Camp Castaway Read online

  About the Book

  The students in class 5M are heading off to school camp. Pippa has never been away on camp before, at least not to a deserted tropical island! The Sassy Sisters are looking forward to five blissful days together exploring Shipwreck Island’s beaches and lagoon. But when the teams get regrouped, Pippa has to learn to cooperate with Olivia and the other girls.

  Mrs Marshall promised challenges and adventure, but she forgot to mention the pranks. After one too many of the boys’ tricks, the girls decide to take their revenge.

  CONTENTS

  COVER

  ABOUT THE BOOK

  TITLE PAGE

  DEDICATION

  A LETTER FROM PIPPA

  CHAPTER 1: FAREWELL

  CHAPTER 2: SAILING

  CHAPTER 3: SHIPWRECK ISLAND

  CHAPTER 4: WALKIE-TALKIES

  CHAPTER 5: SCAVENGER HUNT

  CHAPTER 6: KICK-THE-CAN

  CHAPTER 7: NEW SQUADS

  CHAPTER 8: LOST

  CHAPTER 9: THE COMPLIMENT GAME

  CHAPTER 10: ESCAPE

  CHAPTER 11: MAYDAY

  CHAPTER 12: SHIPWRECK

  CICI’S INCREDIBLE LEMON PANCAKES RECIPE

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  BOOKS BY BELINDA MURRELL

  THE BEACH SHACK CAFE

  CUB REPORTERS

  KIRA DREAMING

  COPYRIGHT NOTICE

  For all the brave and bold girls who love my books. Life is a wonderful adventure.

  It was eight o’clock on a sunny Monday morning and we were waiting for a sailboat to take us off on an amazing adventure. Meg, Charlie, Cici and I huddled together on the esplanade, jiggling up and down with excitement. Other kids from year five were gathered around in groups, giggling and chatting. Everyone was wearing casual clothes: shorts, T-shirts, caps and runners. Piles of backpacks, sleeping-bags, boxes and surfboards were scattered among the parents and family waiting to see us off.

  The twenty students of 5M at Kira Cove Primary School were heading off on our school camp. The only other time I’d been on a school camp was back in London. We’d slept overnight in the school hall, eaten pizza and watched movies. Things couldn’t be more different here. This school camp would be on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean, more than two hours north of Kira Island by boat. And we would be away from home for five whole days.

  ‘Seb said it’s the best fun,’ said Charlie, hugging her guitar in her arms. Her step-brother was in year six so he’d been on the camp last year. ‘There’s no one else there.’

  ‘Jack said they saw some incredible wildlife, like turtles and dolphins and stingrays,’ added Meg. ‘The island is quite small. You can walk all over it. And you do lots of really fun activities – like snorkelling, bushwalking and playing games.’

  ‘It sounds brilliant,’ I said, but I felt a familiar flutter in my tummy. I was a teensy bit nervous about going on my first real school camp. I’d never been away from my family for more than one night at a time.

  ‘The only problem is that there are no bathrooms on a deserted island,’ said Cici, wrinkling her nose.

  ‘What do we use instead?’ I asked with horror.

  Meg laughed. ‘We take a walk in the bush with a shovel and do lots of swimming in the sea to keep us clean.’

  Our teacher, Mrs Marshall, had explained that on Shipwreck Island our class would be working together to set up camp, prepare all our food and share chores. Plus we would be given physical and mental challenges to complete in teams. There would be adults to supervise us, but we’d be responsible for looking after ourselves.

  A large white catamaran skimmed towards the jetty, its sails billowing in the breeze. Two crew members in navy shirts ran back and forth on the deck, hauling ropes and pulling down sails. The captain was at the helm, turning the chrome steering wheel and calling orders. One of the crew jumped onto the jetty and tied a thick rope to the pylon. We all surged forward to get a closer look.

  Mrs Marshall stood in front of us with a clipboard. ‘Good morning, 5M,’ she said with a warm smile. ‘Our trusty sailing vessel, the Wandering Albatross, has arrived. So it’s time to say goodbye to your families, gather your belongings and go aboard.’

