You can watch our 2025 Duke of Ed Gold Award video HERE

Our In the January holidays, a group of 10 year 12 girls, and Ms Burney and Marty embarked on the journey of a lifetime to New Zealand, in hopes of completing our gold Duke of Ed Qualifying Hike. It was a 10 day trip, 5 of which we were off in Mount Aspiring National Park completing the 88 km Rees-Dart Track. We headed for the airport at 6am, landing in Queenstown after a smooth sailing flight, all of us in awe of the beautiful snow capped mountains we flew through, knowing that in a few short days we would be hiking amongst it. 

When in New Zealand, one must enjoy some ‘Fush and Chips’ on the beach… So after flying in and unpacking into a pod hotel ‘LyLo’, we headed downtown to explore the beautiful town, stopping by Eric's Fish and Chips. . We went and sat by Lake Wakatipu, Em, very keen to go for a nice cold swim in it the day after the hike. 

The following day, after a much needed rest, we headed to the shops, to buy all the food and goods we would need for the hike, a few of us adventuring down the gourmet aisle of Avocado, tomato and of course laughing cow cheese to spice up our hike meals. 

On the morning of our hike we woke at 6:00, Ms Burney leading the way to get our last barista made coffee before the big hike. After breakfast our group of intrepid adventurers packed onto the shuttle bus and we took off. It was just our luck when we came to a log on the road, Soph, very keenly jumped out to remove it but our luck ran short when we came across another that could not so easily be moved so we all jumped out and hiked up to the official start. The beginning of the day was hiking on flat-ish ground along a beautiful river until we moved away and the mud became impassable so we bravely marched off track toward the edge of the river, walking through knee deep swamp land. Our boots were sopping, to say the least. After a gourmet lunch, we got off the river and began walking through forest land, feeling revived and living like we were in Lord of the Rings. We made it through the trees, found our first avalanche track and made it to camp after 7 hours of hiking. It was once we reached camp that we were greeted by swarms of Sandflies, starting the blood-drawing battle that continued for the days to follow. We got our beds ready, and all were asleep in good time.

The next day was 12 km, waking up at a reasonable hour to walk up the valley along the river. It seemed pretty easy and relaxing, but alas we were yet to scramble up a steep saddle before stopping for lunch. The heat was certainly there, getting the better of us; causing us to have a few breaks amidst the oddly very sparkly rocks, before we began the ascent. Most of us spent the climb on our hands and knees, not looking below us as we climbed; but we made it in a beautifully sunny spot for lunch being able to see how far we had come and how far we had to go. The descent seemed exciting, but the further we went the more and more exhausted we got, ready for a much needed break by the lovely river. We made it into camp that afternoon, rushing back down to the river to cool off and wash up a little, and trying to escape into the huts before the second great attack of the sandflies! Trust us when we say the battle was real, and we have scars to prove it. 

The third day was the day we had all been waiting for, the side hike to the glacier. We were forewarned about the steep ascent, and although a few were keen to opt out and spend the day at the hut, Ms Burney would not hear of it and our excitement to see the frozen ice proved enough motivation. We headed out, quickly getting through the 8km flat, contouring by the river, trying to beat the heat as much as possible. Then there she was… the climb. At this point we all look at it and see a wall of rock, a never ending path up and constant scrambling. But, having been promised that the glacier is just around the corner we begin the ascent. We get halfway up and we see the edge of the glacier peeking from behind the corner and the same thought passes through everyone's mind: is this going to be worth it? But with our expectations a little sceptical we keep climbing, and scrambling and to our relief the glacier gets bigger and bigger. We had a little pit stop before the final 30 mins of hiking until the saddle that overlooked the glacier. And in the silence we were able to hear the ice cracking and occasionally moving. 

We made it to the top for lunch after being run past by some insane crossfit runners. The view overlooking the glacier was beautiful, but the view to the other side was incredible. With a large break for lunch, we took in the peace and serenity, admiring the incredible place we were so lucky to hike in. Marty took some girls to go find snow, and we were able to make a snowman with India's slightly squishy carrot. We did a classic Ms Burney 360 video, and started the trek back down. It was great, the sun off our backs, India singing her way down, and before we knew it we were back at camp. Em and Ms Burney took a nice swim in the FREEZING glacier fed river, before we all had a nice time chatting over dinner.

Here came the rain, and hours of waiting around in the hut until it passed so that the rivers would be low enough for us to cross. Cards, hot chocolate and lunch passed the time, before we packed up and left just after lunch. Starting late we pushed through, hiking and hiking and hiking and hiking. It was a very chill day, the scenery beautiful and pretty flat. Camp came round, and this time we had to share rooms with some other hikers, but we had some great conversations with them; whilst vigorously swatting away the army of sandlifes that had somehow slipped under the crack in the door. It was early to bed as we had to wake up even earlier.

Day 5, sad, sentimental but also super exciting and some of us ready to get it over with. We woke and packed our bags and 9 of the girls left, as one was left lying on the hut floor with Ms Burney and Marty as she waited for her nose to stop bleeding. But by 7:30 everyone was off ready to face the quicksand along the track. The big group reached the quick and, as advised, stuck to the track which meant walking through a river. The other three at the back were slightly more hesitant to get any feet wet so Marty led the way off the path to avoid the river crossing, hoping not to be taken down by the quicksand. But thankfully we’re all still alive. By 10:00 the groups had met again and the big group walked ahead, enthusiastically taking very little breaks as their excitement powered them on. On this day we had a few interesting encounters with people as one of the girls, who was hiking alone in between the two groups, was caught by a group of strangers, talking to herself. The larger group also got a fright as two boys spontaneously popped out of the bushes giving soph Harden a golt of surprise. Finally with an hour to spare we MADE IT TO THE END!!!!! We all immediately removed our boots and sat in the shade before getting on the shuttle and making our way back to Queenstown. Em and Daisy got to go for a swim and the group went to get Fergs Burger for dinner, a meal planned since day 1 after a lot of dreaming about the taste as we walked. 

After our hike we had a day of rest to rejuvenate and go to the markets, see a bit of Queenstown, clean our hiking gear in hopes of making it back through customs and of course sleep! The following day we went white water rafting down the Kawarau River. Swimming, Cliff Jumps, backflips (some better at it then others), trust falls and of course rapids made it such a fun experience. 

Finally our last night came and we all went to ‘Fat badgers’ to have pizza together and create a crazy cool 2025 DoE handshake, reflecting on all our duke of ed hikes from our Bronze Practice to our Gold Qualifying. After a good sleep we were prepared to head home, though possibly not very willingly. To really finish the trip off, Isa and Tiko were very pleased to see one of their favourite podcasters at the airport, grabbing a selfie with him before the flight home. 

Overall this was the most incredible and ‘choice’ experience and We really recommend that any girl who gets the chance to do this to Take the opportunity because it was one of the best things that we have all done. Also a massive thank you to Ms Burney and Marty for leading us through these past three years of Duke of Ed, cause as you all know, we could not have done it without them. Here's a quick video to recap the journey. 

You can watch our 2025 Duke of Ed Gold Award video HERE

You can see the photos from our Gold Practice hike HERE