Everyone enjoyed the opportunities provided by the Year 9 Camp held in Glenorchy for the school week of 24th February 2020

In the early hours of the morning of the 24th of February we set off to Camp Glenorchy, we drove from East Otago High School to Arrowtown to get some lunch then we did the roll to see if everyone was there then got into the vans and kept driving. Eventually we arrived at Queenstown and drove through the big town and we were near the camp. We then stopped at a small beach at the lake to wait for the others to catch up. Finally the others caught up with us then we continued to drive to the camp. Everyone was getting excited to leave the van to breathe in fresh air and stretch out our legs. We kept on driving and in the distance there was the lodge. We finally made it to our final destination.

The first activity we did was walk up the hill behind the lodge. It was a very hot sunny day but we still went up to get some sun on our skin. The walk was a very nice one but it was tough for others but at the end everyone made it up. Our second activity was abseiling which was scary for some people and very fun for others. The track going up the cliff was very challenging because it was slippery in some places and you had to climb up the cliff, other than that it was cool. Our third wasn’t an activity, it was just to cool us off from the hot sun. We got our wetsuits on and got into the vans and drove to the wharf near the lodge. Everyone ran towards the wharf and jumped off into the water. The water was bitterly cold but refreshing. We swam around a bit then went over to meet an amazing adventurer called Dave. He introduced himself and we got into our activity which was kayaking that was also fun.

The next morning we packed our bags and packed up our tents and drove to a farm that was one hour away from the lodge. We arrived at the farm beside the lake and put up our tents to camp overnight. It was getting dark so the teachers and parents got everyone together to show them how to cook dinner with gas burners. The food wasn’t so pleasant but it was still food so we had to eat it. After dinner everyone was feeling tired so we went to sleep in our tents.

Our next thing was the hike. The hike was very difficult for some people but simple for others. We started walking and then it started raining we stopped at the lake and had some bikkies and some fruit and we continued walking, it then started to pour down so we hurried to get to the tall trees to give us shelter. We then stopped again for some lunch which was delicious and started walking again after the hike everyone was proud of themselves for walking for 5-6 hours.

We got back to the lodge and had our dinner then prepared for our fun, little skits. The skits were very funny to watch. Everyone had a good laugh and enjoyed themselves and after the skits we got ready for bed and went to sleep and on the last day we packed up and tidied up the lodge and got into the vans then said goodbye to Glenorchy and drove back to school.

By Jenifer Nimmo (Year 9)