The Matahui Senior Leadership Camp took place at Mount Maunganui in week three. The weather was wonderful and the students were very lucky to be involved in some wonderful experiential learning. The photo above shows us waiting for the first of these a sailing trip on the beautiful catamaran Kindred Spirit. On the far right is Waikato University Hillary Scholar Sam Shergold who joined us to speak about what it takes to be one of the worlds best paddle boarders.

Apart from the learning that took place upon the boat the students also had the fun of being hung from an arm off the side of the boat where they could swing and bounce from the hull. Some took a bit of a dunking but this was of course not intentional!

In the photos above we listen to the skippers safety instruction and Ella takes a swing.

A walk up the Mount on dusk meant we all slept very well.

Day two saw us White Water Rafting upon the Rangitaiki River. You can see by the faces that it was a wonderful experience.

A visit to this part of the country would never be complete without a walk in the beautiful Whirinaki forest. Our guide Tom was extremely knowledgeable about the flora and fauna of our native landscape and he shared some wonderful stories of one of the most untouched corners of Aotearoa. We met our parents for dinner back at the camp. We were meant to cook for them but because we were a little late they fed us. Thanks parents! Another walk at dusk this time out to the tip of Moturiki (Leisure Island) and we were asleep before our heads hit the pillow.

Day three and time to go surfing! Another bluebird day and after a breakfast of pancakes prepared by one of our fantastic camp parents Carly, it was off for some waves. We walked over Mount Dury on our way back to dismantle our camp and head back to school. A wonderful camp with lots of hands on learning and experiences. That’s what we do at Matahui.