Year 6 Camp Adventures

On the 19th March, 28 children, two teachers, 1 student teacher and 14 nervous parents headed off to Camp Columba for the adventure of a lifetime!

We loaded up the bus and climbed aboard, singing our way to the metropolis of Balclutha. A speedy toilet stop, a run in the park and a few close encounters of a parrot kind and we were on our way again.

Our arrival at the Camp was met with excited chatter. Unloading the bus was a speedy affair and after we got over the shock of the huge size of some of the bags (cough, cough Ethan!) we quickly settled into our cabins and were onto the first activity.

The camp activities are full on, the children rotated in three groups around a series of activities lasting an hour and a half each. The high ropes (terrifying!) and the flying kiwi were big hits, as were the kayaking (especially the kayak slide!) and the raft building. Some more cerebral activities included rocket building and problem solving challenges such as filling up a holey barrel, leaping their way over a fictitious minefield and escaping from knots. The abseiling was a challenge that all of the children enjoyed and hated in equal measure!

The weather was incredible which meant the epic water slide was in hot demand. Mrs Ward and Mr Direen enjoyed joining in as did many of the parents!

At camp there is an incredible slide, the children sit inside a wool sack and look resplendent in shiny helmets. Many get a bit of air time over the bump, and some of the parents also enjoyed the slide (though not the 177 steps back to the top!) Mr Coffey enjoyed the slide so much he shouted with 'glee' all the way to the bottom!

The food was fantastic, we enjoyed lovely home baking and fruit and crackers for snacks. We had Spag bol and burgers for our dinners, pizza and then pies and fries for lunch, and cereal, toast and hash browns for breakfast! All food was gobbled up by hungry children and adults alike.

Evening entertainment was amusing. We had a fabulous evening of project runway with the theme of "A childhood book character" we had Snow White, Rapunzel, The Wicked Witch of Columba as well as many others. It was a lot of fun and we were delighted by their creativity. The next night we were dazzled by the talent on show. Dancing, musical performances, comedy, skits, card tricks. We had it all going on. The concert was very ably hosted by Molly Force.

The last day was action packed and we all climbed onto the bus in the stifling Southland heat at 3pm on Friday afternoon, exhausted and delighted with it all.

Camp is a lot of work, but it is always such a pleasure to take the children away. They are incredible children. Brave. Kind. Fun and funny!

Big thanks to all of the amazing parents who came with us to help. They really were incredible! We are really appreciative of their good humour, their joining in and energy! Thanks heaps!

Year 6 Camp 2025. Done.