Activities on School Camps
All of our activities are designed to promote a deep engagement and understanding within participants of their interaction with the whenua. They will typically involve some form of primitive craft using resources gathered onsite and follow a journey through discovery over several days. These are just examples - we have many more options and look forward to working with you to create unique experiences.
Clay
We dig and process the clay onsite and then spend time discovering how to make it workable. We then make thin-walled pieces which are left to dry by the fire for a couple of days. Then comes the real challenge - lighting the wood-fired kiln and bisque-firing them at 1000 degrees!
Foraging
Explore our beautiful ngahere (bush) and learn to recognise the native trees and plants - there are some stunning large tawa, rewarewa, rimu, matai and many others. Help us with our conservation efforts by learning about NZ pest species and methods of controlling them. Search the ngahere for some edible taonga to add to the pot. Tawa and kahikatea berries, kareao tips and kawakawa fruit are all delicious!
Pioneering
From making a simple tea-towel drying rack, to making a complex bridge to cross the stream. First, learn the knots and lashings needed to make a secure structure. Then test your skills in a team challenge. Finally, put your creativity to the test to come up with a pioneering mega-structure!
Shelter building
After having learned the basics of making simple structures, lighting fires and navigation, students will venture into the bush to put their skills to the test. We recommend being at least 2 nights in the bush, so that we get the chance to explore, improve our shelters and appreciate the beauty of the forest. We spend our time undertaking team challenges, navigating to secret spots, gathering firewood and looking after camp.
Forging
Students will first make charcoal, and then work the bellows in our simple outdoor forge to heat steel and make a useful blade or tool. Then comes the hard part - working this blank into a finished blade. This is followed by tempering and annealing. The blade is set into a wooden or bone handle and sharpened. The perfect tool to take into the bush for overnight survival!
Archery
Rather than a 30 minute activity, archery takes 1-2 full days at RBC - first you have to make your own archery equipment! The process begins by learning how to make charcoal, and then firing up the forge so that arrowheads can be produced. Then a trip into the bush to select straight saplings to make arrows, and finding feathers for the fletching. Careful selection of bow timber and then shaping the taper with a draw-knife. Be careful not to go too far - understand the wood's characteristics to develop the appropriate draw strength without snapping. Then finally bring it all together for target practice!
Team games
We introduce team challenges whenever possible throughout all of our activities. They encourage social and formal interaction and develop skills that might not normally be tested in the classroom. Many of our challenges require lateral thinking to come to the most efficient solution.
Swimming
Come swim in the stream, feed the tame eels and trout, hunt for koura (freshwater crayfish) and learn about the delicate balance of stream ecology.
