The Education Minister has called for an urgent review of school guidelines on outdoor education following Tuesday's Mangetepopo canyoning disaster.
Chris Carter says the guidelines which advise schools what to check before sending students away on camp haven't been reviewed for five years.
He says the guidelines may be fine but he wants to be sure students are safe in what can sometimes be a dangerous natural environment.
A report is expected back in a couple of weeks.
One regular trekking group in the Tongariro area had no doubts the
weather was too dodgy to go out on the day of the Elim canyoning
disaster.
Cy Messenger from the Tongariro Alpine Crossing Users Group says they cancelled all trips on Tuesday after receiving a forecast just after 7am for heavy rain, poor visibility and possible thunderstorms.
The group has been operating in the area for 15 years and lies about 25 kilometres from the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre. Messenger says weather is paramount to safety and he was surprised to hear there had been people on the river that morning because it had been bucketing down.
Outdoors New Zealand hopes the deaths at Tongariro National Park don't put people off enjoying the outdoors says the lives lost need to be put in perspective.
Chief executive Laura Adams says any death is one too many, but
the safety record of outdoor pursuit centres is generally pretty
good.
She says provides a unique environment for learning and is a
fundamental part of the New Zealand psyche and experiencing the
outdoors is something everyone should be encouraged to do.
Adams says tens of thousands of people have enjoyed New Zealand through centres like OPC for decades and outdoor education provides a unique environment for learning and one that can't be matched within four walls.