  A babble of noise erupted as everyone rushed to say goodbye to their parents. I saw Olivia hugging her mum, who was wearing a smart trouser suit and high heels. A younger boy with similar dark hair and blue eyes stood by. He must be Olivia’s brother.

  Our four families were standing together chatting. Mum was holding our puppy, Summer, by her red lead. Summer jumped up and down with delight to see me. It was as though I’d been gone for days rather than just a few minutes. I wondered how she’d react when I came home on Friday afternoon after nearly a week away.

  I said goodbye to Harry and Bella.

  Bella was wearing her fluffy green dinosaur tail over her denim shorts. She squeezed me hard around my waist as though she didn’t want to let go.

  ‘Don’t go away, Pippa,’ said Bella, her voice muffled. ‘I want you to stay here with us.’

  I hugged her back then gently peeled her arms away.

  ‘I’ll be back soon, Bella-boo,’ I said. ‘Look after Summer and Smudge for me.’

  I crouched down and took our puppy in my arms, stroking her velvety ears. ‘Be a good girl while I’m away,’ I whispered. ‘I’ll miss you.’ Summer licked me gently, as though to say she’d miss me too.

  Then Mum hugged me long and tight. ‘Have the most wonderful time, my darling. I love you to the moon and back again.’

  ‘Love you too, Mum,’ I said.

  ‘Goodbye, Pipkin,’ she said, kissing the top of my wild, curly hair.

  ‘Bye, Mum,’ I replied, giving her a last-minute squeeze. I felt a prickle of tears. Harry was already kicking a ball around with some other kids, while Bella had dashed off to play a chasing game with Charlie’s little sister Daisy.

  Mum stroked my cheek and gave me a mischievous smile. ‘You’ll have the most amazing fun – and there might be a little surprise on board.’

  ‘What surprise?’ I asked, immediately super-curious. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I’m not telling,’ said Mum, shaking her head. ‘You’ll have to wait and see.’

  The other girls had already said goodbye to their families and were waiting for me on the jetty. Meg was carrying her surfboard.

  ‘Pippa, come on,’ called Charlie. ‘If you don’t hurry, we’ll sail off without you.’

  I hoisted up my heavy backpack and trudged over. Lots of students were already on board while others queued across the gangplank, carrying their bags and chattering madly. Rory and Sam were just in front of us with Alex, who was nursing a set of homemade bongo drums. Alex grinned at me and rapped out a beat with his knuckles.

  Mrs Marshall ticked off our names as we came towards her. I spotted Ariana and realised I wasn’t the only one feeling a little sad. Ariana’s eyes looked red and swollen, and she gazed longingly at her dad as though she were about to race back and join him.

  Mrs Marshall smiled at her sympathetically. ‘Ariana, would you mind helping me, please? I need some volunteers to help carry the stores aboard.’

  Ariana glanced once more at her dad waving on the shore, then she followed Mrs Marshall to the boxes, eskies and shopping bags piled on the jetty.

  We scrambled across the gangplank in single file, then followed the others down into the cabin below. I took a moment to adjust to the pitching motion of the catamaran. Meg, of course, was as sure-footed as a monkey because she lived on a yacht.

  Towards the front of the cabin there was a familiar-looking girl with red hair tied back in a ponytail. She was directing the students to stow their luggage in a huge mound in the corner.

  ‘
Zoe!’ I cried, dropping my backpack on the floor. ‘What are you doing here?’

  The girls and I crowded around her, calling out greetings. Zoe grinned at us, her silver hoop earrings swinging. ‘Hello, girls. I’m your new camp supervisor.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ I asked. ‘What about the cafe?’

  ‘Last night Nigel called to ask if I could fill in for my friend Lisa, who’s come down with a nasty stomach bug,’ explained Zoe. ‘Nigel and Lisa usually help run the camp.’

  Zoe waved her hand towards an older man who was hoisting the heavy eskies into a neat block. It was Nigel, the Kira Beach surf life-saving patrol captain and a regular customer at the cafe. He waved back at us.

  ‘I asked your mum if it was okay for me to have the week off and she said yes straight away. She was so excited I’d be helping out on your school camp,’ continued Zoe. ‘Nigel is running the water safety program and I’ll be running the land-based activities.’

