Ōtepoti Camp 2021 was a great bunch of experiences. There was at least one new experience for every student, especially Abseiling and Dragon Boating.

Abseiling was one of the biggest challenges, you could see students overcoming their fear and anxiety as they made their way down the 15m drop. It was great watching Pippa’s confidence grow while she jumped from rock to rock. The water slide topped off the end of the first day. It was so much fun we were all very optimistic about the rest of the week.

On Tuesday we tramped over the Leith Saddle and back down the Pineapple track. I’m not sure if the first hill was too big or just too steep but it was hard! Eventually we got to the top and everyone had enough breath to enjoy some good conversations during the rest of their day. It was amazing to look back at Swampy Summit from the Pineapple track to see how far we had walked! All up it was a five hour 14 km hīkoi.

The Wednesday water day was fun. Dragon boating was a physical challenge and staying in time with everyone else was a mental challenge. I also really enjoyed paddle-boarding, and lots of people fell off - not all of them on purpose. Because the day was quite chilly, the water seemed really warm so we all finished off with a quick swim.

On Thursday we went for a walk up Hereweka on the Otago Peninsula. We were rewarded with lovely views out to sea and right back to Dunedin. Mrs Parkinson told us the story of Tarewai and his battle to save his people and land. Ms Robson had carried small canvases up to the top and we sat and drew what we could see from the top. We then returned to the Classroom by the Sea where we had a gingerbread decorating competition which saw the Teletubbies take the overall winners prize. Jemy won the art award for her fantastic drawing.

On the final day, we completed our community service at Parekura near the Albatross Colony. We cleared lupins and weeds so the Little Blue Penguins could find their nests easily. Knowing that we were volunteering to garden around the penguins made us feel really good. We finished the day with a Wildlife Cruise on the Monarch where we saw seals, sea lions and albatross flying. Poppy enjoyed the boat trip, especially the rolling motion when the boat slowed to look at the seals on the point.

We had a great week of personal and group challenges and thank you to all of the staff who organised and joined us for a week of activities.