Northern Territory Tour 2018

14 days of scenery, indigenous culture, camping, experiences and of course friendships...

A group of very excited students and staff boarded the Alpine Spirit coach at 5.30am on Friday 23rd March to head off on a wonderful adventure to the Northern Territory, with our ultimate destination being Darwin.  The trip was an amazing 14 days of scenery, indigenous culture, camping, experiences and of course friendships. Places we visited or just passed through included Adelaide, Coober Pedy, Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Watarrka (Kings Canyon), Alice Springs, The MacDonnell Ranges, Dunmarra, Daly Waters, the Devils Marbles, Mataranka, Nitmiluk Gorge, Darwin and Litchfield National Park.

There were many highlights along the way including sleeping underground in Coober Pedy; walking around the base of Uluru; riding a camel at Stuarts Well; swimming at Ormiston Gorge and Ellery Creek Big Hole; getting friendly with a python in Alice Aprings; being protected from Buffalo and cane toads by Panda the dog in Dunmarra; bathing in the thermal springs at Mataranka; cruising Nitmiluk Gorge; the Yellow Waters sunset cruise in Kakadu followed by a buffet breakfast; visiting the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Darwin; and swimming at the magnificent Florence Falls in Litchfield.

The students happily pitched their own tents even when temperatures were soaring and were super speedy packing them away in the morning ready to be on the bus at set times – even 4.30am pack ups. In fact they were often ready and raring to go even before the bus crew were! Long days spent on the bus were approached positively and the girls kept themselves occupied by catching up on sleep, watching movies (the Step Up series proved popular) or listening to music.

We were lucky enough to have great weather along the way, although we did witness some of the devastation that had occurred due to a recent cyclone in Darwin, which meant we had to change our accommodation. Fortunately we flew home from Darwin so we left behind those long days on the bus!

The tour I believe provided a life changing, educational and unique opportunity for our students and hopefully they will remember this as one of the highlights of their time at Matthew Flinders. Many friendships were made across the different year levels (9-11) and an appreciation for Indigenous culture was either gained or built upon. Phone use was kept to a minimum so face to face conversation with each other was lovely to see.

I would like to thank Joy Carr and Christine Fagan for their wonderful support on this tour and for the care they showed to our students.

Our students are a credit to Matthew Flinders and we should be very proud of them.  The girls on this tour were fabulous ambassadors for our school.

If students get the chance to go on a school trip like this in the future I would highly recommend it, not only for the value for money but the experiences and friendships gained.

Jenny Morgan (Tour Leader)