Written by Addison & Kiera

With backpacks, sleeping bags and pillows, Amoka Kaupeka met in the hall on the 27th of March ready for our camp at Waipara Adventure Centre. Everyone had been stirring up with excitement, counting down the days until we left on the buses.

Our first activity was the riverwalk. When we got to the river we had the safety briefing and moved into groups of three. We splashed through the river led by our fantastic Waipara guides. Once we had crossed the river once, we went through it again and again, because it had as many turns and curves as a slithering snake. Next, we trudged through the bushes which personally was quite fun dodging all the different plants.

Finally, we arrived at the Waipara Adventure Centre. It was so cool you could already see some of the activities set up. We headed off to find our bunkrooms and set up our gear. Then we headed over to our assembly area to discuss our first activity.

A fun highlight for many was playing Gaga Dodgeball, as we all cheered on the people still in the game. It was so much fun that even the teachers joined in for a challenge. On camp there were so many fun activities to take part in; abseiling, archery, orienteering, kayaking, shelter building, faulty towers, slippery slide and raft building.

Our first day at camp was brilliant sunshine and we made the most of the sun. However, days 2 and 3 were really rainy and cold. It felt like winter had arrived. However, we were organised for wet weather and packed our jackets and beanies. Our instructors kept telling us how positive we were as we completed the activities in the rain!

When students achieved things beyond the regular standard or they took the role of a leader without being asked to, they received pegs as a reward. Students with a high number of pegs would earn a shoutout and a Freddo Frog.

A special thanks to the teachers who organised our camp and our parents who came out to Waipara to help us with all the activities.

We had a fantastic time at camp and have so many memories of our time at Waipara.