Memorable Moments From Camp

A really funny thing that happened was . . .

• It was so funny watching Jago trying to say "What does the fox say?" in a funny voice.  All he could do was laugh.  OLIVIA C.
• We were at Kuratau and Alex tackled me off the jetty and into the water.  I thought of backing out when he was charging at me, but I decided not to.  KYLE.
• Realising that abseiling is not actually a water sport.  AALIYAH.
• On the way to abseiling, we were dancing to the music in Mr Short's car.  We challenged Miss Simpson's car to a dance battle and George got out of the car and started dancing.  GRACE.

A place I'd like to go back to is . . .

• The Tongariro River, because I would love to jump off one of the bridges.  I think that would be really fun and exhilarating.  OLIVIA D.
• The beach on the Lake Rotopounamu walk.  The scenery was picture-perfect and it was very quiet.  Perfect for swimming and sunbathing.  GRACE.
• The Okupata Caves.  I had a tiny passage named after me, because I was the first child to go in it.  Apparently it goes on for longer that I was able to explore.  JAGO.
• The Okupata Caves, because I loved the adrenaline rush you got from being 15m under the ground, shimmying through small gaps of rock.  NELLY.
• Taranaki Falls, because it was amazing to see a waterfall that close up, with the water spray in your face and the miniature rainbow glowing up from the pool of water.  TREVOR.

The most challenging part of the week was . . .

• Abseiling, because I did not know what to expect.  It looked like it was going to be really tricky to get down the rock face.  TAMMY.
• Kayaking, because when I sat in the kayak, the lifejacked puffed up in my face.  It prevented me from sitting up properly so I could not get much power when paddling.  CODY.
• Getting through the caves without hitting your head on the rocks above!  BLAIR.
• Abseiling, because it was difficult to get your feet in the right place.  At one stage I got stuck in the bush and had to stop and think how to get out of it.  KYLE.
• Abseiling, as it was really challenging going over the edge and putting your trust in a harness and the person at the top.  I was scared stiff.  MOLLY.
• Kayaking.  If our competitions were about spinning around in circles, I'd ace them.  NELLY.
• The first few down hill parts of the mountain biking track, because braking down the hills was hard before you got the hang of it.  Going around corners on the downhill was really hard!  JULIET.
• Caving, because I was terrified the whole entire time.  I was scared of never being able to get out, because the path was blocked.  I found this activity very scary.  ELEN.

Some skills I learnt/developed were . . .

• How to turn around fast in my kayak!  OLIVIA D
• That there are different techniques to make you stay in the boat when white water rafting.  ELEN.
• I've been mountain biking before, but never on terrain like this.  My skills improved a lot.  JAGO.
• Abseiling with control.  I wasn't very good to begin with.  JULIET.
• How to get on and off your bunk bed quickly, without hurting yourself.  ALEX.
• Being more fearless, because I usually don't like to try new things or step outside my comfort zone.  Thankfully, I outgrew this fear.  NELLY.
• Mountain biking, because I did lots of cool moves like drifting and speeding along the crazy track.  STEFAN.
• I learnt how to kayak standing up!  QUAID.
• To go to sleep when Alex says to go to sleep.  GEORGE.
• To be alert at all times when doing the activities.  BLAIR.
• How to kayak in a straight line!  HANNAH.

An activity I would like to try again . . .

• Abseiling - I was so nervous.  If I could do it again, I would relax and have more fun.  TAMMY.
• Rafting, because it was so much fun.  Next time I would go more extreme.  OLIVIA C.
• Caving, because it is really awesome underground and looks like you're in another universe.  BLAIR.
• Caving, because I loved looking at the glow worms and wetas.
• White water rafting, because it is loads of fun going high into the air and crashing and splashing with the other boats.  KYLE.
• Mountain biking, because I fell off a few times and I wasn't very fast.  I would try to go a bit faster and steady myself when I thought I was going to fall.  JASMINE.
• I would like to try kayaking on a better day, because the wind made it very hard to stay in one spot.  ELEN.
• A more extreme version of white water rafting, because I love huge rapids!  JULIET.

Why should Halcombe School continue to visit Turangi for camp?

• It is such a fun and active camp.  I personally really enjoyed doing all the activities, because it was my first time doing almost all of them and it got me into a couple of things that I would never have thought about before.  OLIVIA D.
• The whole experience is so different to anything you would have done before.  JULIET.
• It gives 'tasters' of different activities and encourages you to do extreme things and push yourself to your limit.  ALEX.
• Turangi is an action-packed camp.  We did so many activities, we were all exhausted at the end of the week.  ELEN.
• It is fun and teaches people to overcome their fears and go out of their comfort zone.  There are lots of skills involved in all the activities and learning new skills is important.  JAGO.
• Other classes will enjoy this trip and it feels cool knowing that not all schools do cool camps like these.  AALIYAH.
• It is cool to be able to hang out with your mates while doing some pretty hard core activities, testing your stamina, strength and endurance.  All of us kids LOVED camp.  NELLY.
• You don't get to do these kind of activities on other camps.  QUAID.
• It gives children a chance to try some outdoor activities to see if they like them or not.  It is an amazing camp and future Room 6 children will love going to Turangi.  LOGAN.
• Turangi is an excellent place to go for a school camp.  TAMMY.