  I looked around at the other girls with delight. We all loved Zoe, the bubbly eighteen-year-old barista at the Beach Shack Cafe who looked after us so well.

  ‘You must be the surprise that Mum was telling me about,’ I said. ‘It’s a shame Lisa is sick but I’m so glad you’ll be with us on camp.’

  ‘That’s so cool,’ said Charlie, laying her guitar down on a seat.

  ‘And that means we can chill out and relax,’ said Cici. ‘My brother says the camp supervisors can be really tough.’

  Zoe’s green eyes twinkled. ‘Oh no you won’t, Cecilia Mee-Shen Lin. I’ll be the toughest camp supervisor ever.’

  We all giggled with disbelief. Zoe was kind, caring and warm-hearted. I could never imagine her being strict with us.

  ‘And I’ll start by getting you to stack your bags properly,’ said Zoe with mock severity. ‘Everything needs to be shipshape, not just dumped on the floor in a huge mess.’

  We obediently picked up our bags from where they were strewn at our feet and stacked them tidily on the mound. Meg put her surfboard with the others piled to one side.

  Mrs Marshall, Nigel and Zoe were soon barking orders, organising the class to load the camping equipment and food supplies.

  ‘Okay, 5M,’ said Mrs Marshall. ‘Let’s form a chain and pass the items from hand to hand.’

  Our group stayed in the cabin and stacked the supplies under Zoe’s watchful eye. In a few minutes everything was on board and neatly packed under cover. Then we were each given a luminous orange life jacket to put on.

  Cici struck a model pose and twirled, showing off the bright puffy vest. ‘Super-stylish,’ she said. ‘Don’t we look glamorous?’

  ‘Not,’ said Charlie with a grimace.

  ‘Group hug!’ said Cici, holding her arms out wide. We tried to hug but the vests were so puffy that we couldn’t get quite close enough. We burst into a fit of the giggles, which is, of course, what Cici intended. She loved to make us laugh.

  ‘We look like orange roly-poly toys,’ I said, flailing my arms around.

  Connor and Rory started charging at each other and bouncing off one another’s padded chests. Connor went flying and landed in a crumpled orange heap at my feet. I hauled him back upright.

  Mrs Marshall appeared at the base of the steps. ‘Okay. Everyone up on deck,’ she said. ‘It’s time to cast off.’

  We scurried up the stairs and onto the deck. Mrs Marshall introduced us to Captain Bellamy and the Wandering Albatross crew, George and Hannah. Captain Bellamy stood with her legs apart, one hand on her hip as she directed us where to sit. We perched on the cabin roof. Our parents and families crowded on the jetty, waving and calling farewell. All twenty of us waved and shouted back.

  ‘Bye, Mum. Bye, Summer. Bye, Harry and Bella.’ I waved until my arm ached.

  The crew cast off and then we were away, the engine chugging as we zigzagged slowly between the moored yachts and brightly painted fishing boats.

  I stared back at my family growing smaller and smaller in the distance, wondering about our journey. What would Camp Castaway be like? What amazing adventures would we have over the next few days?

  Once we were out in the calm waters in the centre of the cove, the engine was put into neutral and the catamaran slowly drifted to a halt. It was a stunning Kira Island day with a gentle, salty breeze. Hot sunshine sparkled on the water and fluffy clouds scudded across a deep blue sky. A flock of fat pelicans soared up gracefully as we floated past.

  Mrs Marshall stood in the cockpit with Zoe and Nigel by her side.

  ‘Listen up, Albatross crew,’ called Mrs Marshall in a loud voice. We all turned to look at her. It was obvious she meant us, not George and Hannah in their navy uniforms. ‘Welcome aboard. I’d like to introduce our camp team. This is Nigel Woods, Kira Beach surf life-saving patrol captain, and this is Zoe Martin, his second-in-command.’

  Nigel saluted and Zoe waved.

  Mrs Marshall continued. ‘Nigel and Zoe will be in charge of our fabulous adventure activities for the next five days. At Camp Castaway the emphasis is on having fun but also learning new skills – whether it is becoming more independent and responsible, collaborating as a team or gaining experience to help you survive as a castaway on a deserted island.’

