17/06/2026
Congratulations Nadia White on successfully completing your Outward-Bound course! 👏
WYAT is proud to have supported this opportunity through our Mayors Taskforce for Jobs (MTFJ) programme. Over the past five years, we have had the privilege of supporting a number of Wairoa rangatahi to attend Outward Bound, helping them build confidence, resilience, leadership, and self-belief.
Ka mau te wehi Nadia. We are proud of your achievement. 💙
SOME of the toughest moments of Nadia White’s Outward Bound course last month came during the experience many participants remember most, the solo.
The 25-year-old Quality Roading and Services training and competency officer attended the eight-day Outward Bound course in the Marlborough Sounds thanks to funding from the Wairoa Young Achievers Trust.
The course is designed to test participants physically, mentally and emotionally, and while Nadia expected the biggest challenge to be fitness-related, it was the mental side that proved the toughest.
Alongside 11 others, she sailed a cutter, hiked, rowed, completed night watch duties, slept under a fly, plunged into 12-degree water and tackled a high ropes course among century-old kahikatea trees.
By day two, Nadia thought she had already conquered the hardest challenge after a four-hour climb up Mt Oliver. "Every muscle was telling me to stop," she said. "But the group and instructors kept me going."
She soon discovered the hardest test was still ahead. On day four, after five hours of rowing, participants arrived at a remote bay for Outward Bound's renowned solo experience.
For more than 40 hours, each person was left alone in a section of bush with minimal food and basic shelter. Supplies consisted of two apples, two carrots, two flapjack biscuits, a small packet of nuts and raisins, a fly sheet, torch and bucket toilet.
Participants were expected to maintain their campsite, complete reflection exercises and rely entirely on themselves.
Nadia expected the solo to be one of the easier parts of the course. "I don't mind being by myself and I've spent a lot of time outdoors. I thought I'd be fine."
She rationed her food carefully, using meal times to mark the passing hours. What caught her off guard was the isolation. "As it got dark the first night, it really hit me that I was completely alone."
She built her own shelter from driftwood, branches and a fly sheet, but the hours dragged on. A sore throat, runny nose and a torn ear piercing added to the challenge. "The middle day was the longest day ever."
When instructors finally returned to collect the group, Nadia was relieved. On the trip back to Anakiwa, a pod of dolphins appeared alongside the boat. "That was amazing. I loved it."
One final challenge remained. On the last morning, participants were up before dawn for an 8km run. "That was the hardest thing for me," she said. Nadia said the biggest lesson was learning to back herself. "I doubt myself too much. I always say I can't do it. But then I end up doing it. It might take a while, but I get there." Including that 8km run in the dark!
Nearly a year into a personal fitness journey, Nadia says the course came at the right time for her and reinforced that she is capable of far more than she often gives herself credit for. "It was all out of my comfort zone, but I'm proud I did everything Outward Bound asked of me and I made it to the end."
