11 December, 2025 | Youth Award Grant – Otamatea High School students learn the importance of leadership during their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Expedition.

Lilly

In the early morning of the 11th of December, our qualifying tramp officially started at Top Forks Hut on the Upper Wilkin River.

After two days of exploring lakes, rivers, and hanging out in sunny valleys surrounded by towering peaks, we were ready for the real challenge to begin.

The day began early, and we were packed and ready to go at 6 am, just as the first rays of sun were lighting up the snowy tops in an orange glow. After about fifteen minutes of walking, we descended down to the rocky river bed and faced our first challenge of the day: a river crossing.

After everyone had linked up in groups of three and slowly made our way across, we continued down the riverbed for about an hour before we were faced with another decision: do we keep going on the river, or do we veer off and follow the wet weather track through the trees and along the bank?

After talking with the group, we decided to split up, but stay within sight of each other. After fifteen minutes, it became clear that the riverbed was the way to go, as our group had walked double the distance in the same amount of time.

After joining up again, we decided to stay on the riverbed. Eventually, the river narrowed, and we walked through the bush, arriving at Kerin Forks hut at 1:30.

Josh

Our group’s trip to Te Waipounamou opened my eyes to a new part of leadership’s umbrella that I had never been covered by yet – emotional regulation.

I had to realise that being a leader doesn’t mean you act like it during shifts, it doesn’t mean that once the next pair in your group lead a day, your responsibility ends. I mean, it obviously could; you could just let the role go as soon as it becomes inconvenient, you could do a lot of things. Unfortunately, my subconscious says and drives me to do otherwise.

There were moments during our trip where an individual’s fatigue led to a reduced presence of empathy and a much tenser group environment.

In these moments, I would truly feel the responsibility of being a leader, much more significantly than in the mornings where we would go through the group’s mental-physical situation, or any other ‘planned’ leadership responsibility/job for that matter.

All it took to show true leadership when this was going on was to say one empathetic sentence or respond (even minimally) in an empathetic way. Doing this made me realise how important leading by example is; belief in something or someone is much stronger if evidence is tangible and put into real action.

Leadership is a permanent job; it takes knowing when to step in, when to step out, and when to separate your own emotions and feelings from making the right decision or taking the right action.

Additionally, being tired isn’t an excuse for being an ass, especially when everyone has to climb over the Gillespie pass.

Denika

On the sixth day of our tramp, we departed from Siberia Hut early at 6 am, to travel nearly 1000m up and over the Gillespie Pass, to Young Hut — a significant segment of our tramp.

The day began walking along the valley and then ascending through the bush alongside the Gillespie stream, until the direction changed and led us towards the awaited bushline.

As we continued up through the new subalpine environment, gone were the trees, and instead we now travelled through rocky and tussocky terrain.

Our views transformed from bushy tracks to a vast expanse of snow-topped mountains. Now out in the open, we were also able to see the Siberia Valley in the distance, which was cool because it meant we could look back at how far we had travelled.

In the late morning, we finally made it to our first patches of snow, where we stopped for a quick break to change into more appropriate clothing for the even more snow we were about to encounter.

We trekked up the snowy slopes for the next hour and a bit until at last reaching the top at midday, with a high point of 1629m.

We stopped for lunch—labelling it our best lunch spot yet, with 360 degree views—before taking on the steep descent to the Young Valley.

Chanelle

Our last day, the walk out to Makarora.

This day was challenging mainly because of the weather and the uncertainty around transport. It had been raining overnight and into the morning, which we expected after closely watching the forecast in the previous days to see if crossing the Makarora River would be safe.

One of the main challenges was walking for hours in steady rain. As the day went on, we slowed down due to sore feet and the cold, and at that point, it felt like our rain jackets weren’t doing much against the rain anymore.

We managed this by keeping a steady pace, limiting our stops, and taking a short lunch break to avoid losing too much body heat.

Another challenge was not knowing whether we would be able to get a jet boat out or if we would have to walk all the way for another 10 km to the Blue Pools car park.

When we reached the junction for the Blue Pools car park track and the jet boat pick up point, with limited phone service, we were able to call the jet boat company. The jet boat ride was a highlight and helped lift everyone’s spirits after pushing through the tough and wet conditions.

Reflecting on the trip during our debrief made it clear how much we had overcome together.

Despite early starts, sore feet, steep climbs, cold weather, rain, and long days, we supported each other throughout.

“Overall, the trip was demanding but extremely rewarding, and finishing together in Makarora felt like a well-earned achievement.”

We’re delighted to share another trip report from recent recipients of FMC’s Youth Award Grant. These grants are awarded four times a year, so if you’re inspired to get some financial support, head over to FMC’s website to apply.