Room 13 camp at Weka Point

As the pile in the centre of our class just grew and grew, it was becoming increasingly hard to believe the amount of food and luggage we were taking for the three days!  Miss Pitt took a roll call, organised the transport groups and the children piled into the cars, ready for departure to Pandora to begin the first set of activities.  For some, this was fun-yaking in the inner harbour in 
3-person inflatables.  One of the most popular activities, fun-yaking usually results in a 'soggy bottom'. 


For others, it was a 4.5km rogaine around the Pandora Pond estuary or abseiling at Sturm's Gully on Bluff Hill.  Serah led the way over the 15m drop, and Ben demonstrated that it's all about the way you hold your tongue. 
We travelled out to Weka Point Camp, at Rissington, ready to set up the tents and have some much-needed dinner.  

By now the drizzle was constant and pitching tents resulted in some wet interiors, as well as some      interesting leans as loose guy ropes became the order of the day. 



Oh well, time for some food!

As it was, nearly everyone decided to sleep in the main shelter to avoid a long wet first night. Instead, what we managed was a long noisy night!

Day two continued with Kiwi Adventure providing the water safety, rafting and ArcherySoft activities for two groups, and the other group had the flying fox and waterslide rotations.  

Girls, I think you need water

All of the activities were a hit with the kids.  There was even time for an archery battle among the parents- not sure who won!  

Some learned the hard way you should keep your mouth closed when entering muddy water.

 Although everyone had a chance to ride the waterslide, not all did. 

Understandable- it was fast and steep, although Bruno managed to keep his hat on, taking 'sun sense' to a whole new level.

The flying fox was a favourite. About 100m long, it ran from the top of the waterslide, through the trees than across flat land.  The fastest ride was just under 16 seconds, and a competition ensued to better this.

As the activities came to an end, thoughts turned to the nights meal.  Pupils had spent time in class organising recipes and ingredients for a mince-based meal.  This was to be cooked by them over a gas cooker, so anything under- or overcooked would be their problem.  No blaming the adult chefs tonight!

A safety briefing was listened to before the chopping boards came out and the organising began.  Must admit, some of the meals looked delicious and were obviously enjoyed by all of the groups.

The duty groups had a monstrous ordeal cleaning all the pots and dishes, and a few grumbles could be heard.  Time to set up the Burma trail.

After all the dishes were done and it was suitably dark, the children were led back to the bridge where the trail started.  There was a short walk in the dark (no torches allowed) from the queue to the rope. A lantern had been set up so the kids could find their way.  From this point on it was one hand on the rope and feel the track with your feet, or beware.  Parents were stationed along the track, some to help and others to scare!  Screams started almost from the first steps as they followed the track up, down and across the hill, between trees and over roots.  As all the camp lights were out the only light was from a beautiful star-lit sky.  After hot milos it was into the tents for a much-quieter night.

Wednesday, games were played as gear was ferried back to the top of the hill in the gondola, ready for departure.  As a final gesture of goodwill, considering all of the wood we had burned staying warm, everyone carried firewood back to the shed, ready for the next group.

Time for last photos, a goodbye to our camp follower 'Sweetpea', and it was up the track and back to school after a great few days at Weka Point.  

       

 A BIG THANKYOU to all the wonderful parents who made this camp possible.