ACTIVITIES
Aongatete Outdoor Education Centre is dedicated to the education, knowledge, and enjoyment of the outdoors
There’s no classroom quite like the outdoors. At Aongatete Outdoor Education Centre, we work with you to create customised camp program that matches your group’s goals, age range, and budget. Simply choose the activities you’re interested in, and our experienced team will help design a safe, engaging, and memorable outdoor learning experience — with support and activity SOPs & RAMS provided.
Contact AOEC Management to start the camp program planning process and to get an activity package price.
Click any of the activities below for more information
Aongatete is blessed with an abundance of differing landscape, and a number of tracks through varying bush. A well-planned walk can be an adventure for young and old and a discovery of what Nature has to offer.
Always follow the Outdoor Safety Code when you go for bush walks. Plan your trip, Wear appropriate footwear and clothing, tell someone where you are going, be aware of the weather and that it can change rapidly, know your limits and be sure you have sufficient supplies in your pack ie food, water, warm clothing (even on a sunny day) , first aid kit, and means of communications. Keep in mind that you may not have mobile reception on many parts of the Aongatete tracks.
- Nature Trail: A 20 minute walk through easy terrain following a track with signs about the areas Natural Habitat. This track is ideal for any other nature study activities.
- Short Loop: A 1 hour walk through intermediate terrain, this track is a B grade and is about 2.2km long. Load a QR reader onto your phone so you can use the interactive bird identification signs on the top part of the track. Make copies of our Aongatete Activity booklet and discover what nature has to offer on your way.
- Long Loop: A 3 hr walk with challenging parts and river crossings. A C grade track about 6.5 km long. A good challenge and a great walk experiencing different landscapes of the Kaimai Mamaku Forrest Park. Take copies of our Aongatete Activity Booklets on this walk to enhance your sense of discovery.
- Swimming Hole Track/River Crossing towards North/South Track: a 30 minute one-way walk to the river. Follow the track to the swimming hole or to the North/South track river crossing. Swim, have a picnic, play in the water, build rock sculptures or race twig boats… but do take care, rivers can be dangerous.
- Upland Road Track: The Upland Road track begins at the end of Upland Road Car Park and is an easy C grade. It takes about 2 1/2 – 3 hours to reach AOEC and is about 5km long and includes a river crossing and can be slippery and wet in places.
- Wairere Falls (8 hrs one way): Several schools start their AOEC camp by walking in from the Wairere Falls. This is about an 8 hour back country track that can be challenging but worth while. Be sure you are well prepared for this track.
- The Aongatete Survivor Experience (Full Day)*: This program is a unique full day experience led by a trained and experienced AOEC Instructor. Students spend a full day in the bush where they learn and appreciate the main requirements of bush craft and survival in a fun and interactive way. This program includes #Trip Planning, #Outdoor Safety & #Environmental Care, #Navigation with Map & Compass, #Outdoor Cooking, #Shelter Building #Environmental Care and #River Safety.
- The Aongatete Survivor Experience (Half Day)*: This program is a unique half day experience led by a trained and experienced AOEC Instructor. Students spend 3hrs in the bush where they learn how to use a compass and navigate through the bush, build a fool-proof basic shelter and learn a basic method of cooking outdoors. This activity can be adapted to suit your group.
- Shelter Building: A simple session designed to learn how to shelter from the elements in different ways. This session can be adapted to suit children of all ages.
- Fire Lighting: led by a trained and experienced AOEC Instructor. All children love playing with fire. Here they learn various ways how to light a fire safely and respecting the environment at all times. A successful fire means toasting marshmallows or having a cup of tea or milo. *Strict Conditions apply
- Outdoor Cooking: Children love cooking outdoors! This can be combined with the fire lighting activity or children can cook on hobo or hexi stoves. An ideal way for everyone to cook their own lunch or dinner. Outdoor cooking equipment is available to hire. Easy things to cook are sausages, burger patties, corn/vegetable fritters, pancakes, popcorn, banana deserts or damper.
- Navigation: Aongatete Outdoor Education Centre offers a set of courses and exercises ranging from the very simple to the more adventurous. Courses can be set in a variety of terrain, using a number of scenarios to make the experience more interesting. Students not only gain in improving their map reading and compass skills, but also in personal confidence. Inquire with AOEC staff what navigation activities will suit your group:
- Basic Map Orienteering on Lodge Grounds
- Map Reading using a Topo50 Map
- Compass Confidence Basics
- Compass Navigation through the bush led by an AOEC Instructor
- Camp Outs: Many people of all ages, have not enjoyed the excitement of sleeping outdoors. AOEC offers the chance to sleep in the dormitories, in a tent, under canvas or tarpaulin bivvy style, or the ultimate, under the stars. All this can be done in a safe and controlled environment. You choose, depending on your goal and sense of adventure. Students will also learn the importance of taking care of the environment while camping. *Conditions apply
Aongatete River Challenge
An adventurous walk up/down the river with experienced AOEC Instructors. Some exciting and challenging patches in this walk require teamwork and commitment. This challenge can give each participant a feeling of real achievement. It is cold but worth it!
