Pesto pasta, some terrified children, and happy memories. In late October the Year 5+6 kids from TPS went on camp to Waitomo. We went caving, abseiling and best of all ate epic FOOD!

My first highlight was caving. I loved it so much because we fell in quicksand. It got up to my neck. It was so cold I thought I was going to freeze. In the cave, we stopped and saw some very old Moa bones. At the end, we got chocolate fish.

The real abseiling was terrifying. My back was so sore but I was able to make it from the top to the bottom of the 8.5m rock face. When you abseil you must keep your feet wide apart.

The best for last is the FOOD. Breakfast - good, lunch - better, dinner/dessert -colossally the best! The cooks did an amazing job. The third dessert was the best because it was every dessert mixed together in ice cream.

I’m so proud of what I achieved and I can’t wait for the next camp. Especially for the food. There were nachos, cheesy pasta, pesto pasta and burgers.

Zechariah Tahau

In late October the Te Puna School Year 5 and 6 students went to Waitomo Caves for camp. We abseiled, we had great parents, and we went caving.

My favourite activity was abseiling because it is good to get it off my nerves. You had to keep your feet apart and a wide stance. When you get up there it is terrifying but after someone else has done it, it is not that terrifying.

The parents were really helpful and kind. The parents were very supportive and encouraging. The parents were playful and generous. Scott was helpful and fun. Kath and Lynelle were brilliant at the food.

Well, well, caving… where do I begin! There were 100s of glowworms, there were a few Weta and some Moa bones. There was really really cold water. But it was great to see a new world. We did lots of crawling through small gaps, we went through deep water and skinny spots.

I am so proud of what I achieved that week.

Luke

Abseiling, caving, covenant, amazing parents, glow worms and much more. On the 25th to the 28th of October, Room 11 and 12 and a little bit of Room 6 went to Waitomo, Te Kotahitanga Marae for our camp. Some activities were Stubbs Farm, night activities, and a visit to the Kiwi house.

Stubbs Farm, we went abseiling, caving and did an activity called 'Covenant'. At the abseiling we started by practising on a hill. Then we went to an 8.5m rock face. Caving, the water was so cold, there were so many Glow worms and Weta. For the Covenant, the Covenant is like a scavenger hunt. There is a little wheel you put on a fence post and it tells you where to go, at the end you get to a plant tree with the water and dirt you collected.

Night activities, bunkin hill, camp concert, dance party. To play Bunkin Hill you army crawl in long grass and try not to get spotted. If you find a container in the long grass you get a reward like a chocolate or something yummy. The camp concert, there were two acts I was in 1. We did a Spice Girls song. I loved doing it because I got to dance. The dance party, it was so fun. Some of the songs were Barbie Girl, Baby Shark, It's About Damn Time, it was cray cray.

The Otorohanga Kiwi House, there were Kiwi and Kaka and lots more birds and a big fat Eel. There was so much information on each animal. We all had a scavenger hunt that we did on the animals. I love seeing the Kaka bird because it's my school house.

All these activities have by far made this my favourite camp. Thank you Miss Andrews and all the parents that came along.

Ayla