Wonderful Day on the Hahei Explorer

Some of our best weather comes in the autumn, and we are certainly getting wonderful days this March.
Just a few days ago I took Naho, Laura, Ping, Koy, Nashiko and Andrea for a trip around the coastline between Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach, on the Hahei Explorer.
Great students and great fun!!

As you can see it was still warm enough for everyone to have a swim afterwards.

Banana Boat

We had a fantastic group of students out on the banana boat last week. They had so much fun. Here are just a few shots of some of the action and one of the whole group at the end of a great day.

The Big Jump

Part of every Banana Boat activity is a visit to a little cave between Cooks Beach and Lonely Bay. This cave is known as Cooks Blowhole. As you can see from the photos there is a ledge about 3 or 4 meters above the water level which the very brave can climb up to, and jump off!!! It is a lot higher when you are standing up there than it looks from down below. As usual we had plenty of hardy students willing to give it a go.

Fishing From the Rocks

Although we sometimes go fishing from a boat, we also often go rock fishing. This involves choosing a place along the coast, and there are many to pick from, that suits the days weather and sea conditions. We then cast our lines from the rocks out into the deeper water and wait and hope. Here you can see the waiting and some proof of the results. This is Marius with his kahawai.

Kiwi Cooking

Every now and then we have an afternoon of kiwi cooking. The office staff really like this activity because they get to sample all the goodies that the activities students cook.
In this photo our activities teacher Ann (2nd from right), is explaining something to Marius, Noemi and Stefanie.

The Lost Spring

This is a new activity for us here at COLC, and it is also a brand new attraction for Whitianga.

This pool complex set in really extraordinary grounds and gardens is a real surprise. Once inside you would never guess you were right in the middle of our little town.

These photos show just a little of the tropical surrounds and also show our group of students enjoying the wonderful warm water.

The man in the black tee shirt in the last photo is the developer behind this project and he kindly spent spent some time with us, explaining the story this new complex, and also the history of the hot water it uses.

Orchard Visit

Summer is a great time to visit Mark and Vicki and their wonderful garden and orchard. As well as lots of interesting information about NZ trees and growing conditions, there is always lots of delicious fresh fruit and vegetables to sample.

They also have a small Kauri nursery that we look at and learn about. Here they grow Kauri trees from locally collected seed.

This is a great activity that the students enjoy.

These photos are of a great group we took there in February.