Thumbs up for Ngamuwahine
In the last week of term before Easter, I volunteered as a parent helper for Ōmokoroa Point School’s Year 7 and 8 camp at Ngamuwahine Lodge.
Getting there was the easy part. It was a bold yet ultimately correct decision to go ahead with the bush trip despite some concern over looming ex-tropical Cyclone Fili.
In the event, the only damage I experienced was a sprained thumb as I attempted to re-enact Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s basketball scene from the 2004 film, Along Came Polly.
What a fantastic group of children. Yet again, I was humbled by the patience of today’s professional teachers with all the pastoral issues that come their way in the shape of cuts, bruises, sleepless nights, homesickness, tummy sickness but enough about me.
In all seriousness, it was one of the best camps I have been on as a veteran of these places. There were great teambuilding environments for the children kayaking, archery, rock wall climbing, abseiling, a high ropes course, a huge flying fox zipline, and paintball.
It was a high ropes course while being shot with a paintball gun for poor old Mr Short after he’d been such a good sport all week. The camp staff were masters and mistress of their craft, nailing the fine balance of pushing each child’s limits and boundaries.
There were child-made pizzas on the first night, cooked by three dads using the outdoor wood-fired oven. There was an epic tidy up on the final morning with some above and beyond yard sweeping that adults were perfectly happy to allow to continue.
There was an exceptional amount of Emma’s exceptional lasagna. Anyone for thirds?