On Tuesday the 23 November, the year 10’s went on camp to Hanmer Springs.

We had a heap of fun with activities including a hike, visiting the hot pools, mountain biking and many more.

We stayed in the Hanmer Springs forest camp, which was very enjoyable. Most of the bunk rooms were in an area called the quad, made up of a square of rooms, most of them accessible through the grass area in the center.

We had bingo, quiz and skit nights which were lots of fun. We had a lot of acts, some people were singing and dancing and there were some funny jokes in there too. There was a lot of talent to show off! Everyone was laughing and having a great time together as one.

During the day time throughout the camp we rotated in groups around different activities run by Activity Hanmer. These activities were tree climbing, mountain biking, a hike, mission impossible and orienteering. It was great because most of the activities were on site at the forest camp, so we could get straight into things.

Two of the taller trees were rigged up with ropes and wooden holds for climbing, and we had instructors helping us learn to belay as well as climb. The orienteering, bike ride and hike were all held in the forest behind the camp just a three minute walk away, or for the hike a three minute van drive. As for the mission impossible, that was set up on the grass field out the front of camp and afterwards the instructors took us for some more activities at the low ropes course. Not everybody made it to the top of the hike, but those that did were able to see an amazing waterfall that we estimated was between thirty and forty meters tall, and some even stood under it!

Another highlight of the trip for many was the trip to the hot pools on Wednesday. The weather was super hot the whole time we were away, and it's safe to say that there was quite a bit of sunburn, so going on the hydroslides and raft rides were a good way to cool off.

Over the duration of our stay, we had the chance to earn a new kind of ‘blue slip’ for showing our school values. The teachers gave out plenty, and there was a competition to see who could win the most, won by 10BT.

We were also given plenty of opportunities to step up and show some leadership skills, as each form class ran a form activity for the year group, in which we could earn points for the overall form challenge. 10RN started things off with a tug of war on the first day, followed by capture the flag run by 10NO and a wearable arts challenge by 10BT. There were also opportunities like running the talent show or quiz night and stepping up within our activity groups and at our activities.

Camp was a very good experience for everyone to get closer and see a different side of each other. We had an awesome time, thank you to all of the teachers and others who made it so much fun.

Written by Breagh-Rose Donaldson and Holly Turner