General information
Home
About us
Programme
Activities
Planning your camp
Teaching resources
Safety plan
Gallery
Links
FAQ
Site map
Booking
Planning your camp
Here are some tips and thoughts on planning your class visit to the centre.
ThemeGroup size
Parent help
Duty groups
Planning meals
Transport
What to bring?
Lodge layout
Activities
Sample programmes
Theme
You may wish to have a theme or topic for you visit. If so it is best to choose
a topic that is readily observed in the Arthur's Pass area. The information in the resource kit can
help you to establish a theme.
Good examples are:
Ecology Native plants Back country recreation, especially tramping, skiing and
climbing Geology, landform processes Maori history, especially the pounamu/greenstone
trails Early European history, the gold rushes, Cobb and Co coaches and the Midland railway
line
Good examples are:
Native animals/birds are a good topic but sometimes it can be difficult to
track them down to see. Keas can be present in large numbers or totally absent.
Back to tope of page
Group size
As a rule, smaller groups allow more flexibility and a richer learning experience.
With a typical group of around 30 (say, for example, a class of 23 pupils with 7 adults) we often do activities in smaller
'activity groups'. We find it best to have around three to four activity groups but it depends on the size of
the class and on how independent the students are. We often run a three or four activity rotation. We find an
activity group usually works best with 12 students or less.
Some activities are undertaken by the whole class, such as day walks.
With a smaller class we might instead operate as a whole class for all activities.
Back to tope of page
Parent help
Having an adequate number of adults to help manage the camp is essential.
All APOEC activities require an adult/student ratio of at least 1/6 and water activities require a ratio of
1/4.
If your group includes students with significant physical or mental disabilities then you may need to allocate
an adult or teacher aide specifically to assist them.
If a group has students with behaviour management issues it is also wise to have a ratio better than 1/8.
The selection of parent helpers is the responsibility of the visiting school. If required a sample Parent Help
code of conduct can be provided for you to adapt/use.
Back to tope of page
Duty Groups
We encourage visiting groups to have the children involved in cooking, dishes,
cleaning and the care of the lodge.
It can be useful to have duty groups for this.
Duty groups of around 6-8 seem to work well, larger groups often result in some children being able to
leave the hard work to others!
It is sometimes possible to use the same groups as duty groups and activity groups.
Back to tope of page
Planning meals
Food is provided for term time school camps at the lodge. The food provided is often in catering quantities. The following meals and deserts have proved to be favourites and, depending on availability**, can be made with the staples provided at the lodge. Recipes for making these meals and desert are available in the lodge kitchen:
Nachos
Apple crisp
Apple sponge
Caramel pudding
Cheese sauce
Chilli
con-carne
Chocolate instant pudding
Custard
Fruit cobbler/crumbles
Golden sausages
Goulash
Jelly and fruit salad
Lasagne
Mayonnaise
Packed lunches (sandwhiches and fruit)
Pancakes/pikelets
Potato bake
Salads
Sausage rolls
Savoury chops
Savoury mince
Scalloped potatoes
Scones
Spaghetti and meat balls
Spaghetti bolognaise
Tararua biscuits
** Sometimes, due to circumstances beyond our control, some ingredients may not be in stock. When this occurs, there are always plenty of good alternatives available.
APOEC provides milk powder. If you require fresh milk, you can either bring your own, or
contact the local store on 03 318 9235.
They can deliver your milk order to the lodge prior to your visit.
Baking and snacks are usually brought by the pupils and pooled for morning and afternoon teas.
The kitchen is spacious, well laid out and all utensils are provided.
Back to tope of page
Transport
If you visit Arthur's Pass on the Tranz Alpine, or via bus, it is a good idea to bring
at least one private/school vehicle as well. This allows for non emergency transport, for example if a pupil needs to go home,
or to visit a doctor with a minor complaint, without disrupting the programme. If required, the APOEC van (
4WD) is available to transport pupils to the Darfield or Moana medical centres. However, as this can disrupt
the programme, it is preferable to use a private vehicle.
Tranz Scenic
Click on the Tranz Scenic link above to visit the Tranz Scenic website or phone
them on 0800 87 88 98. Let them know that you are visiting Arthur's Pass Outdoor Education Centre to
recieve a special discounted fare.
How not to pack! Please ask parents to pack everything in a single bag, where possible, for ease of handling by train staff.
All of a child's bags should be labelled for identification, but not tied to other bags.
If travelling by private vehicles it is important that all drivers are competent and cautious. In
winter especially, shady areas can be icy and snow can cover the road at anytime. It is vital that
snow chains are carried from May to September (if hiring or borrowing chains, check to see that they
fit correctly and that the driver knows how to fit them!). If snowy conditions are expected it is
wise to ensure that each person's baggage (especially sleeping bags) are in the car they are travelling in.
