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Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition Report
By Jiwoo Lee & Joyce Chan
The Facts Where did we go? Southern Waitakere Ranges, Whatipu area
When? Saturday 2nd July Sunday 3rd July (2 days, 1 night) Who was in our group? Joyce Chan, Jiwoo Lee, Kevin Hou, Kevin Guan, Richard Jiang, Thomas
Ye
Our purpose? To gain new experiences with perseverance and endurance
Jiwoo’s Perspective: Day One
Preparation While packing my bag before the qualifier tramp I learnt that I didn’t need 30% of what I had in on
the previous tramp (extra clothes and food), after loading my pack it was at least 25 kilos lighter.
In terms of food, it was easier to bring something that could be cooked instantly rather than
making something out of raw ingredients. For example, Joyce and I made pancakes for the
practice tramp which didn't go as planned, it was much easier to cook instant noodles than to flip
pancakes that always stuck onto the pan. What I leant from the training session back in May was
to always keep my sleeping bag within my pack, to roll all clothes rather than to fold them and the
basic structure of what goes where in my bag (heaviest items at the bottom and lighter/
emergency equipment near the top)
Summary Although the hike was far more intense than the
Tawharanui hike, the scenery was absolutely amazing
and everywhere we’d go there would be a Fantail bird
lurking around. It was extremely cold in the morning
but the more kilometres we walked the warmer it
felt. I was relieved that it wasn’t raining! The
seemingly mountains we had to walk up and down
were unbelievably slippery. When we reached the
campsite everyone immediately set out to eat or set
or set up their tents. As dinner time came around It
was growing seriously chilly considering that people
had wet shoes on but luckily my noodles kept me happy. After dinner, we gathered around to
play a rather intense game of mafia (a guessing game similar to wink murder) bringing certain
members of our tramp closer.
Stunning lookout over the Tasman Sea ft. James (instructor) on the side
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition Report
By Jiwoo Lee & Joyce Chan
Highlights ● Beautiful scenery every step of the way
● Successfully getting to the campsite first
● Making new friends
A note from Joyce’s Perspective
A definite highlight and learning experience for me from day one: exploring the cavernous caves
perforating the sides of the coastal cliffs. By 4.00pm, approximately an hour after arrival at the
Whatipu campsite, the somewhat strenuous task of pitching our tents and unpacking our packs for
the night was completed. Armed with torches and a sense of excitement, we were lead by
instructors James and Johnny on a winding packedsand path through spiky golden grass in the
direction of the beach. The first of an assortment of caves gaped before us, a soft black sand lined
tunnel that required you to stoop onto your hands and knees and slide, limbbylimb, further into
the depths of the earth. Until you bumped your head. Ow. The second cave was unbelievable in
size it was a cavern at least half the size of the school gym, with smooth floors and walls
unsurprisingly accounting for James’ claim this cave was used as a recreational DANCE HALL for
traders which travelled in and out of the bay! The last and my favourite cave harboured a
kneedepth height of water, initially posing an obstacle to the intrepid exploring but most people,
surprisingly myself rolled up our pant legs and waded into the chilly but clear water. Why was it
my favourite? No better substitute for a bath in the bush… as well as magically cleaning my
dirtencrusted tramping boots.
The ‘Dance-hall’ Cave
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition Report
By Jiwoo Lee & Joyce Chan
Back to Jiwoo’s Perspective
Challenges ● Staying warm in general
● The condensation on the tents
● Difficulty sleeping
Learning I mentioned how my bag was 25 kilos lighter than the previous tramp, which was useful, but I
think I should’ve stuck to the bigger sleeping bag that I already had instead of a smaller one. Our
instructor, James taught us a lot about native birds and trees in the area, for example how tuis
have two voice boxes and can uniquely produce two sounds at once, how a plant called the
lancewood looks dead as a seedling and then flourishes into a healthy green tree which were very
interesting to learn.
Joyce’s Perspective: Day Two
Preparations After an admittedly late night of a small group of us shivering outside on the damp picnic table
while stargazing, whispersinging (we tried to be considerate to those sleeping) songs from
famous musicals, midnight snacking and giggling through mafia games cramped in someone’s tent,
we set an alarm for an early rise at 7:00am the next morning in order to leave at our designated
time of 9.30am and reach the starting carpark by the 12.00pm deadline. Breakfast had to be
fulfilling but quick, did also packing tents and backpacks, as well as leaving the campsite even
cleaner than we found. Breakfast is where our preparations at home before the tramp impacted.
