“I think we began to bond over complaining…”

Year 8 Camp

 

At 8:20 on the 30th of Jan, we stood in a cluster outside the bus, some of us so over – excited that we couldn’t keep still, and others still barely awake and unable to tell our right from our left hands…

That afternoon we arrived at the Gecko Bush Camp hot and sticky from the cramped bus, expecting a warm welcome and a rest – no such luck!

As soon as we got off, we put our bags in a trailer, and trekked along a dirt road for 45mins! I think we began to bond over complaining… Once we had finally arrived and began to mark our territory with loud laughter, chip packets, and the ultimately the end of tranquility in the wilderness, I decided to go to the bathroom. A spider. The size of my hand. Eye level! I pelted back to my dorm… that was the first spider but certainly not the last one! They were everywhere, causing much drama, several panic attacks and lots of work for Dr Doyle who was the only person  brave enough to go near them – but hey, fear brings us closer together!

Speaking of which, we really did do some bonding exercises that made us closer. We had to do things blindfolded, and trust each other, we did a lot of teamwork, and learned about the importance of communication, we had to forgive each other, believe in each other as well ourselves, and stay patient (even when we wanted to glue our eyes shut!).

Honestly on the first night, about 90% of the entire grade, didn’t even attempt to sleep, I won’t go into further detail but question how no teachers heard the loud thumps of our feet on the wooden pathways and our squeals of excitement or hysterical laughter!

I’m not sure how, but we still had enough energy to exercise at the crack of dawn, and then, after breakfast, we played a bunch of games, obstacle courses and challenges.

That night, we sat, jammed around the campfire. People chatted contently, their faces illuminated by the bright orange flames. If you looked up, the stars twinkled in the clear dark sky…

Until…
We had to lie on our backs for ages listening to Delta Waves so that we may actually sleep. Unfortunately, meaning all our plans and alarms set for midnight were pointless.

On the last morning, I realized,  (exhaustion aside) with great disappointment that camp was over – back to blue clothing and hard work. We sat in the bus, drifting of to sleep, only to be awoken by others singing (or, more accurately screaming), all I want for Christmas by Mariah Carey…

There are many different stories and opinions about our camp, but all I can say is, it was an adventure!

Akani