An Overview
The 1st major tour took place in 1992 and this has been followed up by a series of sporting adventures to various parts of the world. These trips provide students with a fantastic opportunity to experience the culture of other nations as well as the sports.

1992
Senior Rugby Team and Girls Hockey team; Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. 24 boys and 16 girls toured for 3 weeks. 2 rugby matches out 6 were won and 2 hockey fixtures.

1992
Under-16 Rugby Squad; Romania. This was a difficult 2 week trip to a very poor country only a few years after the collapse of communism.

1995
1st and 2nd XV Rugby and Girls Hockey; South Africa. An outstanding trip for both sports and sight seeing. The tour was based in the Southern Cape with time spent in Grahamstown and Cape Town.

1998
1st and 2nd XV Rugby and Girls Hockey; New Zealand and Fiji. The largest tour party to date with 40 boys and 18 girls. This was a monster trip with every fixture being as intense as a test match. The girls won 4 out of 6 matches while the rugby teams won one game each.

1999
1st XI Cricket and Senior Netball; Barbados. Sun, sea and fast bowling.

2000
Senior Rugby and Girls Hockey; Canada. Another big group and another very different experience. The rugby teams were huge and of various ages from 18 through 24. We were more skilled but tiny in comparison. Our girls won almost every game.

2002
1st XI Cricket and Senior Netball; Barbados. A second visit did not disappoint, although our reputation went before us and some of the cricket opposition was very strong.

2002
Senior Rugby and Senior Hockey; Australia. The best tour yet and some of the best sport. We visited Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Cairns and played Western Australia and South Australia at under-18 level.

2004
1st XI Cricket and Senior and Under-16 Netball; Grenada. Just prior to the devastating hurricane, we took this tiny island by storm. The cricketers won 2 games and the netballers 3.

2006
South America Revisited. 40 rugby players and 19 hockey players visited  south America  in August 2006 for another wonderful trip. Some thoughts on the trip from Ed Towner and Amy Furminger:

"Obviously the main part of the tour was the sport and personally I have not enjoyed playing rugby more than I did when I was on tour. The difference on emphasis between South American and English teams was immense. The backs dominated with their pace and used every possible chance to exploit the counter attack and the forwards did very little. One of the highlights for me was the match against Curda, a Paraguayan rugby club. Even though Cranbrook lost 8-7 in the last kick of the game, the experience was that never to be forgotten. With so many players injured or ill, the team was a mess with the forward pack dominated by backs playing out of position, the way the team held together was amazing. The actual rugby itself was made even more difficult by the grass-less pitches we played on, rock solid mud hurts when you get dump tackled!

Free time on tour is a rarity so when you get it you have to make the most of it, and as the countries we visited were those that not many people had been before there was a lot that was interesting and fun to do. But I think that teachers and students alike would agree that the Iguazu Falls were stunning even with only 30% of its water supply there was still a lot of water!  Some also managed to go skiing in the Andes which ‘can be something you can tell your grandchildren'".  Ed Towner

"There were 19 girls on the tour and having been excited about it for so long, when it came it was everything we hoped it would be.

We experienced different cultures and saw different parts of the world  and as far as the hockey side of the trip went we were shocked by the amount of Hockey they play on grass. This was a completely different experience for us as we couldn’t control or stop the ball to begin with. We soon got the hang of it however, and found that someone with a huge hit, such as Mariela Presnell, was very useful as the ball would bounce over the opposition’s sticks and up to our forwards.

Our most competitive game was the last game against our old sporting enemies, Balmoral College. We were all really up for the game, as when they visited us last year they beat us 7-0. Everybody on the pitch put all their effort in as we knew it was our last match. We unfortunately lost but not by much and the team effort showed how much we had improved while on tour.

