Explore the poetic reflections of our talented students as some capture the essence of their recent Year 9 Camp at Tirohanga. Journey through their memories that made the camp unforgettable.

My Camp Experience

Do you remember the first time you went to a high school camp? What friends were in your cabin, what teachers joined the experience, what activities you did? Because I know I will.

I will remember every detail my brain will let me. Because even though it was only one night, it will stick right in with the highlights of my first year of high school.

The first day was jam packed with so many activities. When my class first arrived, we set off on a bush walk up the side of a cliff (it wasn't, I'm just not very fit right now), and it was roughly a 20-minute uphill walk to a clearing where we got the horrible news that a storm was coming, though I was sceptical because there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Grace, our Peer Support Prefect, had been really clear that it was really dangerous, and we had 10 minutes to create an amazing hut to keep us sheltered and dry. It just turned out to be a competition of whose bivvy was the best, though it was fine because my team won first place!

Skipping through a couple of hours of the day, we come to the water slide! If you're wondering what the water slide is, it was just a strategically placed tarp with a lot of water and liquid detergent continually getting dumped on it, to make a slip n’ slide! I can still feel the grass burn on my thighs!

Other activities that we all participated in on the first day were orienteering and The Amazing Race, which included the confidence course and bouldering wall. These activities and challenges made develop our confidence, grow our friendships, and made us work together as a team to achieve our goals.

One of the closing activities we did at the end of the first day was the camp concert! We were in teams of 6-8, and we were given a theme to make a dance, skit, karaoke show, anything really, but we needed to make it extraordinary. My team really did make it extraordinary, giving me two first places in one day! Though it wasn't surprising, our ‘Frozen’ performance was pretty on point!

As we wound down for the evening, every student wrote a Time Capsule. This is a letter to our future self where we identified what is currently happening in our lives, our likes and annoyances, and finally our dreams and aspirations. Our letters were sealed and will be returned to us on our final day at Otago Girls’, at the end of Year 13. It will be interesting to see how much we have matured over the years, and will we still have the same likes and dislikes?

The second day we went to two places, Te Puna o Whakaehu, the new Mosgiel pool and Wal’s Plant Land. We started off the day at Wal’s Plant Land, with the other class going to the pool. I learned that day that I was not made for mini golf. The amount of times I had to use other strategies to get the ball in the hole was so unrealistic that I am cringing at the thought. We ended our last day of camp at the Mosgiel Pool, and I was drawn to the padding on the kiddie pool that I lay down for a good 10 minutes under the gentle spray of the fountain made for 5-year-olds. I think that was the highlight of my day.

The fact that I can write that much about not even 48 hours with my brain still whirring for more to write, shows how amazing the camp experience was. And I didn’t mention before, but the fact that even our Year 13 Peer Support Leaders and our Year 13 Sisters came along to join the experience really shows a lot. So thank you, Ms Young and OGHS for that unforgettable experience.

Phoebe Martin, 9Mn

Camp Poetry

CAMP FUN

Starting the day off slow and steady

Everyone with their gear set and ready

Hopping on the bus hoping for adventure

‘Camp Tirohanga’ sign front and centre

Climbing the track, slipping on the way

Everyone having a laugh, the best part of the day

Volleyballs always getting thrown around

Fun and games everywhere to be found

What happens next?

We’ll never know

That’s just all part of the show.

Ariana Paku 9HGI

JOY

Trees and leafs

Internet free fun

Race to win

Out in nature

Huts not yet stable

Awesome spirit in the air

Native bush and tree scraps

Guaranteed to win

Assortments of joy

Stella Ross 9HGI

TIROHANGA

Tasty burgers

Ice cold ice cream

Racing down the water-slide

Opening new opportunities

Having fun

Awesome activities

New friends

Games all day

And orienteering

Isla Marshall 9NCH

TIROHANGA

Too much talking

Incredible performances

Running for the frisbee

Overly crowded bunkroom

Hanging with friends

Almost falling on walk

Not enough cover on bivvy

Great conversations

Amazing people

Skyla Pratt 9HGI