Heidi Gillingham

For 46 years the youth of the Wakatipu have embarked on a 12-day journey into the hill country. They leave with a sense of trepidation and excitement. In their time away from family, creature comforts and cell phones they come to rely on the things that really count - friendship, teamwork and self-reliance. The Branches Camp is a place where they are challenged physically and mentally. From abseiling, rafting and three day tramps to cooking their own meals and digging toilets they learn to appreciate our spectacular natural environment and what it has to offer as well as learning about themselves and their own character. They return, disheveled, smelling of wood smoke and completely energised. The institution that is the Branches Camp has shaped our local children for over four decades, its legacy is powerful and the experience enduring.

The objective of the Branches Charitable Trust is to support the Branches Camp for Wakatipu High School students in Year 10 as it is viewed by the school and community as being pivotal in the growth and maturation of students as they move into senior secondary education. Through this camp students are able to interact with their surrounding environment, and foster a commitment to protecting it, they have the opportunity to gain an appreciation of a rural farming way of life and to gain an understanding of the historical perspectives that have not only shaped our beginnings but have influenced the development of the modern Queenstown as we know it today.

The camp provides the opportunity to experience the outdoors with qualified and trained leaders. There are no parents on this camp and that is part of the growth and learning for many of the children – that and no cell phone, internet, makeup, flushing toilets, showers or any creature comforts from home.

This is an experience our children remember their entire lives – for many it marks their coming of age as a young adult and it is the most commonly mentioned highlight of their time at Wakatipu High School at Year 13 graduation each year.

Your support will help ensure the ongoing viability of the camp so that our students of the future will still be able to participate in this unique, amazing and life changing opportunity.