Aside from the hockey on tour, one of the absolute top tour highlights was visiting the Iguazu falls. This was a breath taking experience and one never to be forgotten. I had never seen anything like them and after this trip it has made me want to see a whole lot more of the world."  Amy Furminger

2008
Senior Rugby and girls Hockey, New Zealand and Fiji
A report by Millie Presnell and James Hewitt


Rugby
New Zealand is perhaps regarded as the most challenging place to tour due to the unparallel standard of rugby in the country. Nevertheless, under the  capable management of Mr Martin, Mr Presnell, Mr Turner and Mr Crews, Cranbrook were able to leave New Zealand soil with 7 wins out of 8 making it the most successful tour that Cranbrook have ever undertaken.

After travelling non-stop for 24 hours plus, we landed on 7th August to a spring day in Auckland and were treated to guided tour of the historic Eden Park stadium, New Zealand’s equivalent of Twickenham, which will be the centre of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Friday 8th saw us transfer to Rotorua, a two hour drive south east from Auckland. Among its many claims to fame, Rotorua is regarded as the centre of Maori culture.  We were met at the New Zealand Academy in Rotorua, our training base for the next four days and our first opponents, with a ‘Powhiri’ or Maori welcoming ceremony involving traditional speeches of welcoming, fearsome dances and songs.

After two days of rigorous training with the Academy coaches, we spent the third day visiting the local sights including a farm show, a local wildlife centre and the famous geysers. The afternoon saw the tour’s first fixtures with the second team beating Western Heights School 17-7.  The firsts played the New Zealand Academy U23s whose standard of rugby was phenomenal, as was the sheer size and bulk of their team. It was in the Rotorua International Stadium, the very place where the British Lions had played while on tour, that Cranbrook suffered their only defeat, 59-0. Cranbrook put up a heroic effort full of determination and grit and safe in the knowledge that this was the best team they would ever have to face.

The next day we transferred to Taradale, a suburb of the east coast town Napier.  Amongst the local sightseeing around Napier and the kind of hospitality of Taradale, Cranbrook played their second fixture against Taradale High School. The second team won 45-0 and the firsts attained a much deserved 36-11 victory.

The next stop was Queenstown and the flight into the airport was spectacular, flying over the snow-capped mountains and ski pistes.  The next morning the party were greeted by fresh snowfalls and sub zero temperatures, something not all the group had been prepared for. Nevertheless, the boys enjoyed the fast and furious jet-boating on the Shotover River, white-water rafting down the rapids and bungee jumping off the original Kawarua Bridge.  

Both teams played their third fixture of the tour against Middleton Grange in tough conditions. Cranbrook achieved two important victories (firsts winning 19-0 and the seconds 12-8)and, as many of the boys were playing the members of the Maorist Albion Squad who travelled to Cranbrook a year ago and won on our soil,  it was fantastic to win the New Zealand leg.

The next day saw the tour party fly from Christchurch back up to Auckland then a short drive south to Katikati for the final fixtures.  The second team took to the field first and despite battling against a tough referee came out on top with a 41-3 victory.  The first team got off to an unfortunate start and with a score of 32-8 at half time to Katikati, all looked lost. However, a second half performance that no one could ever forget saw Cranbrook put every ounce of effort to secure a nail-biting victory in the last play to take the score to 44-43.

After Katikati, it was off to Fiji and Beachcomber Island. Everyone’s expectations were exceeded as the island looked like something out of a postcard; perfect white sand on the beaches, glorious sunshine and crystal clear waters.

Before we even had time to say ‘most successful tour ever’ it was the 27th August and the time had come to return home, and as we left Fiji behind in the setting sun, we took away memories of a school tour that will surely never be surpassed.