  I felt a flutter of nerves. Charlie, Cici, Meg and I moved closer together.

  ‘I’m going to hand over to Nigel so he can explain our first activity,’ said Mrs Marshall.

  Nigel had a lined, weather-beaten face from years of working in the tropical sun and a calm, reassuring smile. He looked around to make sure he had everyone’s attention. He needn’t have worried. We were all listening closely.

  ‘Your first challenge is to sail this boat to Shipwreck Island,’ Nigel said. ‘From now on the boat will be sailed by you, with the adults as mere observers.’

  There was a flurry of excited whispers. We’re going to sail this huge catamaran? I thought in horror. What if we capsize it? What if we crash into a rock or another boat? How on earth will this work?

  It was obvious I wasn’t the only one feeling squeamish, as lots of people were glancing nervously at each other. Ariana’s olive skin looked very pale, as though she was seasick.

  ‘This will be so much fun,’ said Meg, with a huge grin of delight.

  ‘Our number one concern is safety,’ continued Nigel. ‘When the skipper calls “Ready about” that means the boom will swing over your heads and everyone has to duck. You definitely don’t want to be hit in the head by the swinging boom.’

  Nigel moved the heavy metal pole attached to the bottom of the sail to show how it swung from side to side as the boat changed direction. It looked hard and heavy.

  ‘Be careful moving around the craft,’ warned Nigel. ‘We certainly don’t want anyone going overboard. But if someone does fall off you need to shout loudly “Crew overboard”. Then keep your eyes on the person until we can rescue them. It’s a very big ocean out there.’

  I shivered. Since moving to Kira Island, I had been warned by many people about the danger of the sea.

  ‘Put up your hand if you’ve ever sailed before,’ said Nigel.

  Meg shot her hand in the air. Of course Meg could sail. She’d grown up on a yacht. Charlie put her hand up too, along with Olivia and lots of others. Great! I thought. Another sport that nearly everyone can do but me.

  Nigel and Zoe organised us into four teams, making sure that the experienced sailors were mixed with the newbies like me. I was on the navigating and steering team with Meg, Willow, Alex and Joey. Charlie and Cici were with the team in charge of trimming the mainsail, while Olivia and Sienna were on the foresail. The fourth group was on watch. The plan was that we would learn the skills we needed for each section by rotating every half-hour.

  Nigel gave a special welcome smile to Meg and me. He’d had a soft spot for us ever since we’d helped to rescue a young family caught in a rip at Kira Beach.

  ‘Okay, Albatross crew,’ he said. ‘Let’s get to work.’

  Nigel taught us about
steering the boat, the wind direction, how to tell if the sail was filling properly and some other basic instructions. In our little group, each of us took turns steering, navigating and checking the wind.

  I discovered that there is a whole different language used on a boat.

  It was a lot to remember!

  The other groups scurried about, learning how to haul up the sails and correct them as required. Most importantly they learned how to tack the boat when we needed to change direction. It all needed to be done as quickly as possible so we didn’t lose too much speed. This was the really tricky part!

  ‘Well done, Albatross crew,’ said Nigel. ‘Now we are going to sail this boat for real. Everybody standing by?’

  ‘Yes, captain,’ we cried in unison.

  We took our positions, our eyes peeled and ears pricked. Meg took first turn at the helm, her legs apart and hands on the steering wheel. Captain Bellamy stood behind her, watching to make sure everything was done properly. She nodded to Meg, who called out the orders.

  ‘Crew. Ready to sail.’

  The cockpit crew pulled on the mainsail sheet (for some weird reason ‘sheet’ is the nautical term for rope!). The forward crew adjusted the foresail. The white sails billowed and tightened, filling with wind, and we were off, gliding across the cove. George and Hannah supervised to ensure the sails were properly adjusted as required.

  Once we were clear of the headland, the motion of the catamaran changed as we came out into the rolling swell of the open ocean.

  ‘Meg, you can give the order now for us to tack,’ said Captain Bellamy. ‘We need to set a course for north-north-east.’

  My job was to watch the compass to double-check that Meg was steering to the right coordinates.