Group 3 members: 

• Beau, Eliza, Grace, Elivia, Caitlyn, Lena, Maci, Poppy, Archie, Oliver

Monday

After a 4 hour coach journey we arrived at Arete! After we were given bedding and a quick chat, we had a quick 5 minutes to make our beds. This was a challenge for some of us! We then had our second challenge of the week: putting on a wetsuit. Our first activity was rafting on Llyn Padarn. We had a great time paddling round then at the end, we were allowed to jump off the pontoon. 

We are now dry and back at the venue waiting for our dinner! This evening we are off for a walk in the local area. 

Tuesday

What a glorious day it’s been to be out and about in Wales. We started with white water rafting down the Menai Strait, working in teams of 6 to paddle to the eddies. We learnt about the different locations, including the fishing house island, where they hung the nets over the railings to catch the fish and then smoked them in the house to eat. 
 

after returning the kit back to the centre, we swiftly went rock climbing up Lion Rock. This involved pushing even more boundaries to overcome fears to climb the steep rocks, tied together. We all felt that we had accomplished so much today. 

Wednesday

Another bright, sunny day in Wales today. This morning we headed to Caergybi for the day. Starting with a rather muddy walk, we had a magnificent view of the Holyhead coastline, with the RAF flying overhead in their Hawks. We had a rather challenging coasteering trail around the bottom of the rocks. This involved climbing, jumping and swimming. The group impressed us with their thrilling high jumps off the rocks. 
 

After dinner, we moved over to another section of rocks for sea traversing. We had to follow the rope along the high cliffs using a clip-line. This was finished off with a cleaner walk back to the minibus for hot chocolate. 

Thursday

It has been a day of underground adventures today. We had a steep climb to reach the quarry entrance and then straight into the mines. Our first challenge was to climb through the tunnels and the children were airlifted down on a rope. This was followed by a fun zip line across two ledges. Luckily Archie was there to help Mrs Hennessey to unclip everyone. We then ventured higher and had the opportunity to climb through a series of waterfalls. After listening to a tragic love story, the children had to climb the up the rings to reach the surface. Luckily we made it back to the minibus, down a scenic path, before it started to rain. 

Friday

This morning is a busy morning of packing ready for our departure after lunch. We need to strip our beds and tidy our dorms... I wonder how long this might take us? After breakfast we will have our final activity: Zip Wire!

What a rush zip-wiring was. A great way to finish the week by jumping, singing, dancing and flying. 
 

As a group we have achieved so much with the help of our amazing instructor Dave. There have been some challenges for everyone in our group but we all encouraged each other to give everything a go. As Maci said, “We are returning to school as different people,” with Snowdonia forever printed in our memories.