OPC Thursday & Friday

Thursday was our overnight adventure for camp. After being prepped about some things to expect the previous night, we were super excited for our overnight!

We started the day learning how to pack our packs. Basically, you fit in your sleeping bag and a change of clothes in case it rains. All the other space in the pack is left for group gear which included: tents, tarps, cooking set, food, etc. By the end of the packing, we were carrying super heavy, uncomfortable packs.

Before we left, we had a group activity at the main site. First, we learned about a traumatic accident that occurred at OPC in 2008 where six students and their teacher died during a hike up a gorge. The story is very extensive, but involved an instructor taking her students to a place that was off limits due to the water levels at the time. Unfortunately when the water levels continued to rise and the students were unable to get out of the gorge, many of the drowned. We learned about this sad event to discuss that safety measures that are now in place to hopefully prevent something so terrible happening again.

After the talk and walk to the gorge, we used the Flying Fox which was tons of fun! We were strapped into a harness and zip lined across the river.

Once we had lunch, we were off to our overnight camp site with our huge packs. The hike was a strenuous three hours through steep steps, fallen trees, and muddy terrain. We finally arrived with about an hour until sunset and had to get to work setting up camp, finding fire wood, and cooking dinner. Everyone chipped in and we were settled and eating while the sun was setting.

This was my first experience of real camping-while I've spent a few weekends camping at Assateague Island, I'm considering this real camping for two reasons: we didn't drive to the camp site and there obviously was no indoor plumbing.

The best part of the night was our time around the camp fire. The sky was absolutely beautiful and the brightest I've ever seen (and maybe will ever see). It's amazing how many stars you can see when you're in the middle of no where in a country that has barely any people!

The night was very cold but thanks to my awesome (borrowed) high tech sleeping bag I had a pretty good night's sleep (that was not the case for many of our girls). We were up before sunrise, packing up camp and heading back to the main site.

Our time at camp ended with an awesome debrief with the group. We shared our challenges and highlights of the trip which was fun to hear. I shared my biggest challenge which was taking a back seat during the entire week. It was such a valuable experience to tag along as someone who was not the instructor and who was not allowed to offer advice or help to the group in tough situations. As someone who is usually pretty vocal, it was a true test to go with the flow of the group but I sure learned a lot. From a teaching perspective, I not only learned games to bring back to my students, but I learned the value of a challenge. It was amazing to see our group come together and support each other during tough times. I learned to keep my mouth shut because if you let them, kids can really surprise you with what they can do especially given a particularly challenging situation.

I learned so much from the camp, the instructors, and the girls in my group and am so thankful for this experience.

We said our goodbyes and I was off to Wellington which was about a four and a half hour trip down to the bottom of the north island.

The lack of population in this country is truly unbelievable especially coming from someone who has grown up and lives in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. My entire drive was down State Highway 1 which was a two lane "highway" that didn't get even close to congested until we were right outside of Wellington. On the way, I passed through a few extremely small towns, saw about a million sheep, and lots of pretty scenery. It really is refreshing being somewhere that is not very populated and overrun with people, cars, roads, stores etc.

I made it to Wellington after sunset and am excited for my weekend here! 

OPC Wednesday- Caving

Wednesday was probably the most challenging day of camp, for the group and for me personally. We set out early with intentions to hike to two different caves in the area. While I was initially under the impression that this would be similar to the caving I did as part of the five hour adventure in Waitomo Caves, I was quickly assured that "those don't count as real caves."

Imagine walking through a stream to a pile of rocks and climbing through the rocks. Then, you continue crawling and squeezing through more rocks underground, occasionally coming to a spot where you can stand up- but usually not. That's caving. If you have any inkling of claustrophobia- caving isn't for you.

Now, we were prepped by this adventure by our instructor who assured us if someone got lost, he could easily maneuver through the cave in a half hour. It also is a little comforting to know that these caves have been crawled through for years and especially that caves are not affected by earthquakes (good information considering the recent earthquakes in the country). Still, I didn't love the experience. While it was very exciting, I didn't enjoy scrapping my legs, hands and arms crawling through mud and tight squeezes of rock and I especially didn't like feeling trapped.

Overall, most girls in our group loved the adventure and were excited for our next cave after lunch. For lunch, we sat on rocks in the stream and after we were off on a walk upstream to the next cave.

