School's out for tramping

The snowstorm was gathering intensity and the decision was made to close Mt Ruapehu. As skiers cleared off the slopes, a resort worker started to sweep the gullies to make sure no one was left in the whiteout. To his surprise, he found a party of young children accompanied by their grandparents making their way down Tennants Gully from a club hut. All were happily rugged up and concentrating on their footing. He checked the group was okay and they continued their walk to the car park.

The worker had stumbled across something quite remarkable: Grandparents’ School Holiday Programme, an initiative that sees grandparents tramping with their grandchildren during the school holidays. For the kids, it's great fun. For the grandparents, it's about spending