Kiwi trailblazers - ‘OUTWARD BOUND CHANGED OUR LIVES!’

Nearly 50 years on, the fi rst women to take part in the challenging programme look back at the best and worst of times

- Fleur Guthrie

In November 1973, when Jenny Vahry and Kathy Neilson set off to be part of the first group of women to be included in the Outward Bound programme, they simply wanted “a bit of adventure”.

Neither could have predicted how life-changing the course would be for their future careers or the deep bonds and enduring friendships that all 10 women in the group have enjoyed since.

Over 21 days, the daring women took on mountain expeditions, kayaking, sailing, fire-fighting, rock climbing and bushcraft at the school that started out teaching survival skills to British soldiers during the Second World War.

They did the same course as the males, but were far slower, laugh the pair, who are sharing their transformative stories to commemorate 60 years since Outward Bound opened its gates in Anakiwa in the Marlborough Sounds.

Then aged 20, Kathy saw a story on the front page of the NZ Herald that the course would be open for girls the following week. The young office worker got sponsorship from Rotary and paid the rest of the $150 fee herself.

“A guy I worked with, who had been on it, told me, ‘It’s really hard,’ and I thought, ‘It can’t be that hard.’ But it was even harder than I thought,” concedes Kathy. “It was a bit of a shock at first. Breaks were a treat rather than a necessity. We used to get up at 5.30 am just so we could get our jobs done, like rake the driveway before breakfast.”

Just before she left for the adventure, Kathy did some emergency shopping.

“In those days, none of us had any money,” recalls the 69-year-old. “I got paid just before I went, so I thought I’d buy a swimsuit to wear at Outward Bound.