Maniototo Area School (MAS) pupils, staff and parents had an unforgettable two week adventure to Vietnam in April, soaking up different culture and history. 

It took more than fifteen months of planning and fundraising to get the $120,000 required to make the trip happen.  

MAS principal Melissa Bell lead the trip of 22 pupils in Years 10 -13, three staff and 10 parents, and the group were away from April 8 -22.

They journeyed from North to South Vietnam, visiting Hanoi, Sapa, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City.

Melissa is on a sabbatical this term, but in the recent school newsletter she said the pupils were incredible.

“[They] were so positive about all of the activities and experiences. I hope that they have returned with an understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures. I know some of them may have been bitten by the travel bug.”

She thanked Lucia Dowling and Deirdre Lithgow who gave up their holidays to support the trip, and Fiona Dowling for her help on preparations and fundraising.

“Commiting to an international trip of this scale is new for MAS, but I can assure you that plans are in place for the next event. Out mantra is to dream big - with hard work and community support, even the most ambitious dreams can come true.”

Architecture was vastly different to home. PHOTO: Supplied

Pupils enjoyed the trails in Vietnam. PHOTO: Supplied

Pupils' feedback was shared in the newsletter and comments were:

“The food in Vietnam was like nothing I’ve seen or experienced… there was a lot of food that we’d never thought of eating, for instance octopus and scorpion.”

“I have never seen traffic so busy as what I saw in Ho Chi Minh City with motorbikes everywhere ad continuous honking of horns 24 hours a day… the heat was intense and humid.”

“Visiting the Cu Chi tunnels was a great experience, it taught us how the Vietcong lived underground for several years while they fought in the war. A few of us went through some of the tunnels, many of us didn’t.”

Pupils posted a huge number of personal thank you videos to sponsors and community supporters while they were away, these can be viewed on MAS’ Facebook page.

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