Kayne Wardell is calling it the greatest experience of his life. In his own words, the Otago Boys' High School pupil recounts his team's recent visit to South Africa for the world schools golf challenge.
Playing in the world schools golf challenge in Stellenbosch, and finishing second in the field of 187, was the highlight of my golfing career.
I scored a total of 293, which is the first time I have broken the magical 300 in a four-round tournament.
Good course management was the key to my success as the event was played on four different courses which, apart from Erindale, we had not seen before.
I began with a two-over-par 74 at Devonvale and played my best golf at Erindale, with a three-under-69.
I followed this with a 74 on the Stellenbosch course, which was most frustrating as the putts did not drop and I left at least five shots on the course.
Wet, cold and tough conditions greeted us at the De Zalze course where I finished with a four-over 76.
The winning golfer, Jamie Clare, from English school Millfield in Somerset, finished with a five-under 67, and I don't know how he managed this in the conditions.
For my efforts, I won two gold medals - for the best gross in division B, and the top net prize in that section with 277.
Our other golfer to feature at the prizegiving was Sam Ellis, who was third in the division C gross and first in the net with a 15-under-par 273.
Our No 1, Thomas Facer, began well with a 71 but finished fifth in the top section as his putter let him down in the other rounds.
The teams event was a runaway for Millfield School, which had 16 golfers playing in the event.
Our top team was in second place at the halfway stage but we let ourselves down in the last two rounds, finishing in a tie for fourth. I suppose that was not too bad, with 46 teams competing, but we all knew we should have been better.
The junior boys posted some good rounds and made a lot of progress with their course management skills. They are already talking about the next world schools event which is likely to be in Dubai in 2013.
Thanks to tour leader and teacher Peter Odgers and Queenstown entrepreneur Barry Ellis, we had some memorable experiences off the course in Africa.
We arrived in Johannesburg and drove for a couple of hours to a private game park called Thaba Lodge.
It was fun to be around zebras, springboks, rhinoceroses and a large number of other animals wandering around the lodge.
Mr Odgers, an expat South African, was keen that we all tried traditional African food which included biltong (dried meat) and meilie pap, a staple diet made from maize.
We flew to Cape Town and stayed in the Protea Hotel, which was formerly a prison.
We went up Table Mountain - sensational - and then had a sobering experience going to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated.
Our guide on the island was a former inmate who had spent eight years imprisoned on Robben Island.
Nelson Mandela's cell was a concrete bunker six feet (1.82m) by three feet (91cm) with blankets on the floor and a bucket as a latrine. I found it chilling to think that he lived in this small space for 18 years.
A tour of the cape was disappointing, as it was very wet and foggy and so we missed all of the fantastic views.
I will never forget the experience of swimming with the white pointer sharks, when we put on wetsuits and stood in a cage which was attached to the boat.
They attracted sharks by throwing out bloody bait and pulled it in so we could dive under water and see the sharks.
When eight of our boys were in the cage, a 12-foot shark attacked the bait and got wedged in the cage, which was the most frightening time of my life.
It was a great trip and we owe thanks to the two teachers and six parents who assisted us during our 16 days away from home.