While Jiwoo happily boiled water for her extraspicy Korean instant noodles, I munched on muesli
drenched in milk I prepacked at home. Through resourcefulness and sheer perseverance Jiwoo
and I unzipped, rolled, pulled, folded our tent in record speed and stacked it along with our packs
in a neat pile ready for the next leg of the journey.
Everyone packing their tents The mini-kitchen and shelter
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition Report
By Jiwoo Lee & Joyce Chan
Summary + Some Challenges ● The previous night before we filled out the journey planner as a tramp group. The
remaining 5km was split into 4 legs with a different person in the group leading each leg.
● With James, our instructor, trailing the behind, we set off ahead of the remaining
Macleans and Botany group 15 minutes behind schedule onto the gravel path leading out
of the campsite where we met the first rays of sunlight which had failed to bathe the
campsite yet, which we soaked into our frozen limbs with sighs of relief.
● We followed the road for a little longer, crossed a dewy field and hit the muddy,
bushlined tracks we were all too familiar with the day before.
● The track merged sideways into the first stream crossing of several we were expecting to
have to complete. Switch of legs and respective leaders. Two options: either
notsogracefully wobbling from stone to stone across the water or just wading straight
across the stream as I did. My hiking boots squelched for the remainder of the day.
● After the stream crossings we hit the most daunting part of the journey: a series of steep
upanddown contours pressed closely to one another on the map to take us on an ascent
from sea level back up to the car park. The (if you could call it at times) track was very
slippery in parts, with nothing to grip with your hands and feet except for jutting out tree
roots all while teetering with a 10kg (in my circumstances) pack on your back. This leg and
a half of the journey took at least two hours to complete.
● We finally hit the familiar signpost adorned with spray bottles and brushes for Kauri
Dieback Disease pointing a short walk back to the car park everyone whooped in
exhaustion and exhilaration as the feeling of achieving a colossal goal settled over. We did
the sprayingthenbrushing procedure, again, to treat the bottom of our shoes.
● We reached the carpark a few minutes after 12.00pm once again as the fastest group, for
selfreflection and eating whatever remaining food we had.
Highlights ● Drinking in the magnificent scenery combined with the grandeur of the caves the day
before really topped it off for me as one of the most unforgettable experiences I’ll ever
have. The Waitakere bush when we entered it again was lush, green and exotic silver
ferns the size of table cloths draped over the forest floor. This sense of adventure and
witnessing an unforeseen gem in New Zealand was a highlight. Then there was the view
from a lookout halfway up our climb back towards the carpark. We could literally see for
miles into the sea and even the campsite we left hours ago, now just a patch of green.
● Reaching the car park was the best sensation in the world on that day. At some point
when my leg and shoulder muscles were burning during the climb I really did wonder if we
would ever reach it.
● Jiwoo completely abandoning her previous tramps’ complaining about how tired she was
and even speeding off to the front of the pack! ;) True evidence we completed our
purpose of gaining new experiences with perseverance.
A note from Jiwoo’s Perspective
My feet were extremely cold throughout the entire day, once again the scenery was amazing,
especially when we were at the top of the mountains. My favourite part of the journey was
crossing the river multiple times, it was slightly challenging but fun. I learnt my lesson the hard
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition Report
By Jiwoo Lee & Joyce Chan
way, to just walk through the mud instead of trying to avoid it, otherwise you’ll fall over and get
mud everywhere.
Back to Joyce’s Perspective
Challenges (those I haven’t covered already in the summary) ● The unbelievable amount of WATER before we even hit the first stream crossing when we
stepped foot outside our tent in the early morning. This water was all in the form of dew
and condensation dripping all over the tent and every visible outside surface thanks to the
sub degrees during the night. The shoes and clothes hung out to ‘dry’ were even more wet
than they were in the first place, and I do not believe a single person left the campsite
with snug and dry feet. How did we overcome this? Gritting our teeth and praising at least,
the absence of rain. Jiwoo and I were lucky to have a spare tarpaulin we could stack our
packs on without touching the drenched grass while we packed the tent.
● The amount of mud on this winter tramp initially terrified me. On the first day, one
memorable pool of particularly viscous mud almost suctioning off my hiking boot and
Richard falling victim to it, sacrificing a clean trouser leg and the previously readable
surface of his map. By the end of the tramp however, I was no longer bothered by the
mud anymore after finally adapting to simply walking straight through it instead of trying
to avoid it by skirting around the slippery edges which Jiwoo learnt the hard way several
times...
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Expedition Report
By Jiwoo Lee & Joyce Chan