This walk was through a gorge which means we were at least knee deep in freezing cold water walking for about an hour. We had a few unfortunate incidences of girls falling completely in the water because of the slippery footing which was hilarious at the time, but made them cold very quick. By the end of the walk, right as we approached the second cave, we had two girls upset and freezing and quickly realized we had to get them out of their wet clothes and back up to the van so we could go back to the cabin. Because we were in a gorge,we were pretty much stuck in less we walked about another hour in the water so our instructor had to create a way for us to get up the steep sides of the gorge. Using a makeshift rope pulley system, the girls successfully helped carry one of the sick girls to the top. Some of the girls had to go up and down the steep hill twice which was tough. I was so impressed by how our team came together and did everything possible to help the struggling girls in our group.

We made it back to camp and the two girls were feeling better after a hot shower.

Later that night, I recorded the girls in my group explaining what we were up to at camp, using many of their favorite kiwi expressions. I've learned so many different words and phrases from this week! I'm excited to show these videos to my students because they will love hearing the NZ accents.

OPC TUESDAY- Skiing

Today we had an extra early wake up (6 am) to get out to the slopes on time. We headed about thirty minutes up the mountain to Mt Ruapehu which is a ski resort that sits on an active volcano. Although there is little threat of an eruption, we were required to watch a safety video and were reminded with numerous signs around the mountain about what to do if the volcano erupts, which was a little scary to me.

Many of the girls had not only never skied but have not seen snow! It was exciting to see everyone enjoy their time in the snow learning a new sport.

The down side was the conditions of the slopes. I chatted with a couple who claimed this was the worst they'd seen the mountain in 50 years. It's been such a mild winter here and they have not gotten nearly the amount of snow they usually do in the dead is winter. Lower on the mountain, the snow was thick slush that was hard to turn in and control my skis but the snow up the mountain was much better! The only problem was, we were so high up and frequently in the clouds which really hindered our visibility. In the states, slopes are surrounded by trees, but in New Zealand the slopes are marked my cliffs and rocks. There was many times I feared I'd be heading off a cliff while making a turn. Luckily I survived with no falls but definitely major soreness!

The girls had a great day on the slopes and many were already making plans of future ski adventures.

Tonight we had an amazing presentation from one of the OPC instructors about caving. We started off watching a brand new documentary about him and his crew finding two new caves in the south island which they are working towards finding a connection. The crew would set off on expeditions lasting anywhere from two weeks to three months and would sometimes be underground for eight days straight! The video footage was amazing of the camp they set up 2000m under the cave and of the cavers climbing and squeezing through holes to find a longer path.

If the group successfully finds the connection of the two caves, it will be the deepest cave in the southern hemisphere and longest cave in the world!

Unfortunately, my group is heading to the caves tomorrow for a full day adventure and I feel more claustrophobic after watching the video but I am excited for the adventure into the underground world!

OPC MONDAY

Today was my first official day at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre of NZ. This is a very popular outdoor school for schools in the north island to attend. I had been corresponding with the program director about my visit and was thrilled they allowed me to tag along for the week to see what they do around here.

I am shadowing the instructors at OPC and stay in the chalets with the students at night (this brings me back to my outdoor school days at Hashawa!). The school attending this week is an all girls high school from the North Shore which is just north of Auckland. There are 80 girls here in Year 12 (11th grade) who are attending as a part of their outdoor education grade for PE class.

It's been tons of fun getting to know the girls and learning about their school up north. I've also learned a ton of fun games and activities that I can bring back to Calvert. This outdoor school was based on the idea of team building and overcoming challenging situations. I always enjoy seeing students work out problems in their group in this type of setting.

I also appreciate the camps philosophy that all campers take part in the maintenance of camp. For example, campers have duties everyday to help clean the cabins and areas around the center. Also, campers help prepare all meals, wash dishes etc. Everyone really seems to pitch in in order to make the day run smoothly.

Our last activity was on the high ropes course which I was familiar with after my go on the high ropes course in Taupo. We did a team building challenge called the ladder where three campers attempt to climb as high as possible on a giant hanging ladder. The catch is, the rungs are further and further apart as you go up and you actually have to help push and pull teammates up to advance. I was lucky enough to go with the last group and am proud to say we made it to the top! It was exhausting!

Tomorrow we're heading to the slopes. The very exciting part is that this mountain is located on an active volcano that last erupted in 2007- tonight we had to watch a safety video demonstrating the precautions to take if the volcano were to erupt.

Taupo Day Two

On Sunday, I had a relaxing day in Taupo. I woke up with the good idea to exercise but quickly talked myself out of it. Funny enough I walked down to the lake to see a half marathon in progress. It was a great day for a race of that nature so I enjoyed watching the runners as they neared the finish line.

