An investigation is being launched after a school trip set off to a backcountry hut despite a weather watch, then wound up being helicoptered out today after rain “compromised” the walking track.

The Year 12 group was from Ōpōtiki College, in the eastern Bay of Plenty, where a deluge of rain last night flooded rivers, closed roads and highways, and saw people and animals rescued.

Acting principal Andrew Lau told the Rotorua Daily Post 11 students, a teacher and an adult helper were on the outdoor education trip, based at Pakihi Hut.

The six-bunk Department of Conservation (DoC) hut, which has a covered veranda and space for tents, is in the Urutawa Conservation Area of the East Coast, south of Ōpōtiki.

DoC advertised it online as “in the heart of Barry Crump country”, sitting just above the Pakihi Stream, surrounded by thick forest and midway down the Pakihi Track, part of the Motu Trails network.

Lau said the college had planned an overnight stay at the hut, organised by an experienced teacher.

“The teacher planned the trip using the school’s EOTC [Education Outside the Classroom] guidelines.”

The group arrived at the hut about 9am on Wednesday.

Pakihi Hut in the Urutawa Conservation Area near Ōpōtiki. Photo / Department of Conservation

“There was a weather watch notification in place prior to departure, which turned into a weather warning whilst the trip was in progress.”

Lau said rain overnight “compromised” access to the track from the Ōpōtiki township and caused slips.

He said the students were always in a safe space and had provisions to stay another night, “as this was identified clearly in the risk assessment”.

“Because of the slips, the teacher initiated a successful emergency response where a helicopter was chartered to extract the students and staff [during] a break in the weather.”

Lau said the group returned to the college in “good spirits and uninjured”.

Lau was asked to respond to concerns in the community about whether the trip should have gone ahead, given the weather conditions.

“We recognise there are questions we need to answer around this trip and want to mitigate this happening again,” Lau said.

“As a part of a formal review of this trip, we will be conducting a full investigation through EONZ (Education Outdoors New Zealand), a national expert group, as soon as practicable.”

Lau said the results would be communicated to the school’s Board of Trustees, staff and the community “at the earliest convenience.”

The Ministry of Education sets the EOTC guidelines, which provide schools with advice on how to safely conduct curriculum-based activities outside the classroom and schools’ legal responsibilities.

Ōpōtiki Mayor David Moore. Photo / Andrew Warner

Ōpōtiki Mayor David Moore said he was aware of the group’s plight and applauded the decision to stay put given there had been slips and flooding in the area.

He said the Pakihi River reached its peak at 1am but was receding and going down slowly, after quite a bit of rain overnight.

Moore said he understood one of the district’s highly experienced helicopter operators was involved in flying the group out of the area.

A DoC spokesperson said it was aware the school group from Ōpōtiki was helicoptered out of the area on Thursday and were “all safe and well”.

The spokesperson said anyone wanting to visit any of DOC’s huts can find more information on its website, including safety tips such as making sure people had accurate weather forecasts and take appropriate tramping gear, food and clothing.

MetService meteorologist Devlin Lynden said on Wednesday night an “intense and unstable rainfall band” moved across the northern half of the country.

Between 8pm and 8am, parts of Ōpōtiki had up to 118mm of rainfall, with less in other areas of the district.

He said these were “quite significant” amounts, and downpours caused streams and rivers to rise.

Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.