Last week 28 students and three staff travelled to the magnificent Mackenzie country for four days of adventure.

Day One started with our first stop at the Old Historic part of Oamaru for morning tea. We then set off to Benmore Dam for lunch and a quick swim. Once we got to Twizel we set up camp at the Lake Ruataniwha camping ground, our home away from home for the week followed by another swim and a Volleyball match. 

Day Two and we were off to Tekapo for the day. Here we wandered around the shore front. The tourists were out in force and we saw a Bollywood music video being filmed at the Church of Good Hope. After lunch in the rain we then went to the Tekapo Hot Springs to enjoy a nice soak. During the afternoon we competed in our shield (Mackenzie Magic Camp Champs) challenge.  Activities involved win it in a minute games, a crazy quiz and a Masterchef cheesecake decorating competition where the judges were tough in their critique.

Day Three and we were off to Aoraki/ Mount Cook National Park. We were entertained by our bus cabin crew on the way up and it looked like the weather was going to be fantastic. The first activity was the much anticipated Glacier Boat rides. The 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 Walk. We were joined by many tourists also on the track and the track at times often resembled a highway rather than a walking track.

Then we were back on the bus and making our way back to camp. Once back there was no time to rest as we made our way back to the lake with the paddle boards and enjoyed some late afternoon water activities. We then waited for the sun to disappear to play our final game which was spotlight. This was a great way to finish a very busy day.

On behalf of the Mackenize Magic campers we would like to thank Mrs Geddes, Miss Cross, Ms Hayes, Miss Geissler and Bryan the Bus Driver for taking us on this trip.