10Y’s camp experience
By Phoenix Haddow and Henry Hodgson | Posted: Monday March 11, 2024
In Week 6, 10Y took a school camp up to the Mt Aspiring Lodge - located in the East Matukituki valley - for a fun week of activities.
On the first day of our trip we woke up at 6am and packed the bus full of food and our packs. This early morning ride took us through the dry lands of Central Otago. By around lunch time, the bus had made it to Wanaka. We hopped off the bus with a sigh of relief and roamed around the town for 1 hour. We had our fill of overpriced junk food before we headed to the Aspinall’s homestay. We attached our packs to the van, which drove off, leaving us to do the traditional 5k walk-in to the bridge. Before we got to take our packs and settle into the lodge, we had to run shuttles of food from the bridge to the lodge. This hard day of work was rewarded with some delicious spag-bol made by Mr King. After our yummy meal we played a late night game of spotlight led by the seniors.
Day two was filled with many fun activities consisting of four main rotations. These were: orienteering; trust exercises; team-building activities; and a 9-hole frisbee golf course. In the morning we did our first two rotations with wonderful weather and cheerful moods. Unfortunately for the afternoon activities there was a slight downpour. Because of the rain, we had indoor activities in the evening including wink murderer and mafia.
Day four started off with much excitement. We prepared for our overnight by learning how to set up our tents and how to use a cooker and the other equipment we would need. Once all the preparation was sorted we set out for our 8km tramp, which was at least pretty flat. After we reached the campsite, we set up our tents and some of us went for a swim. Making dinner was a disaster for most of the cabin groups, however the dessert making was really good. We stayed up late into the evening, standing around the fire exchanging stories. Our sleep that night was quite cold, and many people said they kept waking up.
On day five we awoke to the freezing cold and ice on some of the tents. The only encouragement for us to get out of bed was the fact that we could have oats and cranberries for breakfast. Our stomachs had had enough and forced us out of bed towards the beach where we went on to put together the cookers. Mr. Harvey made a communal fire to warm us up. It was not long after breakfast that Mr. Zani announced that we could leave whenever our group was ready. I had not seen anyone pack a tent so fast! An hour later we were back on the track. At around 1pm the last of the remaining groups had arrived back at the lodge. Before we could even get a whiff of lunch, we had to unpack our tents and let them dry out, which seemed to take an eternity.
On Thursday after our two exhausting days up in the valley camping with tents and swimming in the coldest stream, we had a day of fun awaiting us. Today's plan was to go kayaking, dam building, and to check on the traps that the Department of Conservation had set up. We had spaghetti, eggs, toast, and porridge for brekkie (one of the more luxurious breakfasts we had on camp). Once we had finished our feast we filled up the water tank, and we split into two groups. One group stayed up with Mr Zani to check the traps, and the other walked down to where the track meets the creek for dam building. The trapping group found one dead possum and an almost completely decomposed rat. The trapping project showed signs that predator free 2050 may happen. The other group down at the creek had about an hour of fun building dams to split the water flow and making crossing that stream so much easier. The two groups met up for lunch and then switched places for the afternoon. Dinner came round and bangers and mash was the meal. We enjoyed another night playing games.
Friday was our earliest start at the lodge, with all groups waking up at 7am. We ate the rest of the breakfast ingredients in the cool store before cleaning up the lodge. Our cabins had to pass a thorough inspection from Mr Zani before we could start walking back to the Aspinall’s homestay. On the drive home, everyone was relatively quiet and tired due to the fun-filled, action packed days we had just completed. It is safe to say that all students in 10Y had great fun at camp, and all enjoyed different parts of the experience.
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