MAC Magazine 2018

MAC HOSTEL
This was a year to remember. Learning to put our differences aside,
we have come together. Frankie, with her randomly timed meme
references that no one truly understands. Nat, the triathlete, who
somehow managed to only cook twice during the year being either
away or asleep when it came to dinner time. Luci, the walking
juke box, spilling musical notes and distressed conversations. Izy
managed to ‘actually’ make the whole house her room, with her
stuff found in every corner. Tilly’s intentions to make you a feed
always came with her eating half straight from your fork without
you realising. And Liv, the house hippie. Namaste.
The Outdoor Pursuits on Sunday definitely tested us all, despite
this we still learnt lots and had an epic time. The highlights
definitely included freezing in Mt Cook and being rewarded
with the views by being able to see Wanaka from every angle.
Some may have found the mountain biking a challenge, while
others sped ahead and got sendy at every downhill opportunity,
all making the most of what we were learning and doing.
Through these summer months we were introduced to not
only new activities but a variety of life skills to get us through
the mountains. When it came to winter, we all found a love for
skiing (successfully turning Liv from snowboards to skis). We all
improved and made the most of each weekend, even though
Izy broke her collarbone and was out for the rest of the season.
Safe to assume this year has been a blast - each and every
member of our house has definitely come out of their shell and
begun to appreciate the newly formed friendships we have
made (along with the delicacy of home-cooked meals). We
wouldn’t change it for the world and are so happy to have come
down to spend Year 13 in Wanaka.
LIVERPOOL
HOUSE
Liverpool house, to say the least, has been
awesome. Our house has been filled with the
laughter of Tom, he constantly laughs at his
own jokes, the rest of us just stand and try
to wonder how he managed to be accepted.
Jono brings manliness and testosterone to
Liverpool. Sean has been a quiet member of
the house yet plays his part well, chiming in
on the occasional banter. And let’s just say his
cooking has been interesting. Cole is the man
at the top, the alpha male, ensuring everyone
gets along and plays their part. Ashdon, who
is arguably 1.5 times smaller than Cole, has
still managed to boss the house and is best
friends with the vacuum cleaner.
The outdoor pursuits side of hostel has
also been wicked. The tramps have been
stunning along with the views and we have
all experienced NZ to a far greater extent and
have learnt lots from the outdoor experiences.
Only a handful of people had done mountain
biking regularly before they came to hostel,
so that has been one of the more challenging
activities. The snow sports have been what
it’s all about! Everyone has enjoyed this and
improved so much. We have been lucky
enough to have stuck a good season with a
few pow days in between and Liverpool have
been in amongst.
I guess we can collectively say that this has
been one of the most sensational years of
our lives. We miss Jakey, but we’ve stuck it
out without him and have definitely made
the most of the extra food at the dinner table.
CASCADE
HOUSE
Us Avalanche girls, from the beginning, have been like a little family.
We have dinner together every night. We do a lot of sports together.
Bella is very organised and onto it all the time. She never forgets
anything and reminds us what we’re meant to be doing which is
why she is considered the mum of the house. Macy is relaxed all the
time doesn’t get stressed, not much fazes her and is always telling
dad jokes which is why she is considered the dad. Jess is more
worldly which is why she’s been dubbed the fun auntie. Florrie’s quite
energetic and random which is why she’s the fun cousin. Alice likes
everything a certain way and she’s sweet so she’s the grandma. And
Kine’s kind of all over the place and had to be shown how to do a lot
so she’s been dubbed the baby.
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AVALANCHE
HOUSE
We have little traditions like Fun Day Thursday where we’ll do
something fun like watch a movie or have a picnic down by the
lake. Everyone has a skill that’s been really helpful to the house.
Jess is really good at comforting people, Florrie is really energetic
and good at getting people onboard with whatever she wants them
to do which is a talent in itself. Macy is good at putting anything
into perspective, showing us that whatever big issue we think is
happening isn’t really that big at all. Bella is good at making sure
we’re not forgetting anything and getting us to do stuff that may not
be fun but is necessary to our lives. Alice is good at keeping track of
everyone making sure that if we haven’t been around for a few hours
we’re not injured or lying in a ditch somewhere. And Kine’s good at
making everyone laugh.
If you try to compare the first day of the hostel to now, you
could say things have changed a little. Friendships have been
made, new places have been explored, and best of all we
have all made it without any “serious” injuries. We’ve had
some concussions, some torn ligaments and some illnesses
but being the boys from Arawhata, we are still climbing
mountains to this date. The mountains we have climbed,
rivers we’ve floated down, and lakes we’ve swum have
developed the characters we are today. The hostel has been
an unforgettable experience with not only new adventures
but meeting new people and creating new friends.
Moving to Mount Aspiring College was a big move for all us.
Living with six other lads and no parents was a major change
- to cook, wash and clean for ourselves! Everyone had to do
their part to keep the house fed and clean. But in the end this
has been the best decision for all of us and a thrilling year.
Some highlights of the year for us were skiing and bouldering.
Dangling off rocks four meters above the ground with no rope
was a breathtaking experience that we won't forget. Flipping
and spinning off jumps and rocks that were way out of limits
was also a thrilling way to test the strength in our knees and
hips. Skiing and boarding every weekend was tiring but
something we all will never get to do again.
ROB ROY
HOUSE
Us boys at Rob Roy - Michael,
Sam, Bowen, Ethan, Lucas and
Max - have all thoroughly enjoyed our time at Hostel and
the experience of getting to know new people and pushing ourselves
in the outdoors. The big ol’ highlight of the year was definitely the ski
season. We were all out there two or three times a week on the slopes.
It’s been amazing to see ourselves progress. Another favourite of ours
was the Catlins trip on the long Easter weekend. The weather was
great, and we all enjoyed getting some gnarly pits at Curio Bay.
It’s sad to see the year come to an end but we have all made the most
out of our year and are just thankful for the opportunity we’ve been
ARAWHATA
HOUSE
given to immerse ourselves into this environment down here.
A tip for future hostellers is to buy milkshake syrup. It tastes tu meke as
with the free milk you get given but you’ll only have one or two weeks to
exploit this as Cat and Duncan start to get a bit worried for your health
when you start chucking four bottles of it on the checkout counter.
We wish all the Year 13’s the best going into next year, y’all have been
an awesome bunch of people. And we’ll leave you all on a great
quote from a great ogre (Shrek): “After a while, you learn to ignore
the names people call you and just trust who you are.”
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