BDS Room 15 2012: May 2012

Wednesday 16 May 2012

Marine Animals

Did you know?
An Octopus's favourite food is crab, shrimps and lobster, but they can also attack larger animals, such as sharks.

Camp Bentzon

Waa hoo! We were going to Kawau Island/Camp Bentzon. I was ready! As soon as my dad had dropped me off at school I handed my pack of biscuits in to Mrs B.

The bus arrived. Rooms fourteen and fifteen went on one bus together with half of room twenty two and on the other bus ware rooms twelve and thirteen and the other half of room twenty two.

Yah! We finally approached Kawau Island after the ferry ride. We started unloading bags from the ferry. Afterwards we sat down on the deck and Peter and Erin told us some of the rules of Camp Bentzon. Then we went into our cabin, R5.

We got changed into our shirts, socks, shorts, shoes, and hats and put some sun block on. Then we went down to the deck where Erin told us that we were doing a nine kilometre bushwalk to Vivian Bay instead of doing killer hill. When we were walking, my feet were killing me. When we arrived at the beach we all went for a swim. The water was nice and cooling, and we were only allowed up to our waists.

After the swim we had a sand castle competition, but there was no winner.

Then I decided to play volleyball. It was girls against boys and the girls thrashed the boys hardcore because we had Raychel's mum on our team.

Next it was time for dinner. The bell rang and my group got dinner first. We had noodles, wedges, chicken, and yummy bread. Then it was time for pudding. We had apple crumble. Yuck! I hate apple crumble, no matter what!

Then we cleaned our teeth and went to bed. The pillows that they provided us with were so uncomfortable.

The next morning we did the fitness trail and I really enjoyed it.

Next my group did bivouac making. Our bivouac was the best compared to the other groups.

Then we did sailing. I found sailing really fun. I enjoyed it the most out of all the activities at Camp Bentzon. My partner for sailing was Rebecca. I did the steering and Rebecca was controlling the sail.

On Tuesday for dinner we had roast beef, wedges, salad, tomato sauce and GRAVY!!!!! YUM! YUM!

On Thursday we did orienteering. My partner was Elizabeth. I learnt how to use a compass. Elizabeth used the compass and I was writing down the clues. We had to get the right temperature from our clue sheet on to the compass to find the letters. Elizabeth and I finished second! Not bad!

After that we did the confidence course. My favourite course was the tyres. It was basically five ropes, four of them with tyres and one is just the rope with five knots that you climb down. I really enjoyed the confidence course.

We also did raft building. It didn’t work out so we got to jump off the pontoon and swim. Kayaking was awesome! We went all the way to Sting Ray Bay and Survivor Island and it took ages. I was really tired after kayaking.

Friday was the last day at Camp Bentzon so we all packed our bags and left. I will miss Camp Bentzon.

By F.S

Camp Bentzon

Camp Benton

“Yes, sailing!” group five said. It was time for sailing; there had been a lot of talk that sailing was the best activity. Peter told us everything we had to know. So we took off. I was solo sailing with two other people, Josh P and Victoria. When I went, I basically capsized straight away! So I had to get the boat up again. It was filled with water, so I had to go back to shore to get it out. After that I was alright until the centre board hit the bottom. I was struggling again and had to pull it up a bit more so I could go again. I got back to shore the quickest because the lighter you are, the faster you go.

After that it was down time, which means you have a choice to go fishing, swim, play volley ball or read a book quietly. Most people chose fishing or a swim. I chose fishing every night except for nights when we weren’t allowed.

I caught 13 fish, most of them snapper. I also caught the biggest one. It was a kahawai. Seif’s fish was close to the size of mine because he caught a snapper and they are short and fat and my fish was long and skinny. To really know whose was the biggest, they would have to be weighed.

Kayaking was our second activity. We kayaked about 3 and a half kilometers. We went right round the bay and then out to Survivor Island. After we got to Survivor Island we put our kayaks on the Island and then we went into a huge cave in a rock. Erin took us through and showed us a mini rock pool that had bright purple and green sea anemones. Then she opened oysters and most people ate them, but I didn’t. After that we had to go all the way back. It was hard work.

Overall I think Camp Bentzon was a great experience. I would love to go back again because there were a lot of exciting activities, great areas and good walks.

By SW

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Wednesday at camp

On Wednesday we went to the copper mine and Mansion House at Schoolhouse Bay. We all went uphill along the narrow paths, and downhill along a path with a steep edge.

Mr T came in the morning and he taught us on our trip. He was an amazing tour guide for the day. We had a fabulous tour around the Copper mine. It had rocks that were coloured differently. They were so cool and pretty. The beach was dazzling. For our lunch we got K-bars and two sandwiches, and also an apple. We ate lunch at the Copper mine.

Mansion House was the best thing out of the whole camp. I enjoyed all that fun, but it was tiring. I was really suffering, because my legs were amazingly tired from that walk. I walked with my walking buddies, Victoria and three parents. (They were teasing us because we walked like snails.)

An excerpt by BM

A WEEK AT CAMP BENTZON

A Week at Camp Bentzon

Super, double hooray! We just got to spend the first week of Term 2 at Camp Bentzon on Kawau Island! When we got there, the first activity we did was an exhausting 2 and a half hour hike. We went up and down hills and had a 30 minute swim at a beautiful beach called Vivian Bay.

The next day was an activity day. Tuesday 24 April 2012 probably held the biggest highlight for my time at Camp Bentzon: Kayaking! We kayaked all the way to Survivor Island, a small island a little way from camp, and got to have oysters. I didn’t have any because I don’t like some types of seafood. When we returned, we had kayaked 1.75 kilometres.