Road conditions can be obtained by phoning the Transit New Zealand road report 0800 444449 or by clicking on
Transit Road Report.
State highway 73 is rarely closed for more than a few hours, or overnight. Road grit is applied regularly
during icy conditions, and snow ploughs are based nearby throughout winter. However it always pays to be prepared!
The responsibility for safely travelling to and from APOEC rests with the visiting group.
Back to tope of page
What to bring
APOEC is resourced to run all of our programme activities. The lodge also has a small library, a stereo/CD player
and data projector (bring your own data cables, especially if you use a MAC).
It is wise to bring other indoor games/cards/activities for evenings.
Many schools bring camp diaries for the pupils so that they can record and recount their exploits and
experiences here.
From spring to autumn (longer daylight hours) sports equipment such as soccer/rugby/tennis balls and
cricket/baseball bats can be put to good use in the evenings on a nearby grassed area.
Back to tope of page
Lodge layout
You may wish to allocate
specific bunkrooms to pupils before you arrive. We have provided this floor plan to assist with this.
The top of the
plan faces North and the righthand side of the plan faces State Highway 73.
Room 1 sleeps
2 people
Room 2 sleeps 4 people
Room 3 sleeps 11 people
Room 4 sleeps 8 people
Room 5 sleeps
9 people
Room 6 sleeps 9 people
Room 7 sleeps 2 and has its own shower, toilet and power point
Back to tope of page
With a typical group of around 30 (say, for example, a class of 23 pupils with 7 adults) we often do activities in smaller 'activity groups'. We find it best to have around three to four activity groups but it depends on the size of the class and on how independent the students are. We often run a three or four activity rotation. We find an activity group usually works best with 12 students or less.
Some activities are undertaken by the whole class, such as day walks.
With a smaller class we might instead operate as a whole class for all activities.
Back to tope of page
Having an adequate number of adults to help manage the camp is essential.
All APOEC activities require an adult/student ratio of at least 1/6 and water activities require a ratio of
1/4.
If your group includes students with significant physical or mental disabilities then you may need to allocate
an adult or teacher aide specifically to assist them.
If a group has students with behaviour management issues it is also wise to have a ratio better than 1/8.
The selection of parent helpers is the responsibility of the visiting school. If required a sample Parent Help
code of conduct can be provided for you to adapt/use.
Back to tope of page
Duty Groups
We encourage visiting groups to have the children involved in cooking, dishes,
cleaning and the care of the lodge.
It can be useful to have duty groups for this.
Duty groups of around 6-8 seem to work well, larger groups often result in some children being able to
leave the hard work to others!
It is sometimes possible to use the same groups as duty groups and activity groups.
Back to tope of page
Planning meals
Food is provided for term time school camps at the lodge. The food provided is often in catering quantities. The following meals and deserts have proved to be favourites and, depending on availability**, can be made with the staples provided at the lodge. Recipes for making these meals and desert are available in the lodge kitchen:
Nachos
Apple crisp
Apple sponge
Caramel pudding
Cheese sauce
Chilli
con-carne
Chocolate instant pudding
Custard
Fruit cobbler/crumbles
Golden sausages
Goulash
Jelly and fruit salad
Lasagne
Mayonnaise
Packed lunches (sandwhiches and fruit)
Pancakes/pikelets
Potato bake
Salads
Sausage rolls
Savoury chops
Savoury mince
Scalloped potatoes
Scones
Spaghetti and meat balls
Spaghetti bolognaise
Tararua biscuits
** Sometimes, due to circumstances beyond our control, some ingredients may not be in stock. When this occurs, there are always plenty of good alternatives available.
APOEC provides milk powder. If you require fresh milk, you can either bring your own, or
contact the local store on 03 318 9235.
They can deliver your milk order to the lodge prior to your visit.
Baking and snacks are usually brought by the pupils and pooled for morning and afternoon teas.
The kitchen is spacious, well laid out and all utensils are provided.
Back to tope of page
Transport
If you visit Arthur's Pass on the Tranz Alpine, or via bus, it is a good idea to bring
at least one private/school vehicle as well. This allows for non emergency transport, for example if a pupil needs to go home,
or to visit a doctor with a minor complaint, without disrupting the programme. If required, the APOEC van (
4WD) is available to transport pupils to the Darfield or Moana medical centres. However, as this can disrupt
the programme, it is preferable to use a private vehicle.
Tranz Scenic
Click on the Tranz Scenic link above to visit the Tranz Scenic website or phone
them on 0800 87 88 98. Let them know that you are visiting Arthur's Pass Outdoor Education Centre to
recieve a special discounted fare.
