On the first day of Camp Ōtepoti, we drove 40 minutes or so to a remote property in Port Chalmers where we rode horses and later walked down the Aramoana spit. We were in two groups of about 11 people and took part in two rotations- I was a part of the group that did horse riding first (although I didn’t actually get on a horse). After lunch, we swapped over, and my group drove to Aramoana to walk down the strip of land to the left of the beach called the Mole. There were a lot of seals and sea lions cruising on the rocks and in the water. 

On Tuesday, we walked through mounds of native plants and sheep excretion for around two hours to get to the top of a mountain called Hereweka or the Harbour Cone.  At the top, we learned of the story behind the mountain’s name and rested for a while before beginning the long trek back down to the van. At our classroom by the sea, we painted pictures using ground up rocks, which was followed by an art competition.

On Wednesday, students spent the morning at Doctor’s Point paddle boarding and walking through Dunedin’s picturesque landscape. We enjoyed a barbeque lunch in the afternoon at the Warrington Domain and Surf Club before returning to school.

On Thursday, we spent the morning walking along the Outram Glen track. We didn’t make it all the way to the end of the track, but we made it a fair way through, it was very picturesque in the bush.  After a leisurely lunch on the beach beside the river, we had a very competitive building competition (which my group won) being only allowed to use items from the environment. We then drove to Wals in Mosgiel and played mini golf, followed by a fabulous real fruit ice cream. 

Friday was my favourite day- we did a short walk in the morning to Dunedin’s pyramids in Okia Flat and then drove to the harbourside to take a cruise in the Monarch. This activity was definitely above my expectations- we got to see albatross very close up, as well as sea lions and their pups on the rocks. We drove past the place we had walked through on Monday, and it was interesting to see it from another perspective. The best part about the cruise was seeing Hector’s Dolphins; they swam right under and beside the boat and I managed to see one swimming about a metre or so directly below me. 

I think that Camp Ōtepoti is a good alternative for those who cannot partake in the more extreme camps because it is right here in Dunedin, and you can sleep in your own bed during the night (a luxury I was particularly grateful for).