10G Mt Aspiring camp

By Richard Roe | Posted: Wednesday March 27, 2024

The men from 10G moved their place of learning to the wilderness of Mt Aspiring National Park last week as they participated in their Year 10 school camp.

Boosted by a favourable weather forecast and the most capable group of Year 13 helpers imaginable, everything was pointing towards a great experience.

Day 1 was all about carting in supplies, checking out the local area, and becoming accustomed to the freedom of life without a phone.

Team building activities were the main focus on Day 2, with rounds of frisbee golf, swimming at Wishbone Falls and the opportunity to fish for trout filling in the afternoon.

On Day 3, we spent the morning learning how to pitch and care for tents, use Trangia cookers, and pack essentials for our overnight campout. In the afternoon, after a 2 hour hike, the boys were able to set up camp at a picturesque site near Glacier Burn, and put their new skills into practice. Some groups coped better than others, but all have learned some valuable life skills through the experience.

It was a chilly start on Day 4, not quite a frost, but enough to keep the campers under their canvas until the sun broached the hill just after 9am. A leisurely breakfast was followed by some river crossing instruction, and a tour of the nearby sights. Returning to the Lodge in the afternoon, there were some rather tired lads much more appreciative of a comfortable mattress and someone else to prepare the evening meal for them.

The class were split into 3 groups and rotated through 3 activities on our final full day. The main activity was kayaking, with students learning basic moving water paddling skills before setting a time for other groups to challenge in the kayak relay race. After a swim, shower, and some free time, they moved on to an orienteering event called rogaining, basically a treasure hunt where the group found as many controls as possible in the allotted time. Mr Dadley’s stew was the highlight of the evening, after which we trekked up to visit the glowworms in the gorge behind the Lodge.

Our last day was an early start to clean up the Lodge and walk out to meet the bus at Aspinall’s Mt Aspiring station. It was a bus load of tired campers who returned to civilisation on Friday evening, but hopefully with some new skills and revelations from the experience.

Special thanks to the Year 13’s (Hugo, Finn, Fergus, Brady and Harry) plus the fantastic staff team which combined to make a very successful camp.