Year 13 Adventure students were put to the test during their survival camp in the Waiohine Gorge. Student Kayla Cullen shares the experience.

We woke early on Thursday morning and quickly searched our houses for lighters, thermals, sleeping bags and anything else that we thought could help us in the wild. 

Our teachers met us at the gym. We checked our gear, repacked our packs and headed down to the Hutt River / Te Awa Kairangi to light some fires. This was the first of two fires we lit for the assessment - we could only use what we could scavenge along the riverbank.

After all fires were put out and cleaned away we loaded into vans and headed over the hill to the Waiohine Gorge. At the campsite we learnt the history of the river, Mr Weakley told us it was named after a spurned lover.

We spent the afternoon lighting another fire and crossing the river endlessly. The last river activity was the most exciting/awful depending on your point of view - a river swim wearing a tramping pack. 

Almost all students handled this with coolness and poise, all except for Harry who decided to spend most of the time underwater. Luckily Miss MacTaggart is a former world champion in throw bagging and she soon had him out and on the river bank.

At night we built shelters out of some old shoe laces and a trailer cover, this was the point where most of us pleaded to go home and change subject ASAP. The rest of the evening was spent around gas cookers as we cooked up feasts (noodles) at the campfire, roasted marshmallows and played spotlight.

The next morning we somehow slept in, even though most of us barely slept for fear of attack from the local drop bears, we quickly packed up, lit one more fire on the river bank and loaded in the van back to Upper Hutt.