Various recollections from Year 7 Camp Iona and Year 8 Camp 2024

The Coolest Camp

Tuesday

I woke up to the sound of birds singing happily. It was nice to sleep in. I decided to get dressed and went to brush my teeth. After that I went to have breakfast. Stumbling, I went to play netball for about 10 minutes then I went to play corn hole with Abigail, Orepa, and Olivia, at one point I completely missed the cornhole and hit my friend in the tummy. Orepa and I won but it was a fair game. I liked that I could catch up with my friends during activity week. My favourite activity was the water slide and archery. Monday and Thursday were the hottest days. At 1:30 we did the creek activity. For this we collected heaps of different leaves and stood in a sunflower shape, next we did the tug of war. Girls won, of course. At 4 o-clock we did the water slide for about 40 minutes. It was fun. Finally we went to have a shower and went to have dinner and go to bed. The day was so fun.

Wednesday

We woke up to the sound of quiet, yay! It didn't stay quiet for long once we were awake. From beside me I heard Abigail whisper, "I wonder what's for breakfast?"

I said,'' I think it's just toast and cereal.”

Orepa came and jumped on my and Abigail's bed. That woke me up. We went on the trampoline and did some flips. I taught Abigail how to do one. It was so good that we jogged to go have a shower. It was nicer than the Gunn’s Bush. The Gunn's Bush yard was still better than the Top Ten because the yard was so much bigger. My favourite activity on Wednesday was the aquatic centre, corn hole, the walk though the Oamaru gardens, and the talent show. After that we walked back from the garden and went back for dinner. We had nachos. It felt so good to eat, as I was super hungry after our action packed day. I loved the nachos. They were warm and then we went to have a shower. We had a lot of showers because we got wet and dirty often. They were really hot. Then we went to settle in the rooms. Abigail and I were in the room with two single beds. Orepa, Jayda and Olivia were in the room with a single and a bunk. We had a kitchen. I wish we had a bathroom or just a single toilet, even just so we didn't have to keep going to have to walk all that way to the bathroom. The day was so fun, I loved how I got to hang out with Abigail and Orepa. It was cool to play on the trampoline. After playing on the trampoline we played soccer, then we had some baking and apples. Abigail got a chocolate chip cookie. She loves them.

”Yummy," she said. After that we stumbled back to our bunk rooms then we played on the bouncy mat and on the trampoline before we went to sleep.

The next day

We woke up, brushed our teeth and had a shower. It was so cold it felt like Antarctica. Abigail looked at me and was like "you look cold” and I said, “ I am.”

Abigail and I had to share a shower because there were only four. Then we got dressed and went to the Totara Estate. When we had dinner it was pizza. At 8:00pm we went to the penguins. It got too cold so we went back to camp where we played “123 home”. That was fun. Abigail and I never got out. I don't know about Orepa. We were hiding by the campfire. They didn't even find us. It was so funny when Ryan was in, same with Sam. They kept jumping in the bush. Sam was so fast at finding people- but not me. Ameliah switched tops with Jayda, it was funny and entertaining. Then we went to get ready for bed and we went to sleep.

I thought there was a lot of drama at camp and it was a really fun experience.

by Ava Todd

A Fun Day at McKerrow’s Pond

On Tuesday the second day of camp we drove to McKerrow's pond. When we got there we had to help Julie unpack all the food for the cookout. We got together with our groups then we set up all the gear like the mini BBQ. I went to get all the patties for all of us but when I was walking back to the BBQ I dropped one of the patties. We all had a go cooking the patties then we had to cook the patty that I dropped. I cooked it. Then we made the burger.

I tried to make Mum's burger as beautiful as possible because we were cooking for her. We put all the ingredients in the burger like the tomatoes, coleslaw, patties and cheese next we put the top bun on and it was upside down. It was a shocking tragedy. We had to make her burger amazing. So we tried to flip it without ruining it and we did it.

I started making my burger. I put in tomatoes, coleslaw, patties and sauce. Hoping that I hadn't burnt the pattie I took the first bite and I felt these hard rock like bits in my burger. But guess what? There were rocks in my burger from when I dropped it. Luckily we didn't put that patty in Mum's burger. But I still enjoyed listening to the music that Mr Cummings was playing.

