WPC Lake Daniell

 On Wednesday 9/9/20 Room 8 and some parents went on a tramp along the Lake Daniell trail to Kohanga Atawhai-Manson Nicolls hut for a William Pike challenge. The gear we had to bring were a rain jacket, beanie or hat, thermals, walking shoes/tramping boots, medication, day pack, food and water. Before we went tramping we did some preparation work around hypothermia, information about Lake Daniell and mountain safety rules like leave no trace and bring the right gear. We also learnt about the beech forest and how you can get lost if you don’t stay on the track.

There were 28 students, 11 adults and 9 of them were parents. I traveled with Summer, Phoebe, and Rachel. We went through Lewis Pass near the Southern Alps and when we got to Reefton we stopped at the restrooms. Outside we played on the bike track and skate park. My classmates and I played bull rush on the grass area as well. We went through the spring junction and I thought it looked pretty. As we got to the carpark at Lake Daniell all of the students got numbers and my number was 21. 

I walked near the front of the group most of the time and there weren’t many big up hills. At first we stopped to check in every 20 minutes and after a while we stopped every 30 minutes until we got to the hut. We had to see if we could find trees that the long tailed bats would be in as well. On the way to the hut some people went down to the water and one person went fishing.

When we got to the Manson Nicolls hut we had another eating break, a rest and a walk around. Before we went inside we had to take our shoes off. Inside there was a big chalkboard and on the chalkboard there were people's names and drawings of birds like Tui’s. There were fire pits, picnic tables, seats made of logs and sinks outside. Before we walked back we had to sign a book to show who had visited the hut. 

On the way back other people and I had to walk at the back because we got in trouble. On our last stop Ms Kemp forgave us and let a small group of us walk at the front and the parent who was with us was Aaron. We walked at a fast pace and got to the car park quickly. Nathan and Charlie found a rope swing near a picnic table and Charlie F’s dad let us have a turn on it. Once everyone was back we all said our numbers and left. 

My favourite part was going on the rope swing and trying to travel around the tree. I also liked playing corners in the car with Phoebe and Summer. I learnt that Lake Daniell has a big drop so it goes really deep and I also learnt that it was originally called Lake Daniells with an s.