On Wednesday morning we all arrived at school and we had a meeting. We put the gear and bags in the van then left. Our first stop was at Puna Tahu where we learnt and shared about its history. The next stop was at Pou near Dog Kennel Corner, which is a statue where we took photos. Next we stopped at the Opihi River where we thought about what it used to look like. We then arrived at the historic Monavale school where we explored and sketched the school, then we hopped in the van and drove to the next location, St. David's Church, near Cave where we sketched, had races around the building, and rolled down the hill. 

Soon after that we arrived at camp. In front of camp was a big flat field, to the left was the bunkrooms. Closest to the field were the girls' rooms with four sets of bunks, each with two beds. The floor was made with concrete. On the other side were the boys rooms which looked the same. To the side closest to the hill weere the bathrooms; they had five showers, four bathroom stalls and three sinks. Up the hill was the kitchen and a hall with long tables and some chairs around them. Thats where we had dinner and breakfast. In the kitchen there was an island table, two sinks and one dishwasher and a beach space where we made lunch. 

That afternoon we went over pipe lines and every time someone saw a spiky plant Oisín yelled “SPIKY DEATH WEED.” So many people fell off the rocks into the river (Guri, several times) and we cracked up laughing. When we got to the top of the walk there was a dam and most of the boys cheered as a stick fell down the side of the dam. Throughout the journey we crossed the Pareora River many times. The terrain was uneven and loose. There was an abundance of bones including a massive cow bone that Sam found and a hunting bullet shell that AJ found. At the end of the walk we made it to the rooms, and got ready for dinner. Evening activities included writing in our diaries and playing Charades. 

We woke up and had breakfast. We got ready to go to the Te Ana Rock Art Centre, but had to go to another rock art site named Te Mananui which means the great birdman, because of the weather. We were there for 10 minutes and then went to the bird aviary at Caroline Bay. We met Donna from the Te Ana Rock Art Centre at the playground and she explained to us the meanings of the Māori patterns that were on the playground. After that we had our lunch then we had an hour and a half on the playground. After that we went to the beach and we made sand castles. Soon it started raining so we went back to the vans and went to the Te Ana Rock Art Centre.

At the Te Ana Rock Art Centre we learnt about the importance of Māori rock art culture. Then after doing a lot of learning we went to C Bay pool. The boys made a big train in the Lazy River with floaties. It was funny. Finally, at McDonalds, we ate food like burgers before having a small play on the playground. At camp that evening we played Spotlight. The winners were Oisin, Poppy, Eira, Gurmillan, and AJ. The dads, Rob and Rob, were in charge.

On Friday we packed up our stuff. Then we got called up to eat breakfast. After breakfast the YMCA came. We played a variety of games like archery and bubble balls. Harri was the champion against Paige. In archery Miley's team won. We stopped at Fairlie on the way back to Twizel.

This is how we showed our WAKA values during our camp.

Whānaukataka - We came together as a class. We also respected the Māori culture at the Māori rock art site and the Te Ana Rock Art Centre, and we also welcomed our helpers.

Awhinataka - We presented respect to our elders and our classmates. We also cared for our learning and the learning of others.

Kaitiakitaka -  We lived our WAKA values at camp and demonstrated guardianship in our environment.  

Ārahi - We were challenging ourselves with new adventures and learning. We were also enthusiastic and participated. 

Thank you to our parent helpers, Rob Davis and Rob McIntyre. It was a memorable camp experience that everyone enjoyed.