The Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre of New Zealand (OPC) renamed Hillary Outdoors Education Centres, is a New Zealand-based not-for-profit trust with two centres in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. Founded in 1972 by

Graeme Dingle Sir Graeme Dingle (born 30 November 1945) is a New Zealand outdoor adventurer and mountaineer, who founded the Graeme Dingle Foundation. He is also known for his writing and humanitarianism.Edmund Hillary as patron, OPC has been delivering outdoor programmes to school age students for 40 years and has around 5000 students visits per year.

Canyon Tragedy

On 15 April 2008 heavy rain caused a rapid increase in the river level in the Mangatepopo River canyon where a school group was canyoning. Seven people including six students and one teacher died. Later investigations revealed that the OPC missed heavy weather warnings from MetService and the coronal investigation that followed revealed systemic problems in risk management, including a culture of "risk drift" wherein the level of risk in the activities undertaken gradually increased over time.Sunday Star Times story from April 2010
/ref> Since the tragedy, the OPC has made significant changes to their practices, including enhanced training of the staff, making sure to check other staffs day plans, and ensuring that risky activities are carried out by more than a single staff member. It also appears from the list of activities on the OPC website that canyoning is no longer one of the activities.

Geography

OPC Great Barrier

OPC Great Barrier is situated on Great Barrier Island which is 100 km to the North East of Auckland central. The centre is based in Karaka Bay in the northern end of the Island.

OPC Tongariro

OPC Tongariro is situated adjacent to the Tongariro National Park in the Central Plateau of the North Island right on State Highway 47 halfway between

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

and Turangi. The centre itself is on

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

(DOC) land in the Tongariro National Park.

References

#Department of Conservation consent to operate http://www.doc.govt.nz/getting-involved/consultations/closed/sir-edmund-hillary-outdoor-pursuits-centre-trust-concession-notification/ #New Zealand Qualifications Authority certification http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/providers/details.do?providerId=961925001 #Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre Environmental Award http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/23159/award-recognises-passion-rivers #The Performance of Tertiary Education Providers http://www.tec.govt.nz/Reports/2009/The-Sir-Edmund-Hillary-Outdoor-Pursuits-Centre-of-New-Zealand.pdf #University Course Information http://www.uniguru.co.in/studyabroad/newzealand-courses/opc-certificate-outdoor-adventure-skills-leadership-course-details/cseid/51721580/cid/142464/programs.html #Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation https://web.archive.org/web/20100302033020/http://www.thesiredmundhillaryfoundation.ca/Sir-Edmund-Hillary.30.0.html #Graeme Dingle Founder of OPC - http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/Writers/Profiles/Dingle,%20Graeme #South Island Get2Go coverage http://www.ch9.co.nz/node/15770 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre Inc. (Opc) Educational organisations based in New Zealand Education in the Auckland Region Education in Manawatū-Whanganui Edmund Hillary 1972 establishments in New Zealand