Last week 31 Year 10 students and four staff travelled to the magnificent Mackenzie country for four days of adventure.

Day One started with a stop at the historic precinct in Oamaru for morning tea. Next stop was Benmore Dam for lunch and a quick swim. Once in Twizel we set up camp at the Lake Ruataniwha Camping Ground, our home away from home for the week. This was followed by another swim and some activities around camp. 

Day Two and we were off to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. We were entertained by our bus cabin crew and the weather was looking fantastic. Our first activity was the much-anticipated glacier boat rides. The Tasman Glacier had just had a calving a couple of days previous, and this resulted in a lot of icebergs floating in the lake. Activity two for the day was a walk on New Zealand's most popular walk, the Hooker Valley Track. The tourists were back in force, and it was like a highway on the track. When we got back to camp it was back into the water for some paddle boarding and camp activities that involved a Mackenzie Magic Quiz.

Day Three saw us heading to Tekapo. We wandered around the shore getting our ‘insta’ photos before we went to the Tekapo Hot Springs where we played a round of mini golf and enjoyed the pools in the afternoon. Back at camp, we competed in our shield (Mackenzie Magic Camp Champs) challenge. Activities involved win-it-in-a-minute games, and the MasterChef cheesecake decorating competition where the judges were tough in their critique.

Congratulations to the overall winners of the Mackenzie Magic Camp Champs Shield for 2023 – Mr Scott’s Fan Club!

Unfortunately, the rain set in at night and we were unable to play the most anticipated game, Spotlight. However, we did fit in a rather hilarious round of Bingo which had both staff and students rolling around with laughter.

On our last day we packed up and left our home away from home to get back to our own beds for the night.

On behalf of the Mackenize Magic Campers, we would like to thank Mrs Geddes, Mrs Abbott, Mrs Hanning, Mrs Maxwell, and Allen the bus driver for taking us on this trip.