Karekare mini school visited Goat Island as part of our EOTC programme. This programme allowed students to gain many outdoor skills. See below for a recount of the day, Thanks Jaime from Room 3!

Jamie Ross Room 3

Going to Goat Island was really exciting. On the way, everyone on the bus was yelling over and over again, "How long until we get there"?

I was super excited. When we got there we got into pairs and sat behind a bucket. In the bucket were two pairs of snorkeling masks, one for you and your buddy. To make sure your mask fitted your face you needed to place it on your face, and breathe in through your nose sucking up all the air. Once you had your mask fitted you needed to get a pair of fins for your feet. Then going into a corridor full of wetsuits you had to find one that fitted you, then go downstairs and try it on. It took a few goes for some people but in the end, we were all ready to go.

Once we got to Goat Island reserve, we sat down with our buckets and had a brief description of all the things we might find in the water. Before we could get into the water we had to trek through a little lake, lots of debris lay in the way. We sat down to put on our fins, walked backward into the water, and then treaded water while we waited for everyone to enter. We went round looking for lots of fish. There were a lot of snapper swimming in the water and then disappearing in the seaweed down below. Some people saw stingrays, they have broad fins that run the full length of their bodies making them a roundish shape. After a while, we started to swim back in. We floated for a couple of minutes while we waited for everyone to catch up.

It had been a long day and all I wanted to do was flop on the couch and fall asleep. Once we reached the top of the hill, we took off our gear and put them in buckets. Going back to school a few people fell asleep. I had lots of fun.