On the same day as kayaking we did raft building. You are supposed to build a raft out of rope, 4 large barrels and some logs and paddle it out to the pontoon. Our raft was not the best raft ever and as we approached the pontoon the rope came loose, but we still made it... just.

On ANZAC day Mr K read the ode and we had a moment’s silence. After that we took a water taxi to Schoolhouse Bay. From there we hiked to a copper mine. The experience was awesome. The mine was right on the edge of the sea, so there was a huge pump house. I found some copper ore (green stuff that they melt into copper) but was told to leave it behind. Then we hiked all the way to Mansion House. Mansion House was huge and really old. Apparently it was alarmed so if you touched something you weren’t supposed to, it would go off. It took about 30 minutes to go around, it was so big. Someone brought tennis balls and we got to play with them for 15 or so minutes. Then we took a ferry back to camp.

Thursday was another activity day and this time group 5 (my group) did sailing. I was paired with Abigail and she did a good job moving the sails for someone recovering from a broken knee. There wasn’t much wind so our boat wasn’t moving much and that made it hard to steer. The people who were solo sailing had it a bit easier, because they were lighter and therefore faster. Sam was the only person who capsized out of about 65 kids and he was in group 5.

On Thursday we also made bivouacs. We were on a hill, so that made it that little bit trickier. We split into 2 teams to see who could make the best bivouac. The other team had a head-start but my team found a giant log and we worked together to wedge it in between two trees. Our bivouac turned out quite and Rory found a towel to put on it. In the end, once we’d finished, water was thrown over them to see how waterproof we had made them. I stood right out and blocked about 90% of the water with my back. Man, was I soaked! Luckily it was really sunny and I dried pretty quickly.

Friday was the last day at Camp Bentzon and I woke up feeling pretty sad, but also slightly happy that I was going to be back in my own bed. It was raining in the morning so they unveiled a 40 inch Sony TV on which we watched a movie about Garfield, the cat. We had already packed our bags, but it took us ages to load everything onto the ferry once it arrived. The ferry ride back to Sandspit was fun, but everyone on the lower deck got a coke and I wasn’t there. When we arrived, our buses were waiting for us and Fraser and I were talking about stuff all the way back to school. When we got there, a huge mob of parents were waiting for us, like a mob of fans waiting for a movie star. I spotted my Dad on the side-walk and couldn’t wait to tell him about all the adventures I’d had.

Camp Bentzon was super awesome and I would give it a 9.5 out of 10. The only thing it could do with, is fishing rods for hire.

DAY ONE OF MY COOL CAMP ADVENTURE

DAY 1 OF MY COOL CAMP ADVENTURE

Screech! Mum slammed on the brakes and pulled into the car park to drop Dad and me off. Dad and I grabbed our heavy bags, and carried them through the front gates. The school looked deserted. The next minute I was bombarded like marmite in a pickle jar.

We boarded the bus like sardines in a can. The bus ride was very long but when we arrived at beautiful Sandspit it was worth the ride. After that we had morning tea, and then the long ferry ride to Kawau Island.

When we arrived at Kawau, we first settled in our rooms and then went for a long walk to Vivian Bay. We ran to the water when we finally reached the beach. After we had a swim, we had a sand castle making contest. Jay-Michael, Ethan and I made a mine with real tunnels. It was so much fun!

We crushed our sculptures before we left and then took the long treacherous road back to the camp grounds. Then we had quiet time until dinner.

After dinner we filled out our exciting camp booklets and went to sleep. And that was day one at Camp Bentzon.

By FW

Day 4 at Camp Bentzon

On Thursday morning at camp we started our day with a walk on the fitness trail. I didn’t know before we started that there would be obstacles in my way. The hardest one was the see-saw, because once I got on, I started to think, “I’m going to fall, I’m going to fall!” But when I got off I thought “Hmm, that wasn’t so hard!”. Afterwards it was time for breakfast and at that time I was really hungry.

It was 1:30 when I went down to sailing, my sailing buddy was Miyako. She was doing the steering and I was doing the sail. Half way through the lesson, we almost tipped over, but luckily I let go of all the rope and we went back to normal. The sail almost hit Miyako in the head, but she always ducked when it came. I’ve also learned that wherever the boats points, that’s where the wind is coming from.

After dinner and brushing our teeth it was skit night. When we heard the bell go, we all ran into the recreation room. The first act was performed by Samuel and his friends. They did an act about Dora and it was funny. The 5^th act was Kawau Idol where the untalented people preformed. Georgia S rapped some nursery rhymes, Sloane was second with her disappearing pebble, Victoria did a disappearing monkey act, Megan did a karate trick, and Rebecca was last with her opera item.

My group’s act was up next and we did a dance to Party Rock Anthem and after our act the parents did their act. The parents’ item was really funny. All that laughing made me sleep really well on Thursday night, because everyone was shouting when we had the skits, so everyone was pretty quiet when it was sleep time.

I think camp Bentzon was the best camp ever and I loved the activities that the teachers planned for us! We had a lot of fun.

Monday 7 May 2012

Camp Bentzon - My Recount

Camp Bentzon

“Yes, sailing!” group five said. It was time for sailing; there had been a lot of talk that sailing was the best activity. Peter told us everything we had to know. So we took off. I was solo sailing with two other people, Josh P and Victoria. When I went, I basically capsized straight away and everybody laughed at me! So I had to get the boat up again. It was filled with water, so I had to go back to shore to get it out. After that I was alright until the centre board hit the bottom. I was struggling again and had to pull it up a bit more so I could go again. I got back to shore the quickest because the lighter you are, the faster you go.

Overall I think Camp Bentzon was a great experience. I would love to go back again because there were a lot of exciting activities, great areas and good walks.

By SW