A group of keen Y12 and Y13 Classics students undertook the odyssey of a lifetime with a tour to Italy and Greece.

This is the first time we have been able to do a Classical Studies tour at Kaiapoi High. This group began the process of going on this intrepid adventure in term 3 of 2023 and at the end of September this year finally saw the culmination of their efforts bear fruit when 28 Y12 and Y13 students along with myself (Mr Kwon) and Ms Ashleigh Fowler and three parent helpers (Christine Nicholls, Alana Sullivan and Leanne Young) took off from Christchurch on a Thursday afternoon at the end of term 3. These students had all worked hard in their part-time jobs and in fundraising events to be able to undertake this journey, with the goal being that they would be able to see in person a lot of what they had studied in Classical Studies. This included learning more about the history, especially ancient history of Italy and Greece, art and architectural pieces and embracing the culture of these ancient lands. The group made their way from Christchurch Airport to Auckland Airport, where the excitement really began with many becoming excited at the duty free shops in Auckland International Airport. We left Āotearoa in the evening and made our way to Rome, Italy via a stopover in Dubai, UAE. 

For many of the students this was the first time they had been overseas and you could feel the excitement throughout this journey to Rome, the eternal city. The excitement quickly turned into jetlagged tiredness as we landed in Rome and made our way to our hotel, with many deciding to have a quick bite at dinner and to head off to sleep as our schedule was very full for the next two weeks. We began our adventures the next day with a guided tour of Rome, viewing many sites of renaissance, Baroque Rome. We visited some churches and ended at the Pantheon, an architectural marvel that the Y13 students had studied. We ended the first full day at a gladiator school, where we were tutored in the ancient combat techniques of these ancient sport celebrities. The students had an awesome and unforgettable experience with this.

The next day we had our tour of the Colosseum and the ancient Roman Forum, where many of the important civic buildings of this famous empire existed and ended with a trip to the Capitoline Museum to view Roman art and artefacts. After this we visited the Vatican City and also toured its museum, where many other ancient artefacts are located. This was another truly amazing experince for all of us.

We left Rome and made our way to Sorrento in Southern Italy, a more relaxed city compared to Rome and famous for its lemons and Limoncello. From Sorrento we were able to visit the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, another topic of learning that both Y12 anbd Y13 students had been taught. This was fascinating to the students and they all braved the hot Italian sun to tour around this city that was devastated by a violent volcanic eruption from the nearby Mt Vesuvius, which still looms over Southern Italy. That night we all enjoyed a pizza-making class learning the art of creating a traditional Margherita pizza from a local Italian family, many of us having varying degrees of success with our pizzas! We then enjoyed a relaxing day on the nearby island of Capri, another place steeped in history and famous as a tourist destination. After this we visited the Naples Museum, where many of the artefacts and arcaheological discoveries from Pompeii are located and then made our way from Naples to the east coast of Italy to the port of Bari. From Bari we boarded an overnight ferry to take us to Patras in Greece and began the second leg of our grand adventure. 

We landed in Patras, Greece where we were greeted by our guide for Greece, Georgina Dova, an expert in ancient Greece. The day we landed was very full-on with us visiting the legendary site of Olympia, the birthplace of the ancient Olympics. We then made our way to our hotel for the night on the beach of Tolo. The next morning we began our journey to Athens with visits first to Epidaurus, an ancient sanctuary of the god of healing, Asclepius. The main highlight was the intact ancient theatre where we were shown how great the acoustics were even after thousands of years. We also visited the mythical city of Mycenae, this is the civilisation that gave birth to the legendary heroes of the Trojan War. This ancient place was a magnificent site located on a mountaintop, which was originally inhabited in 1230 BC, prehistoric times. From here we journeyed onwards to Athens with a brief stop at the Corinth Canal, a man-made canal that connects the Aegean and Ionian seas in Greece. We arrived at our hotel in Athens, where we would spend our last days of the tour.

In Athens, we of course visited the ancient Acropolis of Athens, which the Parthenon temple is located atop of, and visited the Acropolis archaeological museum to view the artefacts discovered and recovered from the Acropolis of Athens. The day after our visit to the Acropolis we made our way via a coach to the heartland of the Peloponnesian Peninsula to visit the sacred site of Delphi, an amazing ancient Greek sanctuary that was the location of the Oracle and a temple to the Greek god, Apollo. The breathtaking beauty of this place was an amazing experience for all of us in the group and even though there was some walking up the mountaintops, it was all worth it to see this awe-inspiring place. Our last day of the tour was a shopping day in the area of Plaka, a district in Athens that has always, since ancient times, been the commercial and shopping centre of the city. The student brought many Greek souvenirs for themselves and their loved ones and all enjoyed a final feast of Greek cuisine.

Our tour came to an end when we headed to Athens International Airport and boarded our plane to take us first to Dubai, where we had an overnight stay in one of Dubai’s airport hotels, another great experience for our travellers, and finally, after a long 16-hour plane journey, made it home Christchurch on the last Saturday before the beginning of term 4. We were all glad to be back home, but this was an amazing experience for students and they all represented Kaiapoi High School proudly overseas.

This tour allowed many to experience overseas travel for the first time and all of us had a great time learning more about Italy and Greece, the centres of the Classical world. These students were amazing and all had such a great time in touring the Mediterranean. Hopefully we can do another tour in the near future as you can learn all you can about ancient Greece and Rome in the classroom, but being able to see and experience these places firsthand is a learning experience that I personally believe to be invaluable.

A big thank you to Ashleigh Fowler who accompanied and supported this group of students, without whom I do not think I would have been able to make this trip come together. Another big thank you to the parent helpers, Christine Nicholls, Alana Sullivan and Leanne Young, who gave such great support throughout the trip and had as much fun as the students and me, and finally to the tour company, Defining Moments. Without the team at Defining Moments, this dream would never have become a reality. Last but not least, a massive thank you and shoutout to the 28 students who were able to make this trip happen and who I hope have unforgettable memories of this! It is important for us Kiwis to journey overseas and to experience and embrace different cultures. I believe this makes not only the individual but the whole world and society stronger as you learn more about yourself along the journey. Once you know yourself, anything is possible and achievable!

I look forward to how we can create more memories and learning experiences in Classical Studies in 2025 and beyond!

Ngā mihi nui,

Edward Kwon (TiC of Classical Studies)