High ropes, low ropes, rock climbing, tramping, all of these and more up the mountain in the fresh alpine air. On Oct 5 Miller and Charlotte started the five day long year ten leadership camp at Boyle River. The second and third days were the most difficult, mainly because of the tramp. A two day walk up into a valley as the rain was bucketing down. Once the tents were put up it got more bearable because the rain was no longer directly overhead. Some of the students, from Christchurch, were still struggling, refusing to eat the packet meals , but the West Coasters didn't really care because it was food and they were hungry after a long walk.

Charlotte and Miller had to work with and trust new people that they didn’t know to complete challenges. On the first day they had to work together in their team to cross a pond without getting wet. Miller and Charlotte would have to come up with solutions to problems that arose during the challenges. They had to have confidence to point out if something was wrong when they were using harnesses to keep everyone safe. People would have to volunteer to do important tasks like lead river crossings.

The Boyle river trip isn’t for the faint of heart, it’s not easy, especially if you are scared of heights like Miller! Most of the time it was high up stuff. Like high ropes and abseiling. These activities made Charlotte push herself out of her comfort zone by putting her trust in people she barely knew, especially when going up rather high. The scariest activity was called the giant ladder. She had to climb up small beams connected by wires that increased in distance apart with two others. It would swing around and she was about 30 meters high at the top. She had people to help her and she had to trust them and herself to complete the task.

Miller, who finds it difficult to trust people he hasn’t known for long, had to push himself really hard to participate, preferred supporting others and enjoyed rock climbing the most. The hardest part for Miller was the biting cold. If you plan on attending this camp, above all else, you need to be prepared for cold weather, do not underestimate the alps. Your city clothes just won’t cut it!

Overall Miller and Charlotte are glad they went on the camp, even though they were a little nervous and not sure who would be there before they left. Despite the nerves, it was an awesome experience, so they didn't need to worry about what team they’d end up in as every single Year 10 student on the trip was an amazing person. The real challenge was finally trusting the people that were around them, not just their team. In the end it was great to make some new friends from outside the Coast.

A big thanks to Greymouth Rotary for building such an amazing team, and funding Charlotte and Miller to attend the camp. They learned a lot about how people respond in different ways when challenged. Thank you for getting them to Boyle River so they could learn some new skills and have some fun.