After a long year at school, all kids look forward to a long summer break. It’s a chance to relax, enjoy the hot weather and maybe even a family holiday. We at the YMCA believe there should be another tick on the summer to do list… attend summer camp! We have offered summer camps at Kaitoke Outdoor Education Centre for the past thirteen years. Whilst they do have a structure, the emphasis is not on education per se but recreational fun, engaging with other youth and developing skills you would not in a formal education setting. Many activities are offered such as kayaking, water slides, rock climbing,  cooking and high ropes. In the evening kids partake in campfires, toasting marshmallows games nights.

Camp offers a screen-free zone, we believe it is important for kids to get time away from their personal technology, this allows them to become fully emerged in the camp experience without the pressure from the outside world looming in. For many children, a residential camp is often their first time away from home. This can create anxiety for children as well as their parents. Child safeguarding is The YMCA’s number one priority. At Kaitoke Outdoor Education centre we operate on a ratio of 1 staff to 10 children. All staff are trained in behaviour management, child protection and will be involved in our ongoing child safe training. We believe the key to the success of our summer camp is our staff. We take great pride in employing the best possible staff. Our team are all passionate outdoors people who live our values (honesty, respect, caring, and responsibility) and all have a plethora of outdoor education experience. Most of all they absolutely love camp!

YMCA Greater Wellington offer various camps throughout the year during school holidays. Alongside these, we also offer Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, Silver and Gold for our older campers. Keep an eye on our camp webpage for more details and follow us on Facebook/kaitokeoutdooreducationcentre