We had a fantastic 3 days of fun, excitement and adventure at Orton Bradley last week. Here is what some of the students thought about it.

Burma Trail    I feel a rush of excitement coursing through my veins as one the teachers gently tie my blindfold onto my head. She softly pushes me towards the rope. I hear a clutter of people yelling out stuff like “is that you?”and “Ugh I walked into a tree “. Once I had a good grasp of the rope I started walking. Walking in the dark with a blindfold on, tripping over roots, walking into trees and bumping into other people is pretty exciting for some reason. At that time the only senses we had were hearing and touch . I walked slowly touching the solid but textured ground with my feet, holding the rope in one hand and the other hand reaching out towards me making sure I didn’t walk into anything. I reached out feeling the familiar texture of a tree. I start feeling it, checking how big it was and how many branches were poking out, making sure that I didn't walk into it. I did that a couple of times around but fail a few. Finally I finished this obstacle course gently taking off the blindfold and passing it to the teacher. People start talking about how fun it was experiencing it.   Ebony

Abseiling     I was standing on the edge of the rock clinging on to the rope when Peter told me to lean back. I was scared to do it but the longer you wait the scarier it is, so I took a deep breath of cold air. It smelt fresh and I leant back slowly moving one foot under the other.

The rock was vertical and hard. I felt my feet push against it. I wasn't pushing hard, most of my weight was in my harness. I looked down and saw people waiting for their turn and I heard people encouraging me to keep going.I got to the bottom of the rock and gave my carabiner to the next person and waited for Lada to come down.   Hazel 

As I entered the water, the sharp coldness engulfed me. The taste of salt filled my mouth as I rose to the surface, spluttering and began to swim towards the tight huddle of my group. In the huddle I could feel the comforting warm breath of the nine others in my group. We then began to swim towards the next jump, adrenaline pumping through my veins. Coasteering was one of the highlights of camp and I would love to experience this thrill again. Tom

Jetty Jumping   With the taste of sea water in my mouth, I pulled myself onto the mossy wood. I smelled the salty air, filled with the sound of people laughing and cheering, as they jump in. At the end, the whole group jumped in together. We lined up, in a straight line. We counted down 3,2,1 then we ran. With my shoes gushing with water, I pushed myself off the jetty and launched myself into the air before the others so I wouldn't squish anyone else. Together we crashed into the water. Kate

Star gazing   Hear the river twinkling, hiding secrets beneath.  See the stars above, each one a window looking down on all of us. Hold the sparkling city in the palm of your hand. Listen to the wind sing its song, and whistle to its tune. Taste the sharp air on your tongue, and just watch the power of the great wilderness.  Rose

Mountain Biking  I hear the wind rushing past my ears going down the big dipper at high speeds. I hear twigs snapping and pedals turning as we cycled. I smell the fresh air and pine trees as I cycled with my friends. I taste the fresh air as I breathe in as I cycled up the hills on the bike. I touch the handlebars and brakes when I slowed down to make the tight turns as I bent through the woods. I see trees as tall as houses. I see birds fly though the sky. I see rocks as big as a house, so big you could live inside.     Aled

As I walked on the wet,  slimey wharf ready to jump off I was frightened because I had never been swimming in the sea before or jumped into it. The wharf felt strange beneath my feet. I looked down on the deepwater which gave me a weird feeling in my stomach. I didn’t think i would jump but when I finally jumped off I heard the water splashing and I forgot to close my mouth so I tasted the salty sea water, it was disgusting. As I was getting out I could smell the damp wood on the ramp and could feel the sharp stuff on the ramp cutting and scratching my skin. Overall the experience was fun so I jumped off several times again.    Angharad  

Kayaking  Last week my class went on camp at Orton Bradley. My favourite activity was kayaking. I could smell the salt water. We played a few games. They were fun. When we got to Diamond Harbour Jetty I could feel the cold water splashing on my face from other people's kayaks. I could hear kids screaming. I was scared at first but then I got used to all the sea water getting in my eyes. I could taste bitter water on my tongue. Kayaking was fun and I want to do it again.  Bridie