of our teams. Staff worked tirelessly to redesign, reroute, and re-shape plans, making hundreds of decisions that ensured student safety while protecting the spirit of adventure central to Field Centre. What emerged was a modified but still deeply meaningful programme that allowed students to explore wild spaces, form bonds, and challenge themselves, even as the environment around them bore the scars of the fire.
Across both weeks, students immersed themselves in their three-day expeditions through the Tongariro National Park or the Kaimanawa Ranges, tackled the Tongariro Crossing, rafted the Tongariro River, and took part in activities from abseiling to rock climbing. Adjustments made from last year strengthened the flow of each day, deepening engagement and creating space for reflection, teamwork, and leadership.
A highlight for many remained the visit to a local Papakāinga in Tūrangi, where students were welcomed into a living Māori community. Through mihi whakatau, waiata, shared stories, and the preparation of a traditional hāngi at a geothermal site, they gained insight into the deep relationships between people and whenua.
Environmental stewardship continued through our partnership with Project Tongariro, where students contributed to a long-term restoration initiative by clearing invasive weeds and supporting the health of native ecosystems. This hands-on service reinforced the belief that adventure is inseparable from responsibility.
Throughout the programme, students demonstrated resilience of the quiet, determined kind, embracing long days, steep climbs, uncertain weather, and ever-shifting plans. They supported their peers, discovered new capacities within themselves, and returned with the confidence that comes from navigating challenges together.
Field Centre’s success rests on an extraordinary team effort. Special thanks go to Jo Horgan for coordinating food and lodge support across both weeks, to Leigh Meek for managing the extensive administration behind the scenes, and to Chris Duncan and Stuart Mudford for leading logistics and safety with skill and steadiness. Partnerships with Adventure Specialties Trust, Dempsey’s Buses, Tongariro River Rafting, Four Square Onehunga, and OnRoad Rentals also remain vital to the programme’s success.
Field Centre 2025 will be remembered not only for the adventure, but for its heart. In a year when the landscape changed, our young people learned to adapt, endure, and move forward with courage, a lesson as valuable as any gained on the mountain.
Written by Head of EOTC, Will Gage-Brown
