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 bush craft 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 5.30am 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.
“Did I wear it? Not once, because you’d do a run and then jump straight into the harbour to swim. You were constantly moving. There was no time to change into your togs. I should have bought
a warm jacket!
“And we might have started off shy, yet we quickly got used to being naked in front of the other women and showering together,” Kathy adds. “We’re still like that now.
Jenny, Robin Jenkins and Gail McBride taking the chilly plunge.
“It’s very much like being in an Army troop. Showers were only two minutes. But we were smart – we all went in together under the seven showerheads and got four minutes!”
Reminiscing as they look at the 1974 Weekly article the group was originally featured in, Jenny, 68 – then a keen scuba diver from Whangaroa Harbour in the Far North – says she was encouraged to attend the first female course by some diving colleagues.
She explains, “They believed in my ability and realised the significance of our group being a success in paving the way for more women to attend Outward Bound.”
Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of physical discomfort along the way, Jenny points out, from the three kilometre runs every morning, to carrying heavy canvas tents on expeditions. She enquired about going home, but was told the boat wasn’t coming back for 21 days.
The Weekly covered the adventures of Outward Bound’s first female group in 1974.
“Back in 1973, the equipment was unbelievably heavy,” Jenny recalls. “There was none of the light gear that people have these days. Imagine carrying soaking wet tents and gear in your backpack.
“All the food we carried had to be able to be eaten raw, in case we couldn’t get a fire, so we carried cans of spaghetti, sausages and soup.
“It’s really tough when you aren’t prepared and you’re last at everything – that was me. I struggled and had the pressure of feeling I was holding the others up.”
Jenny adds, “I completely freaked out on the high ropes course in the trees and remember shaking on a platform up there for an hour.
“I wasn’t very good at bush expeditions and was totally reliant on another woman, Lesley Pealing. But everyone had different skills and as each day went by, I got fitter.
“The instructors would be on the side, yelling, ‘Get going!’ Then two weeks in, I did get fitter and I was no longer at the back of the pack, but the middle. And it was such a small win and sense
of pride for me.”
Realising they could do far more than they thought themselves capable of, the women went on to complete their last three-day mission, which included climbing two mountain peaks of more than 4000-feet high.
The women carefully planned their route and set out. On the second day, it rained solidly and two streams shown on their maps were rivers by the time they were reached.
Getting to the top of the mountains marked a significant moment for Kathy.
“In my diary entry the day before, I wrote that I had broken down in tears. As we stood at the top of this big, high ridge, it was amazing. We talked about how all we wanted was a whisky on the rocks, but we toasted with water on the rocks instead.”
Jenny sleeping rough. “Imagine carrying soaking wet tents and gear in your backpack,” she says.
When educator Kurt Hahn opened the first Outward Bound school in Wales in 1941, he believed character development was just as important as academic achievement. He discovered that when people are put in challenging and adventurous outdoor situations, they gained confidence, redefined their own perceptions of their potential and demonstrated a spirit of camaraderie with their peers.
Both Kathy and Jenny agree the skills they learnt have set them up for life.
“The majority of the women returned home and over the next few months, most of us changed our jobs,” muses Jenny. “I left with a sense that I could do anything and I was the master of my own ship. I now had the skills to make plans to achieve what I wanted.”
After discovering a love of travel and the outdoors, Jenny left her secretarial job to become an Air New Zealand flight attendant, before studying landscaping while raising her three children. The grandmother-of-eight has recently retired after 40 years of manicuring clients’ gardens.
Kathy went on to become a nurse. In 2020, she came out of retirement to return to the medical centre where she had previously worked and helped as a vaccinator during the pandemic. She believes this strong sense of community service was instilled in her from Outward Bound.
“I’ve never forgotten the Outward Bound motto: To serve, to strive and not to yield. Looking back, Outward Bound has had a profound effect on all of us,” smiles Jenny. “Most of us have lived a life of service either to our communities in the form of teachers, nurses, school councillors, police officers, community art projects or simply our families.
Besties Jenny (left) and Kathy live by the Outward Bound motto: To serve, to strive and not to yield.
“And Margaret Robinson [née Sherriff] has remained dedicated to Outward Bound, volunteering her time as an architectural designer and inspiring others to improve the land and buildings around the school for future generations.”
Kathy, Jenny and most of the original “watch” have reunited several times since they completed the foundation course nearly 50 years ago.
They hope to return to Anakiwa next year for the group’s own anniversary.
“Even though we’re no longer climbing mountains, we still do something that’s physical and fun when we all get together,” tells Kathy. “Like go for a swim in Rotorua or walk two days of the Queen Charlotte track.”
“And when we get together, there are no airs and graces,” adds Jenny. “We grab food and eat with our hands! We’re so close, nobody minds what each of us is doing. There’s this compassion and tenderness between us all.
“There have been illnesses, divorces and tricky births in all of our lives. And what comes out of that is this sense of service when life is crazy.
“That’s also one of my biggest take aways from Outward Bound. When challenges arise in life, ask for help when you need it and offer help when it is required.”
More than 70,000 New Zealanders have completed Outward Bound, emerging with greater resilience and on a path to transformation. This year, it celebrates 60 years in New Zealand. For more info, visit outwardbound.co.nz
