“We reached Canaan Downs to find out we have no reception. You must be wondering how could a group of
teenagers survive?!!
We decided to get as distracted as we could with the beautiful surroundings around us. So after we set up our
tents where we would sleep for the next two days, every student participated in an activity.
“A group of 15 students went to do navigation towards Howards Hole. The walk was very long and painful. We
learnt how to use a compass and map appropriately. Our legs cramping, sweat trickling down our backs, it was
hard. But after the navigation we felt a sense of accomplishment”.
“We did Mountain Biking. It was a very fun experience for a large group of us because for some of us MTB is one
of our favourite hobbies. We’re glad that we could join it with people we enjoy”.
“In the evening once we had all finished our activities, we freshened up and had burgers and wedges for dinner”.
“It was really cold in the morning, as our generation would say “#hyperthermia” this was where the phrase would
work perfectly. Waking up to the cold air entering our tents didn’t stop us from continuing on with our day”.
“Group one along with four other groups were ready to start their activities. Today, group 1 was ready to conquer
another challenge, rock climbing and caving. For some of us these were our biggest challenges and for the others it was very easy. “For me caving was the biggest highlight for camp. Whilst rock climbing was the biggest challenge for me”, Overall the experience for the activities on Tuesday was spectacular”.
“After having a warm dinner it was time for reflection, each student read out a prayer from their reflection booklets. To conclude, some people were either playing manhunt whilst the rest of the group sat around a warm fire having a conversation with friends, Whenua Iti staff and teachers”.
“I woke up looking forward to the delicious breakfast of spaghetti on toast when I heard the rain and wind rasping
against the tent making it shiver! My tent was wet on the inside from the previous people”.
“As our camp came to an end and the final activities of caving, navigation, mountain biking and rock climbing came to a close we were extremely tired. We thanked our camping instructors and made our way back home to sunny Nelson and to our much warmer beds”.
“On behalf of the YR 11 camp groups, we would like to thank the Whenua Iti staff, the owners of the campsite and Garin College Staff for making this camp possible. Turns out a group of teenagers can survive without our phones and social media. #POSSIBLE #CAMP #WEDIDITTOGETHER”.