Students from 10Y and 10G have returned from their week at camp. Below students write about their experience.

On the 6th of March, a rowdy mix of Year 10 students from 10Y and 10G trekked their way into the Matukituki lodge accompanied by two Year 13s and an experienced ensemble of staff.

We made good use of the warm weather on Saturday which meant the boys were able to do kayak skills under the bridge in the morning and ride down the river after lunch. Unfortunately for the camp, the next few days did not mirror the first, which meant we had to delay the overnight while also being bound to lodge-based activities.

The overnight was a memorable experience for the boys as they had to do everything independently; a challenge they all embraced.

By Tuesday, Mr Willmott and Mr Reussenzehn were substituted out by Mr McCrone and then Mr King a day later.

During their free time, the boys enjoyed activities such as bullrush, ping pong and volleyball. Music was provided by Mr King for those who slept in - the sound of pot lids crashing together; something thoroughly enjoyed by Mr King.

On the final day, we got the chance to swim and relax by Wishbone Falls in the warmth of the afternoon while Will Murrell (the other senior) and I took advantage of the clear night and lack of light pollution to take photos of the stars.

A big thank you has to be said to the Year 10s, whose energetic attitude made this camp a blast. They were exhausted by the end of the camp, a sentiment also shared by the leaders and staff. Thanks also to the teachers; Mr Willmott, Mr Reussenzehn, Mr McCrone, Mr King and especially Jim Black and Mr Martin who looked after the camp for the whole week.

Cameron McMillan (Year 13)

On the first day of camp I got up at 5:30am and got ready to leave. My mum dropped me off at Otago Boys' at 6:30am.

It was only me and a couple of boys there to start with, so we had to carry all the food and load it into the bus before we put our gear in which took around 15 mins. By the time we finished everyone was arriving. 

We put all of our gear into the bus and were ready to leave. I put my day pack in the bus because I had some stuff in there for the trip. We left at around 7am, and as soon as we left I fell asleep instantly. I think I might of slept for around 1 hour and when I woke up I was on my phone talking to friends and listening to music. A few hours passed and we stopped in Wanaka for some food. I just bought a couple of things and then got back in the bus. At the final stop we hopped off the bus and grabbed everything out of it. We put all the food and our day packs in the trailer, but we had to take our tramp packs and they were really heavy. 

I thought the walk would've been easy, like a 15 minute walk but it took around 1 hour before we got to the bridge. I was buggered, but it was like a 5 minute walk to the lodge so I could deal with it. We took all the food to the lodge. After we grabbed everything we were finally allowed to chill. I just looked around the lodge, I didn't mind it, I thought it was pretty cool until I saw the bunk rooms. I was pretty sad because the bunk beds looked really uncomfortable. After sleeping on it it wasn't too bad if you have a sheet over it or if the Year 13s gave their mattress which was like heaven compared to those beds. 

It was around 7pm and we were eating dinner. I can't remember what we did have but after that we just chilled until bedtime. The next day I'm pretty sure we did kayaking and learned how to kayak which was pretty cool. We then did an hour of kayaking which was really fun. That day our cabin which was disgusting needed to be tidied, we had to get it done so I tried to do it fast. The rest of the day we chilled until bed time. The next two days it rained so we didn't do much, just a bit of walking then after those days we went to the overnight which was really fun, I enjoyed that!

Mason Lome-Hindle

First day at camp I got up at 6am and went to have breakfast. After breakfast I was getting ready to make my way down to the bus, I checked my pack to make sure I had everything, but I forgot to put a pack liner in, so with 20 mins to be at the bus by 6:45 I unpacked my pack, put a liner in. I got to school with 3 minutes to spare, getting there at 6:42. We had to go to the freezer to unpack the food boxes with Mr Roe’s help. Putting them in the bus after that we were all set to go, so we did a roll call on the bus. We were all playing on our phones, until most of them went flat. Most of us had a snooze before we got to Wanaka. When we arrived in Wanaka everyone hurried out of the bus to get food. The cabin that I was in was with Dean,Zac, Owain, Troy and David and we spent $147.00 in total. We packed all of our food away in our packs, then it was about a 40 minute drive to where we got dropped off. After a few packets of lollies and my subway finished we finally got there. 

We got dropped off at the bus stop. When we got off the bus all the 10T bandits were yelling at us saying "you're not gonna survive" and all this sort of carry on. They hopped on the bus and we had to walk 3.5 km to the bridge. When we got to the bridge we dropped off our packs and day packs and took the boxes full of food and the crates full of bread to the lodge. 

Then it was a matter of saying "I dibs cabin 3", "I dibs cabin 4." We ended up sorting out a cabin and then we went and played table tennis and volleyball, that was our afternoon. It was  dinner time and Mr Martin made us some mean kai. We all scoffed it down and set up our rooms, then it was bedtime. Zac, Dean, Troy, David, Owain and I ended up going to sleep about 1am.

Max Fatafehi

We got to school and we loaded the bus and set off on our journey to Mount Aspiring Lodge.

It took a while to get to the bus stop and when we got there we had to walk for ages. It felt like there was no end to the road and we were going to have to walk forever. We finally got to the bridge and we were told we had to carry all of the food to the lodge which was another 15 minute walk. After we got all the food up there we went for a swim which was fun but the water was freezing cold. 

On Sunday we went kayaking which was the highlight of the camp for me. It was so much fun and it was funny when people fell in the water when we went over the rapids. When we went to Wishbone Falls it was so cool. The water was so refreshing and I didn't want to get out. It was so much fun jumping off the rocks. It was also funny watching people without a wetsuit try to get in the water. They would only go up to their waist and then get out of the water because it was so cold.

When we were at the lodge, table tennis and volleyball were the best things to do. There was also a competitive banterful game going on that was entertaining to watch or play in. At night time it was fun chatting away in the cabins. There were some funny conversations that went on. 

On the last day I was so exited to get home. By the end of it I was super exhausted and all I wanted to do was sleep in my own bed. Overall it was a good camp experience.   

Paddy Smythe

With an array of activities ranging from kayaking, fishing to orienteering, camp a challenge for every boy to overcome as an OB's boy. 

One of the highlights of the camp for most of the boys was the overnight and how all of us boys had to be fully independent. There was no help from the teachers making us all rely on our mates and peers to put up a tent, make the food and the campfires. 

Other memorable moments were the little stories about the surrounding landscape. Mr Black told us about how over hundreds of years the glaciers had carved out the valley to the story about the native NZ robin (toutouwai). 

In the end, all in all, the camp was a very challenging but pleasant experience for all of us young men.

Vasilis Jouanides