Page 32 - Southwell School Year Book 2021

YEAR 7 CAMP : BAY OF PLENTY ACTION, TAURANGA
ROCK HOP
The Rock Hop was my favourite camp activity. Even though the water was ice cold, it was still amazing. At first I was too terrified to jump, but in the end I jumped in a tight pin form. I got scared in the freezing water because the boys joked about eels and slimy creatures.
Part way through The Hop there were strong currents flowing between sharp rocks. I braced myself in the white water rafting position, bent my elbows in and crossed my arms on my chest. I got banged around a lot, but luckily I had my wetsuit on which protected me.
The next couple of jumps weren’t as high but were much more fun because I was no longer scared. Lots of people were too scared to jump and although I enjoyed it, jumping was still something that scared me. Part of the reason I was worried was because all my friends were scared to do it.
Near the end of the Rock Hop there was a small lake and an abundance of huge rocks. The lake was tiring to swim through, so I tried to catch a ride on Emma’s bag. Sadly it didn’t work but I made it in the end. Leaping from rock to rock was exhilarating and definitely the best part.
Madeline Butler
UP THE MOUNT
Groans came from every direction.
My foot exploded in pain. My moon boot was caked with sweat and my throat was dry. I was hot, thirsty and sore.
I took a sip of water. It just made me more thirsty.
I spotted a gap in the tree, and a seat!
The view was stunning. I felt like I was on top of the world, and I was only three quarters of the way up.
I wanted to stay sitting there forever but I knew I had keep going (or I didn’t have to, but I was determined)
We kept going. I could feel the sweat run down my face.
I shook my drink bottle. About half left.
I took another drink, at this rate I would run out of water halfway down the mountain.
As we round a corner I see a crowd and as we get closer I notice a sign saying five minutes to the top.
Five minutes felt like it took an eternity and my ankle was getting worse and worse.
But after five more minutes we got there. The top summit. It was breathtaking.
I had a celebratory drink. But I was celebrating too early, I still had to go down. And, as it turns out, going down hill in a moon boot is harder than going up.
Abby Hoskins
THE HIGH DIVE
I stood from foot to foot, as the line in front of me got smaller and smaller and in a blink of an eye, it was my turn. My toes gripped onto the slippery edge of the high diving board. I stared down into the black water and it looked back with threatening eyes like a mouth wanting to swallow me up. My legs felt like jelly and my head swam with frightening thoughts of what lay ahead. Everyone was staring at me with intensity, I knew it was now or never. So I jumped.
Adrenaline rushed through my body, wind whipped past my face, everything went through with a blur and before I knew it, I plummeted into the water. Cold hit me like an electric shock, as my skin instantly turned to goosebumps. I popped up out of the water gasping for breath from the cold water that wrapped around me. My drenched hair stuck to my face like soggy noodles and I clambered out from the moss-covered steel ladder. The sun shone warmly on my back, as I staggered over to my friends. A sense of relief washed over me, I had just completed the High Dive and I couldn’t stop grinning.
Shannon Yu
THE BLOB
I jumped onto the blob, sending the person in front of me sky high. Was I sure I wanted to do this? I thought to myself as I slowly stumbled and crawled my way forward to the blobbing area. Well, I couldn’t go back now.
When I was halfway there, I slipped. I cried out as I rolled ever closer to the water. It seemed like decades until I finally got a hold of the blob. I was dangling precariously close to the water. I breathed a large sigh of relief and with straining muscles, I started to climb up.
Once I was steady again, I wiped the sweat off my brow and continued moving forward, this time more carefully. Okay, I was in the blobbing area. I got into the blobbing position and yelled up to the platform that I was ready and braced myself for what was to come.
“3...2...1...BLOB!” I rocketed into the air at the speed of light. Then I started
to come down which took what seemed like forever. Then splash! With adrenaline pumping through my veins and gasping for breath, I began to swim back, the same words running over and over in my head, “I want to do it again!”
Troy Poole