Year 5/6 Camp

My first activity was archery. I had done it before, but I was never any good. We made our way over to the archery station. There were different ranges 6 metres 8 metres and so on it was Boys vs Girls oh no I thought this is a recipe for disaster. I was second last, not because I needed to observe because I didn't want to make a fool out myself straight away. When it was my turn, my stomach did a flip. I forgot how to breathe. I hid my emotions and stepped forward. I loaded an arrow and put two fingers on the string and pulled back. This was where everyone struggled. That thought distracted me. I let go without thinking. I made the decision to look. 40… I scored a 40! I tried not to look as surprised as I felt I repeated what I did aiming perfectly getting 40’s each time. The worst bit was I wasted all that energy for our team to lose.

Now my luck was coming back to me. Our activity was the Giant Swing. I would never go first, no matter how fun it is. The rules were we needed a harness, helmet and if we had long hair a hair tie. When it was my turn, I was terrified however, I made sure it didn’t show. Making my way over felt like every step my limbs were getting heavier and my chest was closing in. When I got there, I could barely breathe. I was hooked in my blood coursing through my veins, fear swallowing me in its grasp. My shaking hand made it to the black rope, my other hand clenching onto my hook. 3-2-1…. I tugged at the rope, my body went limp and I looked up feeling the air rushing past me. My eyes stung with the air every time I opened them. I tried to scream.

All I could do was let out a maniacal laugh.

By Eva C

In what felt like a second I was clipped onto the zipline, the breeze blasting my face off, my heart beating rapidly, I looked at Joseph hoping he was okay. The instructor waved the yellow, and Mrs. Slonim waved hers back, then we waited and waited for the other school. Finally the instructor said go and I threw myself off the platform and off I went. The wind was blasting into my face, and I felt weight-less. It was the best feeling ever. I got the whole view of the lake, and was hoping the zipline would never end. I looked back at my friends on the ground waving at me, I looked forward and there it was, the end.

By Dev

After archery I felt extremely ready for the next activity, the Giant Swing. Last year I didn’t go to the top but I felt I was brave enough to go all the way up the enormous swing. As soon as we got there I looked at the towering swing, reconsidering my choices. It really didn’t look that tall, but from up there it looks like a 30 metre drop. I was called third to go in and as I was anxiously waiting with the itchy harness on me I was called out. I felt both scared and fine at the same time, like one part of me seriously didn’t want to go but the other part really wanted to go. I walked over and climbed the ladder, my legs already feeling numb. All the mechanics were put on, and it did not make me feel better that the structure was creaking. Imagine if the swing fell off? I would fly out and die, but no way right? The ladder was removed from my feet and I already felt myself getting a wedgie. I looked down at my classmates, some even cheering me on. And then I looked down. I had already started feeling uncomfortable, like I had just been hit on the head. I was pulled up by my classmates and somehow made it all the way to the top. I knew I couldn’t go back now. The instructor yelled, “3, 2, 1, PULL!” I looked all around me, looking at the beautiful view of the camp. The breezy wind flowing on my skin and the sun glaring at me. Then I snapped back to reality, with all the others looking at me. I pulled the black cord in front of me, I felt a sudden jolt. I quickly fell down 14 metres. Worst part is I was fully backwards, the sharp wind pushed against my body. I spun around in circles and as I made the second swing I let go of the rope. It felt like I was flying in the air and I did a bunch of poses while in the air. Quickly it was all over and I was just dangling in the air. I leaped down from the ladder, with the biggest smile on my face. I walked by everyone like I just won the grand final.

I sat down and watched the other people screaming on the swing. The good thing about these types of activities is that they go by so quickly, it was only a matter of time before the last person went and we were all ushered back to our cottages.

By Oskar