After we made our burgers we started to make the twisties. We had a choice: we could make one big pancake thing, or we could make small ones so we chose the small ones. We started to cook them. Some of them got a little burnt but that was okay. When they were ready I just wanted to dig in and eat them but we had to wait for them to cool down. It was time to eat them. I put way too much jam on mine, I could barely taste the twisties. All I could taste was jam but it was still good.

When we finished we just wanted to jump into the water. But no, we had to clean up our mess. When we were tidying up someone's bread bag blew away into the water and Mr Cummings went to get it. Then it blew under the tree so he just waited.

I got into my togs and went straight to the water that we had been cooking beside but it was really cold so it took a few attempts to get in the water, but Paige pushed me in, it was so cold, I thought that I had hypothermia. I got in and put my head under. I swam to the rock and jumped. It was so fun we did it over and over again. When Glenn got in he did lots of dives. After a while it got way warmer. A few minutes after that the bread bag came out from under the tree. Mr Cummings then went and grabbed it.

Afterwards we had to get out and get dry because we had to go kayaking and sailing.

Camp was really fun. I enjoyed it so much I would definitely go back there.

The End

By Frankie

Thursday

I woke up to the sound of giggling. Neave and Sienna were in my room, weird. Apparently Ava had told them to wake her up in the morning. Right now I'm on a camp with all the other year eights in my school. Today we're staying at Oamaru Top Ten Holiday Park. I'm in a room with my friends Ava, Orepa, Olivia and Jayda. In our room there are three rooms, the first room you walk into in a lounge with a mini kitchen, it has a table, a couch and a mini kitchen (but our teacher said we couldn't use any of the kitchen stuff). The other two rooms are bedrooms, one with a bunk bed and a single bed where Olivia, Orepa and Jayda sleep. The other bedroom has two single beds where Ava and I sleep.

"Today we are doing a lot of things," Sir said. " The first thing we're doing today is to go to Totara Estate right after breakfast."

After breakfast we went into the school vans and parents' cars. I was in my dad's car. After a few minutes in the car we finally arrived at the place. When I stepped out of the car I saw a farm with old buildings and people dressed like they were in the 1940's. We had to sit down in front of them while the people, who were dressed like they were in the 1940's (who run the place), gave a big talk about how these people a long time ago somehow shipped meat to England, or somewhere, without a freezer or a fridge. After that long, boring talk the people led us to one of the buildings.

Abigail Foote

Indy’s Amazing Story About Archery On Camp Iona

Wednesday 3rd of April

My group at Camp Iona did archery with Mr Cruice on Tuesday. He started explaining How to shoot the bow and all the safety rules. Shortly after we put on an arm guard to keep us safe. Then as soon as we knew it people started shooting and trying to get the target. We had three turns and then we would pass the bow to the person behind us. Each time a car drove past we had to stop so that the car wouldn't get damaged or the person wouldn't get hurt. It was really challenging but still fun. Then eventually someone hit the target! Everyone was super excited.

I wasn't that good but I really enjoyed learning new skills and having fun. I didn't really know much about archery or really how to shoot the bow. But then Mr Cruice taught me how to shoot and stand in the right position. Most of the time I would shoot over the board that the target was on. I started getting the hang of it after a while but it was still pretty challenging. When we all were done shooting Mr Cruice said, "Go get the arrows guys". We ran like dogs fetching for a ball.

We picked up the arrows and started shooting and we repeated that a few times. Chris Cooper also helped us do archery. My arrow kept slipping off my bow and it was kind of annoying but It wasn't that bad. Others were helping each other and that was really good. Others were also cheering people on and supporting them even if they weren't that good at it. I learnt that you go through hard to get to easy because first archery was hard and then it got easy. The string on the bow that we pulled to launch the arrow onto the target was very tough and painful to pull back and it made marks on my hand but my hand was okay. It was a very fun experience doing archery.

