Stanley Simpson-Wells

The Branches Camp is one of New Zealand’s oldest and truest full immersion outdoor education camps and continues to provide Wakatipu High School students the opportunity to experience the outdoors in its truest sense.

With no parents, no power, no internet, no make-up, no flushing toilets, showers or any creature comforts from home the Branches Camp marks a coming of age for our local youth. Over the course of 12 days they come to rely on the things that really count - friendship, teamwork and self-reliance. 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. The institution that is the Branches Camp has shaped our local children for over four decades, its legacy is powerful and the experience enduring.