This morning, the Glenbrae School car park was full by 7.15 am. Students carrying their bags everywhere and parents giving their children the last advise about having fun and being safe at camp.
At 7.45 am, the bus was loaded with the luggage, students and staff onboard, karakia for our safe journey was done by Mrs Raj and we departed for our destination of the Bay of Islands.
The only stop we made on our way was at Whangarei for lunch. It was a welcome break as we all wanted to stretch our legs. Once we finished lunch, we all jumped on the bus, did our head count (the first of many for this camp) and headed for the Treaty Grounds.
At exactly 12.15 pm, we arrived at Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Our driver Maiki parked the bus in a safe area and we all came off the bus eager to meet our Adventure for Good guides Magnus and Chris.
After a brief introduction game, we were introduced to Whaea Roi who was our Treaty of Waitangi tour guide. Whaea Roi gave us all a sticker for the Treaty Grounds and led us to the marae where we were to be welcomed with a powhiri.
The powhiri was a wonderful and important part of our introduction to the marae and our camp. When we entered the whare nui, we first had to take our shoes off. Once inside we were treated to a live performance by the kapahaka group. They sang with enthusiasm and great talent. At the end of their performance our students who are in the kapahaka group for school performed for them. It was a lovely exchange of Maori culture between our group and theirs.
After the performances, we came outside where we learnt about the flags of New Zealand. Whaea Roi was pleasantly surprised at how much we already knew about the history of Aotearoa. After our korero outside, we then went into James Busby's house for a visit. Instantly inside the boys were attracted to the interactive information. We were happy to be inside the house where they drafted the treaty. We also discussed how in our learning, we have discovered the treaty was not carefully crafted for its purpose.
After we left the Busby residence, we headed for the museum. Our time in the museum was cut short because we were running out of time. However, during our tour we did learn a lot of facts about the treaty and the early settlers as well as the Maori people.
After bidding farewell to Whaea Roi, we boarded our bus and headed for Kororareka. The ferry ride was short and we were so hoping to see some dolphins as past camps have witnessed dolphins swimming near the ferry. Unfortunately, no such luck for us.
Once we arrived at our camp base Orongo Holiday Park, we eagerly took our luggage off the bus and took them into our cabins. While we were eager to have a break and relax in our cabins, Chris and Magnus had team building activities they wanted us to participate in. The activity involved being in our camp groups and stringing a rope through our clothing so we were all connected. We then had to search for clues around the camp site using a map. The activity did make us work together and also sort out some differences in our ideas about working as a team.
At dinner time, we were all tired but still full of energy. Dinner was fish and chips which we enjoyed. We were also treated to juice. Yes! Juice. After writing our reflections, we were sent to our cabins to shower and get ready for bed. Well going to bed proved difficult for some who were full of energy and excitement. It took a good few hours to ensure all were asleep, especially the boys. Poor teachers had to walk around outside the cabins like security guards.
At the end of the first day, we have travelled many kilometres, learnt a lot, laughed a lot, shed some tears as we were missing our families but most of all full of excitement for the next four days.
HELLO
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