Below are some snippets of Room Seven’s recent Totaranui Camp.

The kids really enjoyed the charter shuttle boat which took us directly at speed to Totaranui with the only stops being to observe seals at Adele island and to look at the Split Apple Rock.

We disembarked at Totaranui and it felt like we were in a different world away from the hustle and bustle of today’s busy Nelson region. We were welcomed by friendly weka and pukeko while a juvenile karearea screeched his welcome as we lugged our gear up the avenue of ancient Plane trees to the historic Ngarata homestead.

Once the bunkrooms were set up, and the kitchen too, we headed off to do the Headland walk and warm ourselves up mentally and physically for Tuesday’s tramp to Separation Point. Some nascent rumblings and grumblings were extinguished in the bud by Mr Strachan and the scenic walk completed in an hour and a half. The cup half full attitude and the value of having a positive growth mindset were expounded. A few fern birds were seen enroute thanks to the pest eradication efforts of DOC.

Afternoon tea was quickly scoffed before we had some sport type games on the homestead lawn.

That night we did 2 nightlines through the bush. The first one was pretty easy and not too challenging especially since there was some moon light. However, the second nightline was longer, more circuitous and over rougher terrain. Even the most confident kids faced challenges completing this version with lots of laughter, appeals for help, screams and “oh my god there’s a ******* wild pig grunting “ piercing the now dark and drizzly night.

The tramp began with a pep talk about there being many challenges in life but if we plod away and persevere we can overcome most, especially if we have the support of others to help us along the way.

With the usual “Are we at the top yet” and “How much further is it to Separation Point” and “Can we go back now?” we slowly travelled through the bush to Anapai Beach and then Mutton Cove before heading out to Separation Point. A dozen or so intrepid kids braved the strong winds and descended a steep track, with some adult assistance, down to the lighthouse and huge rocks that overlook both Golden bay and Tasman bay. The many seals and their pups plus the decoy Gannet colony with recorded calls made this place very interesting.

A weary group trudged back along the beautiful coastal route with long beaches of golden sand punctuated by rocky projections that stretched out into the sea from the lush green bush. These formed obstacles that we scrambled over between waves. Next was the ascent over the saddle that leads back to the Ngarata homestead. This final hurdle was made manageable by thoughts of hot showers and yummy food prepared by the camp parents.

A night walk around the Pukatea track to observe the colonies of glow worms was awesome with the banks of glow worms mirroring the starry sky above. The silent procession of students feeling their way along the track in the dark reminded one of the photos of gas blinded soldiers travelling back from the trenches in WW1.