[Beccy]

We’re hopefully putting an outdoors first aid course on the winter schedule. This will be a weekend course probably covering St John’s Level 2 First Aid with a significant outdoor element. For the ‘outdoor element’ we will need a venue in or around Wellington that has both indoor and outdoor space. Ideally the outdoor space will be something that mimics the tramping environment (think bush, hills, tracks, rivers/streams etc). The indoor space needs to be big enough to accommodate teaching for up to 20 people (but need not be a classroom… a large hut would be fine). The venue needs to have a road to it (i.e. Paua Hut is not suitable!). Does anyone have any good ideas for venues? To make the course as cheap as possible for you guys we’d ideally like somewhere we can get either for free or for as little money as possible.

Please let me know your ideas and suggestions.

Also, we would like to give the course tutor a list of outdoor first aid scenarios that we can work through on the course. I’m interested to hear your ideas. The scenarios can be based on things that have happened to you or just situations that you always wondered how you’d cope with. For instance, I’ve often wondered what I’d do if a group member had a servere allergic reaction to a wasp/bee sting whilst in the wilds… I have some ideas, but it’d be great to cover the scenario on a first aid course and work through want the best course of action would be.

Please let me know your scenario suggestions and I’ll try to get them incorporated in the course. Include lots of detail – for instance:
‘On an eaay-medium trip a group member is stung by a wasp on the neck. They react badly to the sting. 15mins after the sting, their face and neck is starting to swell up and they are complaining that it is getting hard to breathe. There are 6 people in the group in total (including yourself). You are an hour’s walk from the nearest hut and 4 hours from the nearest road end. You are carrying a club first aid kit, a PLB, a club fly and your own personal first aid kit. You are not sure what other first aid gear your punters are carrying. It’s drizzling and the weather is deteroriating with heavy rain and gales forecast for later on.’

It’d be great to get lots of scenario suggestions so we can make the course as useful as possible for you guys!

Thanks,

Beccy

[MikeM]

Hi Beccy. I don’t know how convenient it is to book, but when I did an outdoor first aid course with the MSC a few years ago, it was held at Camp Wainui on the Coast Road. It seemed to work quite well. Bookable indoor hall(s?), camping space and bunk rooms and kitchen available if overnighting is wanted, a creek going through the grounds, and backing onto the Orongorogas.

Another comparable site might be somewhere like Camp Elsdon in Porirua? I haven’t been there since intermediate school, though.

[Beccy]

Thanks – that’s a great suggestion and looks perfect. I’ve made an enquiry….

[Author]

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