Next, I had breakfast and headed to the Huka Falls which is a pretty waterfall just outside of town. This was near a famous store called the Honey Bee Hive where they sell everything and more relating to honey. HONEY ice cream, wine, lotions, soaps, candy, candles etc. This was my second day visiting this wonderful place so I got to enjoy more ice cream and honey fudge. I have attempted to bring some back with me but only time will tell if any of it makes it back :)

I stopped in the local museum to have a look for an hour or so, did some more souvenir shopping and then headed on down the road.

I was due to arrive at the outdoor school where I'll be spending the week at 6pm so I gave myself plenty of time. Have I mentioned the lack of people and cars? It's really unbelievable especially living in such a populated place like Baltimore. There is an average of one road to get you everywhere and chances are, you'll see about six other cars during the entire drive.

Anyway,I made it to camp, up in the mountains- it's officially winter here, still mild but definitely chilly!

Taupo

Today I ventured about an hour south of Rotorua to Lake Taupo which is the largest lake in New Zealand.

But first- last night I went to a Maori dinner and show at a local tribe right outside of town. It was a fabulous cultural experience where we were able to eat authentic food,  learn history and dances, and see animals native to NZ.The whole gathering consisted of about 80 people coming from 17 different countries.  My table consisted of a couple from England on their eighth month of a nine month world tour (typical)  and a family from Indonesia.  The couple on the world tour is headed to San Fran in a few days where they will travel across the US for their final weeks of the trip!

The Maori have a similar story to our Native Americans in America. Living with a certified Lumbee Indian,  I understand a lot about the culture :)
Anyway,  the best part of the night were the dances.  They explained that each tribe has their own version of the Haka (seen before many rugby games) which is a traditional war dance. I cannot wait to tell my girls that this will be part of our spring dance performance!

We had a delicious meal which was cooked using white hot stones (the traditional way) consisting of lamb,  potatoes and a variety of salads. We had pavlova,  fruit,  and other cakes for dessert.

After dinner we travelled to an animal farm (small zoo) where we saw the kiwi bird! They are sneaky little guys that only come out for a second for you to get a good look. We learned a lot about the kiwi bird (which is native to NZ and cannont actually fly) and saw many other interesting animals including: lizards,  parrots, and trout (fun fact: Lake Taupo has the highest trout population in the world).

This morning I stopped at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland to see the Lady Knox Geyser erupt and to check out the many geothermal pools,  lakes,  and craters that make up the park. It was fascinating!  A guide compared this area to Yellowstone National Park and I'll have to say it definitely reminded me of seeing Old Faithful erupt many years ago.

After the park I drove down to the Lake, had my best sushi lunch so far on the trip (the only meal I didn't take a picture of) and then headed to my rock climbing adventure.

Like most of the adventurous things I've done so far on the trip,  I wasn't too nervous for this. But I'll admit that it was terrifying and I think I'm still shaking a little from the Giant Swing at the end.

I had the course all to myself and completed about six high ropes challenges including walking across a wooden beam and tight rope, and jumping off a stump to catch onto a swing (absolutely terrifying). The guide was awesome and only tried to scare me a little. He said school groups as young as six years old use this ropes courses and the oldest person to go on the giant swing is 82... now I have a great idea for birthday gifts for my grandparents!

For any of you who watch the Real World/Road Rules Challenges (plays on vintage MTV in my house daily) that's exactly what this event was like.  It was very scary but lots of fun!

Tonight is the big rugby game!  It continues to be all the talk around here and although we're a few hours from the stadium were the game is being played,   we are still in Waikato which is the home team- Go Chiefs!

Rotorua

I started the day exploring Rotorua by walking through gardens and among geothermal pools. It is phenomenal how many areas there are around here to bath in a pool, see a geyser or take a mud bath.

After a while I headed to the Polynesian Spa and opted for a full body massage in addition to bathing in the pools. It was discounted, and I had access to private pools so I went for it. The massage was amazing and afterwards I sat in a few different thermal pools overlooking Lake Rotorua. It was worth it!

After,   I had a nice lunch in town and headed towards OGO which is an adventure activity I had on my list. Many people know this as Zorb.. which it is. Basically,  some zorb guys wanted to start their own business and made a track that is twice the size.

OGO is like an extreme water slide and was a very thrilling 2 minutes of my life. I opted for the two ride package so I went down thr straight path and then the zig zag. You jump into a huge ball that is filled with some water and get pushed down a hill where you slosh around the entire time. You get to the bottom and hop in a hot tub until you take your next ride. It was honestly such a fun time! 

Now I'm headed to a traditional Maori dinner and dance where I will learn about the indigenous people of this area. I'm excited to add some cultural background to my adventurous day!