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The big OE

Raglan skater ‘pumped’ at latest Christian camp role

Okete-raised Ben Wallis really is a young man on a mission.

The 20 year old has been relishing the warmth and familiarity of Raglan after flying home from a “freezing” Canada last month.

But it’s only a relatively short visit home.

Ben will be heading Canada’s way again next month for another northern hemisphere summer and a job that gives him a real sense of purpose.  His mission is to help give other young people from around the world a life-changing experience at Muskoka Woods in Ontario, which he describes as “one of the most beautiful places in the world”. Keep Reading

Arduous Annapurna trek highlight of quickfire OE

Raglan teen Amelia Penfold may have just hit the high point of her big OE – trekking an arc around a massive mountain range in Nepal.

She’s about halfway through the 19-day adventure known as the Annapurna Circuit which climbs to giddy heights of almost 18,000 feet, making altitude sickness a very real possibility. Keep Reading

The big OE in the new millennium: Charlie Hamilton

Students taking a gap year typically try to get away from it all and do or experience something well away from the classroom or lecture hall.

Te Uku teen Charlie Hamilton did his OE a little differently. While he certainly got away – to the other side of the world – he didn’t fully escape the education system, working as a teacher’s assistant along with other “gappies” at what he describes as a posh prep school in England. Keep Reading

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