They said there would be runs before sunrise, climbs up rock faces blindfolded, a swim in the sea at sundown, and that we would be challenged to be more.
And that is exactly what happened at Outward Bound last December.
I believed this would probably be the biggest adventure of my life so far, and it turned out to be true.
The day after I arrived, I was thrown in at the deep end with a three-day tramp, which included two mountain climbs, where we needed to use our self-determination to get to the top, while reading a map and using compasses to navigate our way through the bush.
Our second experience was kayak training and kayaking.
We were taken to a massive river, where we completed a number of activities including a gravel kayak slide, kayaking down small waterfalls and jumping off a 5m rock-face into the river.
This activity really gave us the chance to bond with each other, because it involved learning to trust others.
Our next activity was sea training, which consisted of learning how to sail and row a cutter - a 14-person sailing boat - then being told that we also needed to sleep on the boat under the stars, only to be woken by one of our number in the early hours to see orcas swimming past our boat.
Sailing was one of my proudest achievements at Outward Bound.
The scariest activity we had to complete was the solo.
For those who don't know what a solo is, we were led through the bush and given a campsite each, away from anyone else.
We were then given a bivy and a sleeping mat with only a small amount of food, and had to stay in this same spot for two nights and one day.
For me, this was time to reflect on the first half of my experience at Outward Bound.
It also gave me time to write a massive letter home, telling my family how homesick I was, and yet also ironically, I was skiting about how I had seen a killer whale in the wild just days before.
After returning back to base and resting up, we were ready to plan and set out on our expedition, which comprised a three-day tramp and a three-day sail.
Unfortunately, we had to climb the exact two mountains from the first tramp again, except in reverse. One of them was 1115m above sea level.
Although we were excited at the prospect of sailing again, we ended up rowing most of the way because the wind had died.
However, we were rewarded by being able to visit Ship Cove, where Captain Cook based himself when he was in New Zealand.
I ended this amazing experience by completing a half-marathon, which I had dreaded, but which turned out to be a truly satisfying experience.
The 21 days that I spent at Outward Bound were the most challenging but the most rewarding time of my life so far.
I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to push themselves to their limits and to discover what their full potential actually is.
• By Hannah Dewe, Year 12, The Catlins Area School
