Sarah Thomas attended the Limited Service Volunteer course at Burnham Military Camp from 24 March – 3 May.

The course is run by the New Zealand Defence Department, Ministry of Social Development and WINZ and is highly recommended for young people aged between 18 and 25. It aims to promote core values and encourage and promote teamwork and life skills while improving self-motivation, self-confidence, trust, job prospects and initiative through a series of lectures, workshops and activities.

The course appealed to Sarah – who already has a diploma in outdoor leadership and management – especially the physical challenges. These included river crossing, touch rugby, inter-platoon challenges, army regulation fitness programmes, rock climbing, abseiling, tramping and lectures. They also stayed in tents at Godley Head for three days, helping to rebuild the track and working on other projects in conjunction with the Department of Conservation. [Read more…]