On Wednesday April 2nd, Rooms 21, 27 and some students from Room 25 went to Sonshine Ranch for the day. As we went on the bus, everyone was buzzing with excitement and chattering about what activity we would do first. There was also loud talking everywhere! Aah! After a few minutes we all started to get bored on the bus because it took so long to get there. When we arrived we had morning tea and were divided into two groups, one group did the animal care and horse riding while the other group that I was in started off with bouldering and tunnels.

Bouldering is basically rock climbing where you reach the end horizontally instead of vertically. The tunnel was a dark maze where five kids went in as a group at a time wearing helmets and carrying two torches. The entry and exit points were the same. I started off with bouldering since I wasn't keen on how dark and tiny the tunnels were. We went in a straight line starting from the easy to hard paths. Bouldering tested our strength and stamina and our ability to balance. When it was my turn I started off well but then I slipped off halfway. Then I tried the tunnels. I was with four other people: Ryan, Maddy, Rosalee and Darshi. When it was our turn I slipped into the tunnel crawling deeper, and then climbed up the ladder to the second floor. The tunnel activity was about teamwork, encouragement and staying together.

Then it was our group’s turn to move to animal care. Horse riding and animal care was really enjoyable and smelly. Before each of the three activities we learnt how to be safe when handling the animals and care for them. Each of the riders wore a helmet for the horse ride. We learnt how to guide the horse-make the horse move left or right and get the horse to stop walking. I got the biggest horse and jumped onto the saddle to sit on it. Then we started going around the arena to practice. We went up the hill and down back to the arena. The arena floor was covered with crushed pieces of old recycled tyres to make the floor soft for the horse. Next activity was horse grooming in the stable. We learnt the correct names for horses and also learnt never to approach a horse from the front. Horses can see well on either side but not very well

straight in front. We got to groom the horses and pat them. Then we met Sophie and she showed us the other animals that lived in the stables, chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs and goats. We got to feed the goat, horse and chickens. When feeding the animals we learnt to keep our palm flat and fingers straight so they wouldn’t bite our fingers.

It was lunch time in the arena and we were allowed to play there before it was time for slingshot and archery! We walked down a very steep hill in a single file that led to a plain area. After a short safety briefing from the instructor we each had a turn at archery and slingshot. For the slingshot there were two milk bottles and a squashed tin can as the target across a small creek. Then the instructor showed us where to put the baking beads on the slingshot and how to use the slingshot. We had to stand balanced with our feet firm, aim for the target and pull the cords with strength. All the kids played Tag and Marco Polo once they had their turns. Then we climbed up the steep hill back to the meeting point.

Just as we were going back to school it started to rain. Oh, it looks like it will not be a sunny day tomorrow for Rooms 19 and 22. We would like to thank all our teachers, parent helpers and the staff at Sonshine Ranch for the memorable day!

Written by Siyara Narayan Room 21

Pūtahi Akoranga