8KS at Deep Cove Camp 2020

Deep Cove  – By Hannah Hargest and Shalvi Permal - 8KS

Day One - We arrived at school ready for four days of gripping fun, we all left in our assigned cars and stopped in Lumsden for a toilet break. When we arrived in Manapouri we all hopped on the boat, all humming with excitement as we were able to go on top of the boat and look out at the crashing waves cutting across the lake. When we got to West Arm, we were ambushed by swarms of sandflies as we were bitten! We loaded the bus and were on our way to Deep Cove. We unloaded, unpacked, and got geared up for a walk to Helena Falls. It was a short fun filled walk and we were able to stand meters away from the crashing spitting waterfall by cutting across the creek and scrambling up the slippery rocks.

Day Two – Sadly it was raining all day but we made the most of it. We started off with splitting the class in two groups and half of the class went fishing and the other group did the Brassel point track with Alex our Real Journeys guide. Fishing went well as Martin (Bronte’s dad) and Brent (Ashton’s dad) helped us put the bait on the fishing hook. We were waiting patiently for our first fish then we heard Mitchell say, “I caught one! I caught one!” We all went to take a look and it was a Jock Stewart. We caught a lot of fish after that and everyone caught something. On the other side the Brasell point walk was very slippery we had a lot of people slipping, sliding and puddle jumping which was fun but we got really soggy. At the end of the day we all had fun, got to know each other better and made good memories.
 
Day Three – We woke up to the disappointment of rain pelting down on the hostel roof meaning we were unable to walk Hanging Valley, but we knew weather was just part of camp so, we decided to do some inside activities.  Later that day we were able to have the experience of a lifetime, ride the Navigator, which is a boat that cruises the bone chilling waters of Doubtful Sound. We played UNO, K&A’S, the logo game and other fun board games, while we were on the boat and we also got to have some amazing hot chocolates.  Most importantly of all we were able to explore outside of the boat on the deck and we were hardly able to stand up for the first part of the three hour trip as it was so windy! When we got to the hostel, we had the choice either to fish, walk Helena Falls again or practice for the camp concert which was held later that night. The brave people who decided to walk the Helena Falls track were delighted to see that the waterfall was massive and you could hear it thundering down on the rocks from the hostel. On the way back we all took advantage of the rain and got soaked hopping in and out of the slippery puddles. When we got back the Helena Falls group got to go fishing and caught plenty of fish, which was great. We then went back to the hostel and started practising for the concert. After we had all eaten dinner we were under way with our concert with some funny skits, quizzes and other performances. Mrs. Sinclair performed a remarkable mash up of songs, she sang while Jacob laid her a beat.

Day Four – We all woke up at around 7am excited and all packed up to go back home. On our way back on the boat to Manapouri we talked about one of the best and most important aspects of camping and how it helps us build and strengthen friendships. At Deep Cove we all got to learn new things about each other, made new friends and our bonds with people got stronger. In the four days we learnt to appreciate nature’s beauty. While walking all five senses are activated to take in the beauty of outdoors, how good food tastes after a long day outdoors, respect for the wilderness and how to get comfortable when we feel uncomfortable.
 
 A huge thank you to Mr Kotkamp for organising this amazing camp and to our parent helpers for making camp such fun.