How not to pack! Please ask parents to pack everything in a single bag, where possible, for ease of handling by train staff.
All of a child's bags should be labelled for identification, but not tied to other bags.
If travelling by private vehicles it is important that all drivers are competent and cautious. In
winter especially, shady areas can be icy and snow can cover the road at anytime. It is vital that
snow chains are carried from May to September (if hiring or borrowing chains, check to see that they
fit correctly and that the driver knows how to fit them!). If snowy conditions are expected it is
wise to ensure that each person's baggage (especially sleeping bags) are in the car they are travelling in.
Road conditions can be obtained by phoning the Transit New Zealand road report 0800 444449 or by clicking on
Transit Road Report.
State highway 73 is rarely closed for more than a few hours, or overnight. Road grit is applied regularly
during icy conditions, and snow ploughs are based nearby throughout winter. However it always pays to be prepared!
The responsibility for safely travelling to and from APOEC rests with the visiting group.
Back to tope of page
What to bring
It can be useful to have duty groups for this.
Duty groups of around 6-8 seem to work well, larger groups often result in some children being able to leave the hard work to others!
It is sometimes possible to use the same groups as duty groups and activity groups.
Back to tope of page
Food is provided for term time school camps at the lodge. The food provided is often in catering quantities. The following meals and deserts have proved to be favourites and, depending on availability**, can be made with the staples provided at the lodge. Recipes for making these meals and desert are available in the lodge kitchen:
Nachos
Apple crisp
Apple sponge
Caramel pudding
Cheese sauce
Chilli
con-carne
Chocolate instant pudding
Custard
Fruit cobbler/crumbles
Golden sausages
Goulash
Jelly and fruit salad
Lasagne
Mayonnaise
Packed lunches (sandwhiches and fruit)
Pancakes/pikelets
Potato bake
Salads
Sausage rolls
Savoury chops
Savoury mince
Scalloped potatoes
Scones
Spaghetti and meat balls
Spaghetti bolognaise
Tararua biscuits
** Sometimes, due to circumstances beyond our control, some ingredients may not be in stock. When this occurs, there are always plenty of good alternatives available.
APOEC provides milk powder. If you require fresh milk, you can either bring your own, or
contact the local store on 03 318 9235.
They can deliver your milk order to the lodge prior to your visit.
Baking and snacks are usually brought by the pupils and pooled for morning and afternoon teas.
The kitchen is spacious, well laid out and all utensils are provided.
Back to tope of page
Transport
If you visit Arthur's Pass on the Tranz Alpine, or via bus, it is a good idea to bring at least one private/school vehicle as well. This allows for non emergency transport, for example if a pupil needs to go home, or to visit a doctor with a minor complaint, without disrupting the programme. If required, the APOEC van ( 4WD) is available to transport pupils to the Darfield or Moana medical centres. However, as this can disrupt the programme, it is preferable to use a private vehicle.Tranz Scenic
How not to pack! Please ask parents to pack everything in a single bag, where possible, for ease of handling by train staff.
All of a child's bags should be labelled for identification, but not tied to other bags.
If travelling by private vehicles it is important that all drivers are competent and cautious. In winter especially, shady areas can be icy and snow can cover the road at anytime. It is vital that snow chains are carried from May to September (if hiring or borrowing chains, check to see that they fit correctly and that the driver knows how to fit them!). If snowy conditions are expected it is wise to ensure that each person's baggage (especially sleeping bags) are in the car they are travelling in.
Road conditions can be obtained by phoning the Transit New Zealand road report 0800 444449 or by clicking on Transit Road Report.
State highway 73 is rarely closed for more than a few hours, or overnight. Road grit is applied regularly during icy conditions, and snow ploughs are based nearby throughout winter. However it always pays to be prepared!
The responsibility for safely travelling to and from APOEC rests with the visiting group.
Back to tope of page
APOEC is resourced to run all of our programme activities. The lodge also has a small library, a stereo/CD player
and data projector (bring your own data cables, especially if you use a MAC).
It is wise to bring other indoor games/cards/activities for evenings.
Many schools bring camp diaries for the pupils so that they can record and recount their exploits and
experiences here.
From spring to autumn (longer daylight hours) sports equipment such as soccer/rugby/tennis balls and
cricket/baseball bats can be put to good use in the evenings on a nearby grassed area.
Back to tope of page
Lodge layout
The top of the plan faces North and the righthand side of the plan faces State Highway 73.
Room 1 sleeps 2 people
Room 2 sleeps 4 people
Room 3 sleeps 11 people
Room 4 sleeps 8 people
Room 5 sleeps 9 people
Room 6 sleeps 9 people
Room 7 sleeps 2 and has its own shower, toilet and power point