My favourite thing while doing archery was watching others doing it and working as a team with each other. Each time someone would hit the target or get closer to the target we all would try to get higher than the person that hit the board. At first I was a bit nervous and I didn't think I would be able to do archery with my injured arm but then I figured out that it was actually really fun. It was very enjoyable. One time I even nearly got it onto the road. The road wasn't that busy so only about three cars drove past so that meant that we didn't have to stop that many times. I think my whole group had a very fun experience and a very good time doing archery.

When the time was up for doing archery Mr Cruice made us write the names of the different parts on our bow and our different protection gear that we wore. We all followed those rules and respected Mr Cruice and his rules. It was a little bit challenging but still fun. Carley and Ruby O hit the target a few times. I was not far from hitting the target but then I missed. Camp Iona was a very fun experience and I hope to go to another camp like Camp Iona in the future. I hope that you've enjoyed my Camp Iona report.

By Indy

Our Adventure at Graves Dam

Ever wondered what it's like at Graves Dam? Thinking about going? Well you're in luck because on the Year sevens weeklong bonding trip to Camp Iona we hiked approximately 45 minutes out to Graves Dam. By the end of this report all your questions about Graves Dam will be answered.

The teachers told us it was time to go bundle up our stuff for the hike to Graves Dam so we all scurried away to go pack. Once I had gathered all my gear I headed back to my group's line so I would get there earlier, lots of people had the same idea. While we waited for the last few stranglers to get ready, we played around with the sports equipment. Once everyone had finished packing the teachers rang the bell which meant it was time to line up. Everyone rushed to be the first team lined up. Once everyone had lined up and stopped talking, the teachers said "it was time to head off" so Mr Cummings led the way and we went on our way to Graves Dam.

I found the walk to Graves Dam extremely steep. We walked up and down hills for what felt like forever! As we walked I realised that we were going to have to walk back as well! We eventually came to a river, we all sighed in relief we thought we had made it! But when the teachers told us to keep moving we all realised that we had to keep walking and all of us groaned. Everyone took their shoes and socks off to cross the river even though it was only ankle deep. Once we were all safely over the other side of the river we looked up and saw there was a massive hill. I struggled to get up but we still trudged up puffing the whole way. It wasn't long to go after that and then we finally turned onto the last road. It was called Breakneck Road and Ruby, Carley, and I hoped nobody would get injured. Exhausted, I sighed with relief as we had Graves Dam in our sights, "Finally, we're here" I exclaimed to Carley and Ruby.

When we arrived everyone was jumping in the water, squealing, and having a great time. Ella and I made our way down the track to get to the water. Cautiously Ella and I dipped our toes in. We quickly took them out; it was freezing! Slowly, we made our way into the bitterly cold river. Indy - who was a bit apprehensive about the cold water - had to be persuaded to get in. We swam around for a bit even though it was freezing. After a while everyone had started to get out, so I decided to jump in with Ella. We stood on top of the rock and looked nervously at each other. Neither of us wanted to jump, especially when we knew how cold the water was. Cautiously, we hesitated for a while and then eventually jumped and came splashing down in unison. As our heads emerged from the water Ella turned to me and said, "That wasn't nearly as bad as I thought".

Then the teachers called us back; they told us it was time to grab our gear and head off. We clambered up the rockface and packed up. We set off back to Camp Iona because we had to pack our bags for the campout that night. We made our way back up the track. Our legs were aching badly but still we kept walking so Ms McLachlan didn't step on our heels! An elderly man on his motorbike let us pat his dog. Everyone crowded round and the dog lapped up the attention. Eventually we let them go because otherwise we would never make it back to camp. After our encounter with the dog, I realised I was really thirsty. I searched my bag and saw that my drink bottle was empty. I groaned, I needed water. We walked beside a line of towering trees; I looked up and felt short. We walked round the corner and spotted the camp sign we all sighed in relief, we had finally made it. As I walked into camp my legs were aching more than ever. I glanced at my watch. It took us 45 minutes to walk back! Now I knew why my legs were in so much pain.

I really enjoyed swimming at Graves Dam. The water was refreshing but it was also chilly. I didn't enjoy the walk as much. I found it very exhausting. So if you were going I would take a car because I was worn out after that walk. But if you are super into walking up and down hills for 45 minutes then I would definitely recommend the walk.

