On Monday the 17th of February the Ngata Yr 8’s went to Orton Bradley Park for school camp, the drive was around 45 minutes. First when we got there we took bags off the bus and set up our tents because we were worried about the weather and didn’t want to have to set up in the rain. While we were setting up we were barely getting by in the blazing heat, we were all wondering why the teachers said they thought it was going to rain! After everyone had finished setting up we went under the veranda and the parents and teachers brought out some baking. Later on we filled up our drink bottles and set off on the walk not realising what we were in for. As we struggled through the walk the instructor would occasionally stop us and ask us if we knew the names of certain plants. Once we got up to the top there was a waterfall, it was quite small but it was still nice. We started heading back and we could still feel the heat but it was a lot easier going downhill. Finally we got back to camp and everyone just chilled out. We were either in tents, playing volleyball, cricket, walking around or at the adventure playground. During our free time we started to understand why the teachers were worried about rain as it had started pouring down with rain. After a while the teachers called us to go under the veranda and told us it was time for dinner so we all got our cutlery and waited at our tables. Eventually everyone had gotten their dinner and we were all at our picnic tables eating dinner looking outside glad we weren’t having to eat in the rain. For dinner we had burgers, sausages and salad, after dinner we had some more free time and then came back for pudding. For pudding we had chocolate cake with whipped cream. After that we went inside the hall and the teachers told us we were going to play a game called Smugglers Run. While playing we all got soaking wet and then went back to camp. We prepared ourselves for the long and wet night ahead.
We awoke with the sound of wind and rain with the sheep making loads of noise as we struggled to open our eyes. The sound of the teachers waking everyone up for breakfast echoed through the cold damp air, we walked across the wet grass towards the veranda with our cutlery. We sat at the tables listening to the teacher’s instructions. Table by table we grabbed our food, ate it and then washed our bowls. After getting ready for the day we got some unfortunate news saying that we couldn’t do our water activities that day due to the weather and we were doing high ropes and ABL games. The ABL games (Adventure Based Learning) consisted of water activities and collaborative games. My group first started with ABL games, we worked together on a few games and it was still cold and wet, we could understand why we weren’t doing the water sports! We headed back to camp for morning tea and the sun finally broke through the clouds warming us up. Morning tea consisted of food we made earlier in the morning and some baking that we all brought to camp. We headed back to finish all the games and the heat finally started to rise.
Eventually we headed back to camp to have lunch, we ate and got some time to play around then swapped activities. Our group was now doing high ropes, this activity consisted of the giants ladder, the flying kiwi and the pole climb/walk. We got geared up with a harness and a helmet and we went to our first rotation. At the end of all our rotations we were so hot and exhausted and dragged ourself to camp in the blazing heat. When we got back we had some free time and some of our baking for afternoon tea. Some of us went to the adventure playground while others stayed at camp and did other things. The Air started to cool and we could feel cold drops of rain splatter everywhere. Dinner time came around and thunder boomed and lightning crashed as we ate dinner, the rain subsided and the storm passed as we washed our dishes and played volleyball on the wet grass. We got ourselves ready for the next day and slept peacefully as it was a much quieter night.
We woke with the loud sound of sheep and Miss Meder playing music to wake us up for breakfast. The slight pitter patter of rain could be heard throughout the camp. We finished breakfast and got ready to leave to go to Diamond Harbour for our water activities. We got into our assigned cars and headed off. Once we got there we grabbed our bags and went to the grass where the instructors were standing with the gear ready to go. The coasteerers put on their helmets and wetsuits and set off up the hill walking to the water. Once we arrived at the water’s edge, the instructor informed us of some important safety protocols, when that was done we got to jumping. We were told to do a simple pencil jump, just to assure we could all swim. The water was fresh, but not as cold as we expected it to be. When everyone was in the water we swam along towards a small cove of rock. Once on the rock we walked along following the instructor, we ducked under fallen trees, over rocks and around seaweed. At the next jump there were 3 different levels 1,2 or 3, level 1 was the easiest not much higher than the practise jump but level 3 was higher than us! After that jump we swam along to another rock repeating the same as the last jump. After that jump, we turned around and swam back to where we started. We then climbed out of the water and started our walk back to Stoddart Point where the cars were parked. We then took off our wetsuits, helmets and lifejackets.
The Kayakers put on their wetsuits and go down to the water, hopped in their kayaks and paddled around feeling the sun shining on their faces. As a challenge the instructors told them to line up their kayaks and one by one walk and eventually run across them, while trying not to fall off as a challenge. Afterwards we went swimming and also saw a few fish that were yellow and blue. Afterwards we walked back to the grass and got changed and had some food and then headed back to camp. Back at camp we packed up our tents and bags and put them on the bus. As we bused back to school we were dying of the heat as the windows wouldn’t open and the air conditioning wouldn’t work. But we survived and got back to school. That was Ngata Year 8 camp!
Written by,
Leiya , Ella and Kate