A huge thank you goes to everyone who helped out with the tour, for all the parents, everyone who helped out with the organisation, to all the hosts in Napier, Christchurch and Katikati. However, this was Mr. Presnell’s last tour after nearly 16 years in charge we sincerely hope he can take away as much from New Zealand as we did. 
James Hewitt

Hockey
Our first destination upon landing in New Zealand was Auckland. Although only there for one night, we managed to cram in a lot, despite being half asleep! After sailing around Auckland harbour, we headed to the Canterbury store for the first shopping trip of many, and then on to a guided tour of Eden Park Rugby Stadium.
The next morning the girls and boys went their separate ways, the boys to Rotorua to train at NZSA, while the girls headed to Tauranga, into our first hosting. We were all a little nervous about the prospect of staying with complete strangers for the first time, however after meeting our hosts, we all quickly warmed to the idea and were able to relax before our first matches. Both the first and second team played Otumoetai College, who turned out to have very strong teams, stronger, perhaps, then we initially expected, and this led to the unfortunate defeat of both teams. With the whole group back in Rotorua, we had a day of activities, consisting of a wildlife park, a sheep show, a cultural Maori experience, and finally finishing with a Maori Hangi, an exciting experience, and one that will be hard to forget.

Our journey continued North as we drove down to Napier, and were put into our second hosting. The girls played their second matches, which were more successful than the first, with Louisa Douglas scoring the first goal of tour. Our spirits were lifted as we managed to get a 3-2 win.

It was then time to fly down to Queenstown. It was here that activities for the adrenaline junkies were provided; consisting of jet boating, white-water rafting, helicopter rides and bungee jumping. Unfortunately we didn’t get the chance to play a match, as we got snowed in, so we had to settle for a training session.
Our next stop was Christchurch, and we were in our third hosting. Our host school defeated us 4v2 but the next day the team recorded a great 7v- win over Papanui with Briony Michaelson netting three times.

We flew back up to Auckland and to our final hosting in Katikati. The atmosphere at the last matches was incredible, and we proved that all our training and hard work had paid off. The seconds  won 4-1 against Katikati first XI, and the firsts played a very high level of hockey against a remarkably strong opposition.

We then flew over to Fiji for a relaxing end to the holiday, and had three days full of sunbathing, water sports and swimming, as well as two night beach parties. The awards ceremony went down well, with awards going to Bryony Michaelson for top scorer; Lucy Dore for best goal; Rachel Michell for being the toughest player; Savannah James-Bayly and Camilla Presnell for most improved players; Georgia Walker and Sophie Harris for best players; and Dixie Embleton being made top tourist.

On behalf of all of the students, I would like to thank all of the staff for making the trip so memorable, especially Mr Presnell for all his hard work.

Millie Presnell

Easter 2010 saw the third cricket and netball tour head off to Barbados.  Two junior cricket teams, led by Mr Martin and Mr Pohio, were accompanied by a senior netball squad coached by Georgina Watford and Mariela Presnell, Mr Crews went along as tour fitness coach.

The boys played eight games during the stay and acquitted themselves very well. Both teams won two games and lost two. The individual star performances came from Joe Clark who hit 100 in the first game and in so doing became the first ever Cranbrook player to score 100 on tour to the West Indies. Joe Schindler, and Finn Hulbert also scored 50’s. Duggie Gordon led the wicket taking and managed one five wicket haul taking 5 for 37 in the first game. Hamish Cloke bowled well throughout the trip as did Matt Backx.

Finn Hulbert was awarded Player of the Trip and Nick Welchman Top Tourist.

The girls won two from five games and played some great stuff against quick aggressive girls and in the face of some strange interpretations of the laws. Sally Williams was always on top of her game and Maddie Bushell played well in the shooting circle despite being more at home at the other end of the court.

The Player of the Trip award was given to Tilly Waterworth.

Away from the sport, the students visited The Oistins festival, met test cricketers at the Oval and went on a catamaran trip to snorkel with turtles. All in all a great trip and one to be remembered for a long time.

 
These tours form a very important part of the school sports programme and every student who gains selection enjoys a unique experience. This list is however the tip of the iceberg as almost every year, smaller tours take place. These included; cricket to Cornwall, Holland, and Suffolk; Rugby to Holland, Scotland, Limerick, France and Galway, Basketball to Morecombe, Gravelines and Northern France. Hockey to Wales, Limerick, Berlin, Lille and Hamburg, Golf to Austria and The South of France and of course the annual ski trips.

Long may they continue!!!!!!!

A J Presnell