The 2018 Outdoor Ed camp was a breath-taking experience away at the Tawharanui campsite. Two outdoor ed classes travelled by bus to be assessed on navigation and camp living. The three days we spent away allowed us to expand our comfort zone and bond with our classmates.

The day we arrived we set up our campsite before tramping through mountain’s, farm lands and beaches lead by the students to stop at the peninsula’s point to be assessed on our navigation skills. We had to bring, prepare and cook each meal to complete part of our camp living assessment.

The following day consisted of beach activities like kayaking, sand castle competitions and paddle boarding. Pete travelled up from Auckland to teach the groups to paddle board confidently, our favourite part was riding the waves back to shore on the boards because it was something that we have never tried before.

Kayaking was a challenging activity because of the rocky conditions of the water, it made the kayak harder to control going over the waves but the adrenaline of going over the waves made it very exciting and nerve racking feeling the water and rock underneath you.

When out of the water we competed against other groups in a sand castle competition, the winners were the human turtle and the kotuku bird.

To end the day we went on a night walk across the beach to star gaze and tell scary stories and play spotlight.

The last day was a recovery day on the beach to relax from the last two days of waking up early for morning runs, daily tramps and water activities. The experience grew our perspectives and made us appreciate the privileges that we have back in Auckland, the three days without our devices or luxuries taught us how to be present in the moment. This was a new experience for all of us that we would do again.