The darkness of the cave is complete. Darker than dark. But then slowly the glow worms come into view, shyly displaying their blue light to lure in the prey. But we are not afraid, because we are all together.

We are a group of twelve students with an experienced instructor and confident teachers. It is not a silent cave either, for laughter and footsteps, and words of encouragement are always in our ears. And in what is probably a world first, the Welcome Table is sung in a cabin in the depth of the Clifden Caves. With those rhythmical verses still bouncing off the limestone stalactites, we turned on our torches and strode through the rest of the cave system.

This was the experience of one of twelve groups that went through the cave as part of Borland Camp, located south of Te Anau. But this was not the only activity. We also went rock climbing, kayaking and tramping. At night time we sung songs around the campfire, felt our way along a night-line rope in a dark beech forest and realised that we can live without our mobile phones! By day time we completed our Biology and Geography assessments, ate wholesome food and enjoyed spending time in Fiordland’s pristine natural environment. Thank you to all the students and staff that made Borland Camp a week to remember!