Camp

As you may know Huia went on camp in week 2. We were the second syndicate to go on camp so we had only Pouakai to tell us what it was like. Our 3 lovely parent helpers were Anna's dad Pat, Imogen's dad Stuart and Becca's mum Debbie. There was obviously Mrs Goldfinch as well and without these helpers camp couldn't happen. So to start with we caught the train to Masterton. We were staying at the cabins first, so we put our luggage in the cabins and met our leaders for the week. Our leaders were Chelsea, Pete and Suze. Our first activity was the rock climbing wall. It was really fun! There were 3 different parts to it: the rock climbing walls, the big swing (which was really really fun) and a small abseiling wall. Our second activity was the High and Low ropes course. We split off into two groups and my group went to the low ropes course first, where we went along on ropes with spotters on either side. We also played a game which was based on the Titanic. The high ropes course was also very fun. It was about 20 metres in the air and you fly on a flying fox to the end. Our first day's activities were very fun and we finished off the day with a trip to the pools and beef stroganoff for dinner.

The next day we packed up and headed to our next activities, which were rafting and abseiling. We  had to split into two groups again and my group did rafting first. We got into wetsuits and life jackets etc and headed to the river. It was so cool; the best activity by far. The aim was (as long as you were in deep water and not rapids) to splash people with your paddles, jump on other rafts and pull people into the water. The abseiling was next and it was nearly 30 metres high! It was quite scary but getting over the edge is the hardest part. After we had finished our day's activities, we headed to the tent site. We had burgers for tea and stood around the fire.

Day 3 was upon us and the first thing we had to do was carry all the gear to the bivvy site. It was a good 30 - 45 minute walk away, so it was really hard. Once we were there, we had a break and then we headed off up Mount Holdsworth for the day. It was tiring climbing the mountain, but once up, the view was great. About 2/3 of the class went another way down the hill and after 2 hours of walking down we realised we were lost. Yikes! But just under an hour later we found our way and we were back to the Dolloney flats (where the bivvy site was) in no time. We made our bivvy's and judged them. We then swam in the river and ate a delicious dinner of sausages and noodles. After that, we played spotlight and toasted marshmallows on the fire. Yum!

Day 4 was here and our last day's activities were flying fox and caving. So we arrived at the location, walked through lots of sheep poo and over pot holes. When we found the cave and flying fox, we then split into 2 groups my group went into the caves first. The caves were cold, damp and dark but also good fun. We climbed up a waterfall (with no water flowing down it obviously), climbed through very claustrophobic places and turned off our torches to look at the glow worms. They were awesome! Then it was lunch time and on to the flying fox. We walked up quite a steep little hill until we got to the platform. I decided to go first. It was really cool! You go really fast back down the hill and over a river. You then have to walk back over the river and climb up the hill. It was a really fun way to end the awesome activity and time with classmates we had just experienced. Then we carried the gear back to the bus, got in a circle and said what our favourite activity was from the whole camp. I think rafting was the obvious favourite. Off to the Masterton train station we went, and then home. I had a great time and I think everyone had a great time too, but even though it was so fun it was great to be home and sleeping in our own beds!!!

By Jenna!