The Year 10 Outdoor Education groups have completed a couple of activities this term. Firstly a cycle trip along the river trail to Hakatere at the coast. 16 students made this journey in pleasant warm conditions. We started the day with a short journey to the skills park so the troops could get their balance and show off their skill levels. Then off on the 27km trip to the coast. With a few breaks along the way the group arrived with no mishaps.

Time to set up camp and get organised followed by a little time to recover. The afternoon was filled with some game activities and a short exploration around the area. A warming fire at night on the beach and the cooking of a few smores topped of the day.

The second day started with organisation of gear and loading the van with the gear. The trip home was a lot slower as a few tired bodies and legs kicked in. When we returned there was a bit of gear sorting and cleaning to complete the camp.

This week the two classes are having their Bush Survival camps. Focus of this is to demonstrate a number of the survival skills for the outdoors including building and sleeping in an emergency shelter, lighting a fire from scratch, collecting fresh water, emergency first aid and a few other minor activities. Mr Carlson's group have completed their camp with a few minor incidents. The evening was made eventful by a nosy possum that was chased through one of the girls' shelters with resulting chaos. However, apart from an injury in the evening's spotlight game the students survived despite having had  arvery little sleep and returned to College the better for their experience.