Outdoor Education

Rottnest Expedition

In Week 7 the Year 12 cohort of Outdoor Education students travelled to Rottnest Island to put their practical snorkeling, fishing, and camping skills into use in the real world. We were blessed with near perfect weather conditions for the expedition but unfortunately experienced some pretty heavy swell which was less than ideal for snorkeling.

Day 1 saw the groups arrive on Rottnest, quickly familiarize themselves with the island and set up camp before undertaking their first snorkel at the Basin. With the swell increasing this proved to be the best snorkel of the trip with the best visibility. Students challenged themselves by entering underwater caves and swim throughs. After this the groups separated with Mr Websdale’s class opting to learn how to ‘Eging’ or squid fishing. The students quickly mastered the technique but quite surprisingly the best catch was to Jedd who landed an octopus.

Mr Walczak’s class explored the island by bike and visited many significant sites including shipwrecks, numerous bays and salt lakes. They learnt about the weather conditions of the island and predicted what may happen on Day 2 so they could alter their itinerary accordingly.

Day 2 saw the group rise early and prepare for their longer day of snorkeling. They headed along the south coast of the island but unfortunately sites like Henrietta Rocks were affected by the swell and were unsuitable. Mr Websdale’s group did find a small area that was protected at Parker Point, before moving onto Salmon Bay where the group was in awe of the coral population that was present there.

The group then headed across the island to Parakeet Bay where the group managed their third snorkel of the day. Mr Walczak’s class also landed at Little Salmon Bay to snorkel the underwater trail. Before too long, David A came to the surface with a little crayfish! He kissed it, and carefully placed it back in its home. Next stop was Salmon Bay where the coral and fish were on full display for the captive audience. We ended our day by cooling off in the fresh waters of Pinky’s Beach and students had the opportunity to individually debrief whilst we watched the sunset from the light house.

After dinner and an extensive debrief the group headed out for an evening of fishing. The session started well with David A catching the first fish of the night, a legal sized King George Whiting. After this catches came in thick and fast, with multiple Herring and Tarwine landed. Mitch had the exotic catch of the evening, landing a strange eel just under a metre, while Jedd continued his hot form with a beautiful Pink Snapper.

Day 3 saw the group packing up the camp, then Mr Websdale’s class headed to Pinkies for some beach activities, games and debrief whilst Mr Walczak’s class sampled the local delicacies and discussed the importance of being an independent, global citizen which both classes displayed in spades.

Thank you to the group for their application under tough conditions and to Mr Mason, Mr Truss and Old Boy Mitch Peters for their efforts towards the camp.

Ross Websdale & David Walczak