By Liv 

Adventure Camp

It was Tuesday and we were at Gunns Bush. I woke up at 6:30am. I went and had a shower and then had breakfast. Breakfast was really, really good. We had cereal and toast. Our first activity for the day was a bush walk, it was a thirty minute walk to a stage in the middle of nowhere. This stage is used for celebrations so we had a group photo on the stage. Afterwards we walked back to the hall, where the parents and teachers prepped lunch. While they prepped we played cornhole and long ball; finally it was lunch! We had yummy sandwiches for lunch. I had ham, tomato, cheese and chicken.

Eight people went to the creek exploring. We were looking for yabbies in the stream. We looked for about three hundred metres down, but we didn't find anything in the creek apart from rocks. The creek was about fifty metres away from the campsite. When we got back we played more cornhole and long ball for forty minutes. We played tug of war, first it was Michael and me against some of the girls. I think it was Neave, Sienna and Addison. It was hard to keep our grip on the dead grass we were playing. Michael and I had an idea to move onto the greener grass to make it less painful. We would have played about twenty to thirty games. Then we played some games for 1 hour until we had afternoon tea. It was fruit and a bit of baking.

After that we had the waterslide. When we went on the water slide. The adults there were Mr Walker, Miss Downes, Stewart and Rachel. There was a big black tarp that was on the grass on a little hill behind the cabins. It was cold and wet.The slide was fun and long. Straight after I went and had a hot shower. Now we had phone time and bunk time to do whatever we wanted to do like play some games, draw or play on our phones. Lots of people played on the grass outside the girls' banks and in front of the hall.

For tea we had nachos. They were good. After that we got to play board games, then we had diary writing that was about the day, what we enjoyed, what we learnt about, grateful for and what we were proud of. Then we had duties and after that we played go home stay home. We played three games of five minutes each where Ryan, Shaden and Sienna were in. Then we had marshmallows and a bit of baking.

On Thursday

We were at a new place. We were at the Oamaru Top 10. We had to wake up, shower and had breakfast. It was toast and cereal. We went to the Totara Estate. It was an old farm that helped start the freezing works. We walked around the old buildings. We saw the stables, woolshed, killing houses and the homestead. They were made out of limestone and grass. They were cool because of the character.

After that we visited steampunk. We got a photo by the old train outside the buildings. We got some glasses to make us look like inventors. We didn't get to keep them though. Then we got in, we got to go and look at all the first part of the place. There were mad dentists chairs and mechanical levers as well. In the second part of the place there was a mirror room that made it look like it was massive but it was only about three by two metres. Past that we went through a narrow hallway. The rest was outside where there were old trucks, a train and a boom that had a simulator in it. We were there for about one hour. We went back to the Top Ten. We had some quiet time. We had tea and went to bed. It was boring some of the time at our camp but there were some things I liked too.

THE END.

By Sam.

The Fun Rifle Shooting

On Tuesday morning we went to the rifle shooting. When we got there we did the safety rules and we wrote them down. Then four people got picked and they were Indigo, Kane, Liv and I was one of them too. We put the paper targets up and then we went back and got ten pellets. We put the pellet in the barrels and then we shot, then we did another shoot and I hit the paper target. After that we cocked the barrel, we put another pellet in and we shot again. I missed this time. We shot again, we had eight pellets.

Then four more people got picked and they were Emily, Aria, Paige and Autumn. They got ten pellets and they shot. They hit and they missed. Then they got another pellet and did the rest of the pellets. It was just Liam to go. Liam got ten pellets and he shot the pellets.

Then we got another go so then we shot again and I missed and then I shot again and I hit. I have shot before. I have shot a 22, a 410, a 20 gauge, 12 gauge and a 223. I have shot rabbits, possums, magpies, ducks and goats.

After we had all shot the ten pellets each we picked up the gun and the pellets and put them in the boxes. We had all had hits and misses.

When we had done that we went to have dinner and then we went to the cabins. We talked for a while, and then we got a lolly before we went to sleep.

