For the Grade 9 trip we went to Cat Ba, pretty much everyone said it was the best school camp that they had ever been on and we were all upset upon coming back because we had so much fun.

We were split into three groups, A, B and C. After a grueling three hours impatiently waiting on the bus we stopped to get on a speedboat that was actually a boat that went at speeds I could probably maintain indefinitely. It had a flat roof which our bags perched on precariously. I think if the boat had rocked just a little, the whole bunch would have fallen into the water, so luckily for us, it was a smooth ride.

On arrival we checked into our hotel which was pretty huge (9 floors). Some kids got awesome suite rooms while others got stuck in ones whose bathroom doors didn’t even close and had no windows. We then went to the beach and .basically had free time. The teachers set up volleyball nets and a couple of kids went for a swim. I think that was one of the best days for everyone.

The next day we played a massive game of capture the flag. Certain serious people took it really seriously and got numerous thorns stuck in them and also managed to get covered in mud and water from running around and tearing through bushes.

The day after that we were supposed to go on a 5 hour hike but luckily for us it had rained a lot the night before so it was cancelled. Instead they took us on a ride. The downside of that was that we had to use these TERRIBLE bikes to get there. They had no gears and squeaked constantly. Two kids had pedals that broke off which made it pretty hard for them to pedal along. The seats couldn’t move up and down and we soon realized if you were tall on a bike with a small seat then it was pretty hard to get up hills. Short kids with high seats found it hard to get off the bike as their feet couldn’t touch the ground.

After the ride went for a hike and checked into our Bungalows. The girls had to sleep in one big room on double beds so you can imagine how heated the arguments were. We however had a shack, sorry, BUNGALOW to ourselves. Ours had one single bed and a double. Kent and I finally agreed to sleep on the double bed as Phillip absolutely refused. We then spent an awkward night lying half off the bed to be as far away from each other as possible. Another 10 people could probably have fit in between us! Not that we got much sleep as we had just spent a grueling hour telling ghost stories. It was the worst for us as we were the furthest away from everyone with our back right up against the forest. Our window didn’t shut properly and if a murderer decided to come in it would take him about five seconds to climb through the window. We decided to sleep the whole night with the light on. Looking back that was probably a stupid thing to do as the murderer would probably target us but luckily we got through the whole night without harm.

The next day we went kayaking and rock climbing which everyone thought was the most fun on camp and I have to agree. Everyone freaked out in the beginning when we got into the kayaks but we managed to get in without any mishaps. We paddled around looking at coral and stopping at beaches to rest and play games.

Rock climbing was supposed to be hard but was pretty easy even if you had never done it before. We all had fun and at the end our arms were aching with all the climbing. When we had to leave it was too dangerous to go by the rocks so they decided to bring the boat in as close as they could and then we could just jump in. Unfortunately they brought it a little too close and it got grounded which meant the adults had to get out and try and shove it off the sand. This took a while but we were all happy in the end when they managed it.

The last night we all went back to the hotel and went to a floating restaurant which we all loved. We had a great dinner there then spent the evening catching up on each other’s news because it was the first time that we had all been together like this.

After a night with no sleep we managed to pack up, got on the busses and started heading home. The trip back was pretty depressing because we were all sad that we were leaving. Often I, and others, find ourselves looking back fondly and sometimes sadly at those times and miss all those really great moments that we had together. Out of all the camps that I have been on in all the schools that I have been to this is probably my most favourite.