Tragic Deaths
16 April 2008
Many New Zealanders are into outdoor sports. It seems to be part of our DNA. New Zealand has more bushland and mountains and waterfalls and creeks than you can shake a hobbit at, and lots of people like to get amongst it.
Some people, however, are a little too keen!
Roughly 24 hours ago, six school pupils and a teacher died when they were out canyoning. A flash flood hit the area and the pupils and teacher got swept away. The sad thing is that they knew that there was bad weather in the area, yet chose to go out and complete the activities. With a bit of common sense, some lives may have been saved.
A lot of New Zealanders tend to be risk takers. We think that we can take on the world with just some number eight fencing wire and some Marmite. Yesterday's deaths show that we can take things a little too far. It is sad that seven young, (normally) responsible people with a great future ahead of them went a little too far. It shows how careful we all need to be.