On Friday we went to the rifle shooting again for the Top Team competition. We got to shoot again.The first group of four shooters were Kane, Liam, Autumn and me. We shot ten pellets. We put the pellets in the barrels and then we shot, and then we did it again, and we hit the targets.

I thought rifle shooting was fun and I was good at it because I had shot before.

by James 

The Dangerous Gorge Adventure

We saw the second group racing up the steep hill coming from the gorge adventure so I rounded up everyone as fast as I could then ran down the dangerously steep hill. I saw the instructor and the other parents helping.

Next I put on a belt and a helmet then waited for my mum!!! It was unexpected that my mum was helping so I let her tighten my belt while listening to the instructor telling us all the facts about the gorge adventure we were about to do. First he said that we were doing three things. First was a zipline over awfully cold water. Second was rock climbing on horrifying slippery rocks then third abseiling on a twenty two foot high rock which was terrifying.

Then we walked over through the forest. It looked like a jungle. We sat on a giant rock and what they said next was terrified, tight roping!! Just joking, that's what we thought but no way we're just kids they were joking, we were actually swinging from a rope, under us was water, really cold water. It was horrifying to start with but I got used to it so I powered on.

Next we started cheering for Izzy because she doesn't like awfully big heights so we cheered as hard as we could. "Go Izzy, Go Izzy, Go Izzy” we yelled from a distance away. We tried so hard to make her overcome her fear but sadly she couldn't.

Everyone else was all okay though I slipped going up a big rock and hurt my foot it was okay because it was part of the fun so I powered up the rock. I safely made it to the abseiling I could hear the terrifying sounds from the person in front of me. The one who took the dangerous turn on going first but mysteriously she started saying good things like "Hey this isn't that bad, this is fun, I feel like a bird, can we do this twice" Maybe I wouldn't die in this extreme sport that we were trying out.

It was my turn. My brain at that moment was thinking of ways to get out of this scary adventure I was stuck in. I looked back where I saw my mum. I remember my mum, she does crazy things in her race like this she just tries even if she thinks it is crazy dangerous then it's a new sport she's tried so if I do it I will follow my mum's steps and I can brag about my amazing experience.

So I just followed the instructors instruction’s and leaned back and remembered that I can do this and powered through. It was amazing. I had a great experience. The day was perfect with no wind, no rain, the sun was beaming and no clouds were out. I felt like I was floating with the birds around me until something devastating happened. I touched the ground "No it's over", I said with a sad face. "Sophie there is more," Hope, my friend, said. My face lit up with joy. There's more. It may not be as cool and existing as abseiling but there's more. Next was some ziplining again "luckily", I said to myself quietly. I had to unclip my belt.

Thankfully my friend Hope was there to guide me through it so I could show the next person that came down the twenty two foot rock!!!. I could see the next person coming. I was trying to recognise how it was then it clicked. Holly I could hear her nervousness. I said "Just pretend that you're a bird and lean back and relax and don't forget don't look down", but she looked down and said "Wow it's really high". I said "Just go for it, you're brave, you can do it".

So she leaned back and went for it. I was so excited she was brave enough to do it.

Her feet touched the ground so then we powered through the last zipline and went through the forest. On the way back we were talking about how amazing the adventure was and before we knew it we were at the end. We said thank yous and goodbyes and headed back to camp.

By: Sophie

The Tiring Camp Iona Confidence Course

We were getting closer to the first course in the confidence course. I had listened to my sister's stories when we were in the car travelling to the school. When we got to the confidence course. It was a huge slide but I had realised my sister exaggerated the stories. I thought in my head, "This doesn't seem to be too tough." So after the slide, we had some balance beams. It was easy to get through the balance beams and stepping stones in my opinion.

The next part was a wooden bridge. I was a bit scared at first because if I fell it would hurt quite a lot but there was a rope. But simply, I decided just to put my hands right next to the rope just in case I did fall over so I'd have something to hold on to. Directly after the bridge there was a steep pole slide. I had to work up some courage, but I did slide down it eventually. When I had gotten past the pole slide, I realised the next part was probably the easiest part of the entire course. It was a ladder straight down for about a metre. I climbed down it and got to the very next part of the confidence course.

