Seeing double on `Earnslaw'

Triple twins (back, from left) Stephanie and Melissa Joyce (12), James and Mathew Botting (11)...
Triple twins (back, from left) Stephanie and Melissa Joyce (12), James and Mathew Botting (11) and (front, from left) Tessa and Sophie Dix (8) get excited about a ride on TSS Earnslaw in Queenstown. Photo by Chris Morris.
There appears to be something in the water near Balclutha.  Passengers were seeing triple recently as three sets of twins from the small Warepa School, 12km from Balclutha, jumped aboard Queenstown's historic TSS Earnslaw steamship.

The twins, Tessa and Sophie Dix, James and Mathew Botting and Stephanie and Melissa Joyce, were among 40 pupils visiting the resort as part of the school's week-long camp.

Principal Sue Adcock admitted it was "unusual'' to have so many twins on the trip, especially given the school had just three classrooms, two full-time and two part-time teachers, and a roll of 44.

However, it wasn't the full story. The school was expecting another set of twins to join in two years, and the father of the Dix twins was himself a twin, she said.

"Our school has quite a family atmosphere,'' Mrs Adcock said.

The Earnslaw cruise to Walter Peak was part of a week of activities for the pupils. The 25 senior pupils (years 4 to 8) arrived on Tuesday, staying in dormitories at the Lakeland Park Christian Camp at Kelvin Heights, and were joined by the 15 junior pupils on Thursday.

Thirty parents accompanied their children on the trip, Mrs Adcock said.

Together, pupils, parents and teachers had raised about $7000 for the trip, which included visits to mining sites on the Kawarau River, luge rides, boating and a visit to the Lakes District Museum at Arrowtown.

It wasn't the school's first big trip, either. Last year, $21,000 was raised for a trip to Wellington, Mrs Adcock said.

"It's a great community effort and the parents have done a lot of fundraising, along with the children, to make it happen,'' she said.

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