Day 1 - Monday 9 September 19

Today we started our journey to camp at 7:45 after we all loaded the bus. We started of by loading our gear into the bus. Obviously we couldn't just leave without saying our farewells to our parents and fanau, So we said our goodbyes which lasted 5 minutes. Most of us were emotional but at the same time looking forward to experiencing what it's like being outside Auckland and also getting the opportunity to explore and also learn about the treaty of Waitangi / History of New Zealand.

During our Road trip to Whangarei, We played some music to keep us active. Candice and I, especially were super hyped and excited. We sang and danced throughout the whole trip while also looking at the trees ahead of us. At around approximately  11:30, we stopped at Whangarei for morning tea. We were only given 20 minutes because if we took more than 20 minutes, we would've reached Waitangi treaty Grounds late. At 12:15 we reached Waitangi. When we arrived we met Chris and Magnus who are our guides for the week.

Around 12:30 - 1:30 we were welcomed to the Treaty grounds with a very entertaining Powhiri / Maori Cultural performance. We enjoyed it very much and we also got the chance to perform our Haka / Waiata. When we finished our performance, We had a tour around the treaty grounds and also got the learn a few things that happened there such as the Treaty being signed.

4:00 we said thank you to our guides and also got onto the bus once again and traveled to Orongo Bay by ferry. We traveled for about 15 minutes until we reached Orongo Bay Holiday Park in Russell. We loaded off our gear and all headed outside our common room which is the room where we have dinner and also where we have talks about our daily activities.

Minutes later we all played a little team building in our little groups we were put into for the week. I was in group 2, I was the leader and I had 7 more other students that were in my team. After we played the game. We were all exhausted to we had our showers, Gathered in the common room, Had dinner, Wrote our Evening reflections and got ready for bed!!

1 day down 4 more to go!!