Year 8 Camp

Tom Mitchell (8 Aherne) reflects on his experience during the Year 8 Camp in Mount Beauty.

Overcoming Challenges and Enjoying the Scenery

I was nervous about the Year 8 Hike all year.  Rumours of blisters, long walks uphill, no devices, no junk food and the possibility of rainy days all sounded torturous.  All I could think of during our Camp packing day was, "do not forget anything".

In the last week of Term 1, Year 8 students were up bright and early and headed off to Mount Beauty. The 3-hour trip went fast with a lot of the group singing on the bus.  When we arrived at our campsite we quickly set up our tents, reviewed the Camp rules and after dinner, we headed off for a night walk. After a big day, we were all quick to fall asleep!

Day 2 was a “short walk” of about 15kms with half of the walk going uphill. The walk up the mountain was challenging, but fun. We walked through rivers with stepping stones, traversed a rickety bridge that seemed like it was 100 years old and climbed up rocks to find a beautiful waterfall, which made the walk worthwhile. 

Day 3 was very similar to Day 2, but this time the walk involved visiting four different sites and the scenery was fabulous. All stops along the way were really beautiful, with one of the places having a small lake where we skipped stones.  Surprisingly we had an easter egg hunt on the walk, with lots of eggs to collect to help us make the trek back to the caravan park.

I’m glad that I overcame the challenges of the long hikes, but I’m even more glad that I participated with all my friends and we survived. My favourite thing to do was when we finally finished the walks, hanging out with my friends and having late-night chats in the tent but especially when we got to go home. 

My advice to the students who go on Camp next year is – it’s only 4 days – you’ll be able to make it.... and don’t eat the carbonara!!

Thank you to all of the teachers who looked after us on the Camp.

Tom Mitchell (8 Aherne)