I was panic-struck, there were two wooden bridges that spanned about two metres across and likely had a walk space of one foot wide. I needed to build up so much courage and in the end I still didn't walk across it. I just crawled along it and that was that. But then I realised, the hardest part was to go all the way back up the confidence course, because it was an extremely steep hill. Running up the hill, I was so close to the end of the course. I was getting tired of running, fortunately half way up there was a rope I could hold onto to help me go up and restart the entire confidence course.

When I got to the slide again, I decided to slide a different way. I was going head first, as usual, I realised I still got stuck about halfway down the slide. I had to force myself down the slide, then I realised that I was on the easiest part of the course. So I got the balance beam and stepping stones done. When I got onto the bridge, I went with no hands, no support, just walked straight across. At that time I was quite sweaty from the steep hill, and the other courses. So when I got to the pole slide and slid down it, I was surprised because I got stuck half way down. It hurt so much trying to get down, but I eventually did and I got down to the ladder and climbed down it.

Then came the scariest part. I finally mustered up enough courage to WALK across the two wooden beams, but it was a slow go because I did not want to trip over. I was happy with myself because I did it, but I walked up the hill with my legs in pain from the pole slide. Though I thought, "The course is almost done." The hill always made my legs even more sore and at the top of the confidence course, my legs felt like jelly. So I sat down for about thirty seconds and did the course over and over until we had to go back up to our cabins.

Overall I thought the confidence course was really fun, and I really want to do it again one day with my family and friends, or even cousins. Now wouldn’t that be a wonderful trip for the holidays to do with your family?

By Nathan

Year 8 Camp

On Monday we left the school going to Gunns Bush, during the trip I fell asleep because I had my pillow so I don't know what happened. When we got there we had a talk about rules, then unpacked and chose our bunk rooms. After that we had lunch, we played corn hole, pole rings and did some archery. Next, we had afternoon tea and went on the water slide which was fun. After that we took a shower and we just sat on our phones' till bedtime.

On Tuesday we woke up and took a shower before we had breakfast and prepared for the bush walk, which was long and boring. When we got back we had morning tea then went on another walk which was like an hour and a half long, it felt like forever. After lunch some of us went on a creek walk and found nothing. After that we played tug of war and Datt and I destroyed Mr Walker. After that just chilled on our phones or played with the balls. We had afternoon tea and went on the water slide, had showers and then played go home stay home and did diary writing before we went to bed.

On Wednesday we woke up and had breakfast before heading to the Top 10. I also slept most of the way there (cause of my quite comfy pillow). When we got there we unpacked, ate our lunch, played on the trampoline and the bouncy air bubble thingy, after that we went to the Aquatic centre. When we got there I was annoyed at myself for forgetting my goggles so I had to stay on the surface of the water. After that we had afternoon tea. After that we practised for the talent show, next had dinner before we walked over to the Oamaru Gardens for the talent show. Sam, Sonny and I won. After that we all headed back to the Top 10 for supper and bed.

On Thursday we woke up and had breakfast before going to Totara Estate. I forgot to get dressed so I was in my pyjamas the whole time. I went back to get dressed. Next we went to Clarks Mill and we got a massive tour of the place and they even turned it on, which was cool. We also had morning tea there before leaving to have lunch. After lunch we went to Steam Punk. We were given some cool goggles and we took a photo on the massive train out front. We thought we could keep them but when we left we had to give them back. When we got back everyone just played some games while we waited for dinner(pizza!). After dinner we went to the penguin colony which was quite fun, then we went back to camp for ice cream. I got extra because it was my birthday🎉. We went to bed after that.

On Friday morning we got up and got dressed before packing up our stuff for the journey back to school. Before we left we had the prize giving. My group won the talent show so we got chocolate. We left at around nine thirty in the morning. Mr Walker got us lemonade popsicles at a petrol station but I slept most of the trip. I was woken up when we got back to school so I asked Mr Walker to call my mum to pick me up.

So in the end I had a great time and a lot of fun. It was a great experience and I made a lot of new memories and got to know other people more clearly.

The End

By Ryan Fallow