As I sit here and write this in level 4 lockdown, I am so thankful that we managed our international student trip earlier this month! Twice last year, and earlier this year, we had trips planned but had to cancel them due to COVID lockdowns.
It was wonderful having so many of our international students join us for our 2021 trip! The first day saw us visit the famous movie set Hobbiton, a truly magical experience and the Honey Hive where I think we all left with lovely honey purchases. Heading into Taupo in the torrential rain meant we put our visit to Huka Falls back a day. Thankfully we did as Day 2 was a beautiful clear day, though very cold! This trip wasn’t without some cancellations though. Day 2 we had planned a day skiing at Turoa however that day Turoa ski field had blizzard conditions and was closed, meaning we had to quickly change to our plan B and visited Waimangu Thermal reserve instead. A soak in the De Brett Hot Pools in the afternoon quickly warmed everyone up after the cold morning. And what would an international student trip be without a little action, so off to Rotorua Luge we went on our final day – luge races were on!
Finally arriving home at 4.30 Tuesday afternoon saw some very tired students being collected by their families – thank you to all our international students for making this trip such an enjoyable one!
I also want to say a huge thank you to the staff who joined us, Mrs Greengrass, Ms Watson-Peach and Mr Camp.
I have asked one of our Year 13 international students, Jasmine Liu to share the experience through her eyes:
“This is my first time going to Hobbiton village, everything there is very new to me. When I walked in the village, I found that although the buildings there are all really tiny, they are still vivid and detailed. You even can see the washed clothes hanging on the clothes line. To be honest I never saw the films before, however It makes me feel as if someone really lived here, and lets me imagine the story they may have experienced in this village. This was really a wonderful trip. Because last year is covid-19, we didn’t have an international trip. Also, this is my last year at Sancta Maria College, so I think this will be a good memory that reminds me many times. Whenever I think of this trip, I will think of the good times that I spent in this school.”
Andrea Donovan
Direction International Students
