On the 15th of March 2023, Kōwhai Kaupeka visited Quail Island. Mia, Room 5 recounts the day.

It was early in the morning when we travelled by bus to Lyttelton to catch the ferry to Quail Island. The waves were a little choppy and it was a bit hard to stand up without the railing or something to hold onto. Once we got to Quail Island we hiked up to a little house and had morning tea. Then the trek to the beach began. We walked for a long time going up and down hills. It was a bit tiring but very exciting. On the way to the beach, there were lots of little signs that would tell you about the history of Quail island. Did you know that there have been 4 major eruptions to form Quail Island and the surrounding area? The most recent one was about 6 million years ago.

On the hike, we also found out that one of the bays near Quail Island was an old ship disposal place. The people would strip the boat of its precious metals and leave the shell in the sea to rot away. One of the shipwrecks was really big and the others were small. When we finally got to the beach, we got to swim. The water was freezing! Most of us didn't care though. After lunch, we played cricket and touch rugby, searched for shells, and some girls even found some crabs!

On the boat ride back the waves were very big and we got splashed quite often. The front of the boat became a splash zone. The trip to Quail Island was lots of fun and a great hiking experience. Quail Island is a great place to go and I would love to go again. Thank you to all the parents that were able to help out on our trip.