Farming Talk: Students take the trip down to North Island

Early on Saturday, March 24, a group of 21 second year agriculture learners met at Walford – with bags packed and passports in hand – ready for the marathon trip to Taratahi College on the North Island of New Zealand.

The trip includes five hours of bus journeys, five hours of waiting in various departure lounges and 22 hours flying. But all involved agreed it was well worth the effort.

Each learner on the second year agriculture course is offered the opportunity to take part in this unique exchange.

The learners pay their own air fares (totalling over £1,200), but stay at our partner college free of charge. In return Walford will host a group of 'Kiwi' students in June.

The trip includes opportunities for Walford students to see first hand a different approach to farming and have a go at a variety of practical tasks on the Taratahi farm which includes large sheep, beef and dairy units.

Tasks completed include shearing, fencing and milking, all carried out with that distinctive NZ approach.

It's not all hard work and farming, though.The group found time during the three weeks to enjoy the local culture as well.

Highlights include meeting Conrad Smith, the ex-All Black rugby captain, a visit to a Maori cultural experience where all the boys did the Hakka on stage and the girls had a go at some traditional dancing.

In Rotorua some members of the group had a go a bungee jumping, and everyone relaxed in the naturally-occurring hot mud baths.

But perhaps the most popular visit was to the to the Tui brewery. Everybody seemed to enjoy that!

The exchange trip has clearly impacted on the fashion sense of our students, many of whom are now proudly wearing 'shorts and gum boots' around campus which, added to a mass of dyed blonde hair, has makes this group of students very distinctive.

With only one term left their thoughts are now clearly focused on completing investigative projects, achieving distinctions in the final few assessments to secure that hard-won offer of work or a place at university.

Jon Parry, Director of Walford