Day One

Arriving at school with packed bags and gear for three days in the bush, nerves wash over everyone as we get into our assigned cars. Music and laughter fills the air as we make our way to Manapouri. The blinding sun shines on us as we take in the view of sparkling Lake Manapouri. With everyone itching to get on the boat, we finally head on with the sparkling rain dripping on us as we go up to the top deck. Filled with amazement, we take in the view of the moving mountains and the glowing waterfalls. As we climb off the boat, we are greeted by the scowling wekas and the unwanted sandflies. We make our way on the bus with all the bags and yummy baking; then we start driving on the twisting winding road noticing some scenic waterfalls and foggy mountains. Bursting with excitement we make our way to the Deep Cove Hostel. A quick talk from the manager, Billy, then we're off to explore. For the first walk of the camp, we go up some muddy tracks to complete the Brussel Point Nature Trail. We learn all about regeneration and this is helpful later as we make our regeneration cake filled with chocolate and marshmallows. We ended the day with some reflection bookwork, and some delicious hot chocolate made by the cooks.

Day Two

We woke up around 6:15am with the rain plummeting on the roof. We joyfully walked down to the dining hall knowing that some sort of walking was coming. After we ate kai, we heard the news that Hanging Valley was permanently closed, so we decided to do another walk called the Old Doubtful Track. We were all excited about the native species and nature that we may encounter on the way. We set off around 9:00am with the rain still pouring. On our walk we navigated our way through slippery rocks, flowing creeks and thick, muddy bogs. We decided to add on another 20-minute walk up to Stella Falls which was worth it as the scenery at the waterfall was stunning. We slowly made our way back to camp with lots of excitement knowing that soon we were about to be having a rotation including fishing, looking at traps and learning more about this wonderful National Park. After coming back from fishing, we had an exciting message that later that night we were going on a small walk to see glow worms and hopefully experience either seeing or hearing a kiwi. We finished off the day by taking a short trip up the road to see some kiwi and glow worms which were spectacular but unfortunately, luck was not on our side to see any kiwis. Overall, day two was an action-packed day with lots of memories made together. We enjoyed a milo and went to bed excited to see what adventures lay ahead of us tomorrow.

Day Three

Day three at Deep Cove - we were glad to have a cruisy morning before we headed down to the luxurious cruise up the Hall Arm. We encountered lots of exciting wildlife, like penguins and birds, and we also learnt about vertical rivers. Our tour guides, Niall and Alex, were very helpful explaining all the interesting things about this magical place including the difference between sounds and fiords.

After that we headed back for lunch prepared by our amazing chef and enjoyed a nice cup of hot chocolate and soup. While we were finishing lunch, one of the parents called us out onto the deck and we witnessed two playful dolphins swimming in the cove.

After we had finished lunch, we went on the Helena Falls Walk; this was an easy but stunning walk. This walk took us about 40 minutes to get to Helena Falls which were such an amazing sight. The waterfall was so big and stunning, it was such an amazing experience, and we enjoyed every part of the walk.

The boys all hurried back as they wanted as much time as possible to go fishing. We put our wet weather gear on and headed out on the boats, and it was highly successful with our class catching around 40 or so fish on the boats and probably another 40 when we went to the wharf. While we were there, four sharks started circling and one got hooked on then got away. After a while a student finally got the shark up. We took some photos then we released it back into the water; it was very exhilarating. We finished the night off with a bit of baking and another hot chocolate.

Day Four

On our last day in Deep Cove. We all had to pack up our dorm rooms before heading off to the foyer and helping ourselves to yummy toast and leftover lasagna from the night before, which was delightfully prepared by our chef, Deborah. Then we all headed off to clean all parts of the hostel. Once our bus arrived, we packed the bus with all our gear to head off to our boat to take us to Manapouri. It was quite tiring packing and unpacking, but once we got on our boat it was smooth sailing to Manapouri and that’s when we saw 8S waiting for our arrival. All of us were happy to get back to all our beloved things we left behind for camp. As Detroit said, he loved getting home to give his mother a big hug. Throughout all our camp I believe our entire class loved all the experiences of our Deep Cove trip, from the cruise to all those tiring hikes with the amazing views making it all worth it in the end and even hearing the kiwi in its natural habitat.

8P Fishing Highlights

8P went on camp to Deep Cove and our favourite activity was fishing. The total amount of fish caught was 76 including a shark and a star fish. This was not a huge amount as the class after us caught a whopping 121 fish! 79% were Jock Stewarts, 19% were Spotties, 1% was a starfish and 1% was a SHARK! Another good part of fishing was when it was wet, we just went under the canopy on the DOC pontoon. Fishing was definitely the best part of camp with hours of enjoyment, and with everyone getting involved.

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