Go to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award website and follow the instructions that are relevant to you.
Follow the instructions on the Book Now page. Still need more information? Please give us a call on 09 444 1446.
Practice & Qualifying bookings typically close two weeks before every event, to allow us time to finalise student numbers and instructors, book campsites, and send paperwork to all participants. Training bookings close one week before the event. The specific booking deadline is listed against each event on the calendar.
Sometimes bookings close with some spaces still available on an event, in which case we may be able to allow you to join the group late. Contact the Duke of Ed Coordinator via email – doe@bigfootadventures.co.nz.
If you have a group of students organised and want dates that are not already on our calendar, contact us using the form below with the name of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award event(s) along with proposed dates. Typically, our minimum number is 7 students, but please feel free to contact the Duke of Ed Coordinator via email – doe@bigfootadventures.co.nz.
There are ways around this like finding more members, making it a public event, or splitting the extra costs between current group members.
The only way to ensure that both you and your friend are on the same trip is by booking and completing payment. This is because all spaces are automatically assigned once payment is made.
Login to your EnrolMy profile.
Yes, all the components of the level are compulsory, and you need to do the events in this order: Training – Practice Journey – Qualifying Expedition – there are no exceptions. It is recommended that for Bigfoot Adventures Practice and Qualifying Journeys, you attend our in-person trainings, as these typically provide more training than an online course will. In addition, you can only complete online training once during your award journey, so if you have done online training at Bronze, you must attend a physical training at Silver & Gold. For more information, you can find the exact guidelines here.
Please note that your Award Leader has the final say in whether experience from Scouting, Guiding, Cadets etc. can be considered ‘training’. Please ask them to approve this. Our preference is that you attend our training to ensure you are at the same level as your peers on our journeys – this is especially important if you are part of a partnership school group.
Bronze Level – Training is held either at school in a classroom setting or Bigfoot HQ.
Silver Level – At Silver level, we have our training & practice combined, so you will spend your morning completing theory and some practical activities and stay the night at a campsite, and then the next two days will be your practice journey. All our trainings are for one day each, so you get to go home for the night.
Gold Level – Training is held at an outdoor venue relevant to the journey you have planned as a group.
In general, no. Your peers on these events will be attempting their qualifying journey, so it would be unfair to them for you to be using the journey as a practice event. In reverse, it is difficult for us to accommodate qualifying participants on our practice journeys, especially as the requirements generally do not meet the qualifying guidelines.
If you have unique circumstances preventing you from attending the correct level journey for your needs, please contact the DOE Coordinator via email – doe@bigfootadventures.co.nz, and we will try to arrange a suitable alternative.
Make sure you bring something you like! You will learn all about tramping food in your training and resources that we provide. Complex carbohydrates and proteins are important and high value quick snacks such as nuts and dried fruits provide stable energy for your muscles. We do not recommend freeze dried food on any of our journeys. If you get stuck, check out the Mountain Safety Council website.
Our gear lists are included in our info pack that is provided 2 weeks prior to the event. It can also be found under the Resources section on the Duke of Ed. Main page here on our website.
You can complete your gear hire at the time of booking. If you have already booked but didn’t add gear hire, please contact the Duke of Ed Coordinator via email – doe@bigfootadventures.co.nz with your requirements. Please note late gear hire or cancellation of gear hire will include an admin fee.
There are two categories of gear you can hire from us.
The first is personal gear hire. This is the cost per item, per person, per trip;
- Bedroll – $5
- Thermal top – $5
- Thermal bottom – $5
- Rain Jacket – $15
- Waterproof Overtrousers – $10
- Tramping Pack – $35
The second category is group gear. This is the price per person split between 3 as all these items are designed to be shared;
- Tent (3 person) – $15
- Camp Stove & Gas – $10
- Large Cooking Pot – $5
If you are looking for something that isn’t on this list, we recommend Living Simply.
For all our school bookings – Students are picked up and dropped off from school grounds by our instructors.
For public bookings within Auckland – no transport is provided and students will have to meet onsite and be picked up from that same location (drop off/pick up times will be in your info pack 2 weeks prior to the trip).
For public bookings outside of Auckland – Transport is included with two drop off/pick up sites available; North Shore and Greenlane.
Contact the Duke of Ed Coordinator via email – doe@bigfootadventures.co.nz, we are always happy to help you out!
Alternatively, please give us a call on 09 444 1446.
We monitor the weather on various platforms leading up to and during the trips and have operational limits that we work to that mean we keep within safe parameters when going into the outdoors. We have contingency plans that we can easily pivot to at each location e.g. a non-stream crossing route, as necessary or changing to a different location if more favourable. We are in regular communications with our instructors on the ground and relay information about most up-to-date weather and group updates.
