On Thursday the 13th of March Raukawa kaupeka went to Quail Island. The weather was perfect and we had a really great time.

It was an early start. We had to be at school by 7:45 so that we could get on the bus by 8:00. It was around a 40 minute bus ride into Lyttelton. When we arrived we had to walk a little bit further to get to the harbour where we waited for the ferry. We only had to wait ten minutes for the ferry to arrive. The first ferry to get to the harbour was the small boat. Then the big boat arrived. 

There was a lot of space on the big boat. On the inside there were tables and a bar area but the bar was closed. You could go out onto the front and back deck of the boat but the most popular part was the top deck. You could see everything for miles from there. It was an amazing view. The ferry ride was only about fifteen to twenty minutes long but it felt like it was only five. Much to our disappointment we didn't see any dolphins on the way there. When we got to Quail Island we started walking. It wasn't a particularly long walk because we stopped for morning tea about five minutes later and then another five minutes after walking we stopped because some people wanted to go and see the pou. 

Finally we were starting to walk around the whole island. We got to see really cool things like a dog kennel, lots of old huts, a hut from a leprosy colony, and a some huts from this guy who went to Antarctica. We even saw a grave of the only person in the leprosy colony that died on the island.

I think the coolest thing we saw was the shipwreck. I learnt that they were actually left there on purpose. A little way past the shipwreck was the swimmers’ beach, the place where we were having lunch. For the first 15 minutes we sat and ate lunch there and then we had an hour and a half to do whatever we wanted. 

We weren't allowed to swim (I know, right? Swimmers’ beach it’s literally in the name!) Why couldn't we swim there? Because the water was not rated good for swimming right now. However, lots of people were hunting for crabs and they were successful since the crabs were not hard to find. Some kids even found parts of a shark. Hunting crabs isn't everything kids were doing. Some were playing cricket, some were playing football, some were reading and some were just talking. The hour and a half flew by!

Before we knew it we had to start walking, lucky for us the walk wasn't much further. It was only a 15 to 20 minute walk back to the harbour. This time the big boat arrived first and we all hopped on, hoping to beat the smaller boat back to Lyttelton. 

On the way back we didn't see any dolphins, but we did see this really cool patch of water that was a lighter colour than the rest of the ocean. It had little things that looked like flower petals floating in it. 

Just when we thought we were going to beat the little boat back it snuck up behind us and beat us back to land but that's okay.

The bus ride back was a lot quieter on the way back. I think everyone was really tired! We got back to school just in time to hear the bell ring and everyone was very excited to go home. We just got our stuff and left.  

Overall I think Quail Island was a great experience and everyone loved it. If you're looking for an adventure, Quail Island is one you won't want to miss!

Sydney, Room 2