River Studies & Discoveries
If River study is in your curriculum, then this is a great activity. Find and watch eels, what lives in our rivers, plants that grow in or near the river etc. Bring some fishing nets and some magnifying glasses.
Dam Building
Children love building dams or trying to divert the course of the flow of the river.
Rock Sculptures
The lower part of the Aongatete River with all its river stones lends itself beautifully to build rock sculptures.
Boat Races
Get creative and build some boats out of twigs and leaves and other natural materials and then float or race your boats down the river.
Swimming
The Aongatete River has several areas that are ideal for swimming. Always keep river safety in mind.
Aongatete Forest Discovery Program
A unique AOEC Instructor led, full day hands on program where students explore the forest, and learn about it’s plants and trees, discover forest colours, learn about pest control and conservation and listed to and identify birds. This discovery program includes many fun games that help children develop a passion for the outdoors. The day is topped off with a night walk, exploring the night life of the forest with its many creatures.
Forest Discovery – Get to know a tree
Learning about specific plants and trees and how to care for our environment through discovery and games.
Forest Discovery – Native Birds in our Forest
A walk through the forest learning about Native Birds at Aongatete through discovery and games.
River Studies & Discoveries
If River study is in your curriculum, then this is a great activity. Find and watch eels, what lives in our rivers, plants that grow in or near the river etc. Bring some fishing nets and some magnifying glasses.
Layers of the Forest
Discover the layers of the forest on a forest walk and learn how everything in nature works together. An extension of this activity incorporates team building activities and what we as humans can learn from the forest. This can be a basic activity run as part of your camp rotations in small groups or can also be an activity that can be extended with a team building lesson to last a whole morning or afternoon.
Pest Control & Conservation
Students will learn about the effects that humans, logging, de-forestation/farming and pests have on our forests and biodiversity and the efforts now made to eradicate pests and restore our forests and biodiversity
Nature Trail
A short track developed to aid the identification and appreciation of the native flora and fauna and how learn about the formation of the Kaimais and the relationships of the forest. This walk can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the detail and design of the activity.
Nature Crafts & Forest Art
Nature Weaving and Leaf Creatures – great for rainy days and perfect to incorporate with bird/tree studies and to add focus and value to bush walks.
Rongoa Maori Medicine
Learn about how the forest can heal (with AOEC Rongoa qualified Instructor)
Waste Management
Looking after our Planet starts with Waste Management at AOEC (Mandatory)
Night Time in the Forest
Discover the forest at Night Time
Solos
This exercise is designed to aid the student’s awareness of their surroundings, solos can be an important form of self-development. They can be run day or night, for any length of time and in any area depending on your groups needs.
Challenge Course
The AOEC Challenge Course has been designed for team building, personal development and adventure based learning. In general there are 2 types of sessions occur on this activity: 1. Informal sessions are deemed as play time similar to those at school. However Adult Supervision and Spotting is requires. The rules of this activity should not be ignored. 2.Formal sessions are those with set goals and objectives
Archery
An internationally popular outdoor activity that requires setting a goal, focus, discipline, and patience. With skilled instruction, participants discover the thrill of hitting the target, a degree of skill set by them. As the session develops, this degree of skill can be increased so that the thrill is repeated. Due to the nature of the activity, an AOEC trained staff instructor is required to take this session.
Indoor Climbing Wall
The Lodge has an all weather wall within the Activities Centre, participants learn about safety, respect (for their equipment, their team-mates, the environment, and themselves), responsibility, and achievement
Night Walk
Discovering life in the forest after dark. Equiped with torches, some magnifying glasses and some night creatures identification cards discover glow worms, spiders, wetas, more porks and other creepy crawlies
Bouldering
(on the indoor climbing wall) This activity can only be run with the presence of our rock climbing instructors. It is a great evening activity or time filler, especially for those children who are determined to get across the wall, from one end to the other, with out falling off, to earn a badge
Pancake Challenge
This is a popular activity combining simple orienteering and cooking skills. Groups must locate the components of a stove and the ingredients required to make a pancake, before cooking and presenting their pancake. They are then judged on any number of categories set by the organiser. A fun way to earn your supper. All components are supplied except ingredients for the pancakes.