Unforgettable experiences in the NT

The Northern Territory trip was truly an experience that will stick with me for the rest of my life. The trip was nine days that were packed with activities, from waking up to the sounds of birds chirping, beautiful sunrises and our tour guide Rael’s didgeridoo, to sun down.

We spent our first three days in Alice Springs camping at the Remote Tours campground. After three days in Alice Springs seeing the amazing water holes at Mount Ziel and Ellery Creek, hiking in Trephina Gorge, and getting a taste for the landscapes of the outback, we moved on to our next spot. We drove for 6 hours on the bus called Yummo and arrived at the remote community of Lilla where we were given a smoking ceremony to welcome us to the country.

Our time in Lilla was absolutely magical, on day one an elder of the community took us on a walk, shared sacred stories of the local songline, and showed us the beautiful water whole called Lilla which is the source of drinking water for the community as the water is naturally filtered and safe to drink. Over the next two days we hiked around Kings Canyon and got to see the beautiful garden of Eden, we spent time doing community work cleaning the school and church and prepared 12 sacred Gum trees for the bushfire season by getting rid of the buffel grass that surrounded them and eliminating any risk of the trees burning down. We did paintings, learned to throw speers, swam in a secret water hole and so much more. By the end of our time in Lilla, we had learned so much about aboriginal culture, bush taka, animals, trees, and everything that surrounded us.

After Lilla, we moved on to the Uluru resort. By then everyone knew everyone and we had all made new friendships and fully emerged in the culture and ways of the land around us. We hiked around Uluru learning the story of the rainbow serpent and learning the geographical history of Uluru and Kata Tjuta, hiked through Kata Juta seeing mind-blowing views.

Before we knew it we were at the end of our trip. The time flew, we learned so much, saw so much, created so many lifelong memories, and saw the land around us from a completely different perspective. Every part of the camp was amazing, the nights around the campfire singing, the bus trips and eating every meal together and sleeping under the stars and watching beautiful sunsets and sunrises every day. It all created an experience and a feeling in the group that can’t be put to words and can’t be understood by anyone except the forty of us. None of this would have been possible without the teachers tour guides and the people of Lilla who welcomed us into their community with open arms.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to Ms. Lester, Ms. Malcom, Mr. Martin, Ms. Mimmo, and Dan Planksken for making this happen and giving us a life-changing experience.

~Dominic C

Last week 40 selected Year 10s were given the privilege of spending 9 days in the Northern Territory for school camp. We landed in Alice springs Saturday afternoon bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to start what would become an amazing adventure.

The first three days were spent in Alice Springs exploring the East and West Macdonnell ranges, swimming in water holes, learning about the national parks from a local ranger and experiencing the stars in their clear skies and getting used to sleeping under them. We then packed up camp and moved along to Lilla, a remote indigenous community in Watarrka National Park. Here we were greeted by Verra and Lewis two traditional owners of the land who welcomed us onto country through a traditional smoke fire.

The next few days were spent learning about the culture and history of Lilla, the songlines that passed through the land, how they used to hunt and gather food, the symbols used in their language portrayed through paintings and the way of community that is so vital to their culture. We got to hike the Kings Canyon rim walk, taking in the surrounding nature from the rock formations, to the serene water hole in the gorge. To wrap up our time in Lilla we spent the last day showing our gratitude to the community by volunteering. We cleaned up around the school and prepared the church for an upcoming funeral and the most rewarding of all we cleared the foliage around 12 trees under threat from an out of control weed, saving them from potential harm in future fires.

The last three days of our trip were spent in Yulara where we visited the iconic Uluru and Kata Tjuta. We were lucky enough to be shown around part of Uluru by a traditional owner and ranger who taught us the meaning behind the cave paintings surrounding the rock and the dream time stories of its creation. We got to see the sunrise while hiking through KataTjuta and watching the sunset over Uluru.

As our trip came to an end we all reluctantly boarded the plane back to Melbourne, ending the most incredible and unique camp we could imagine. None of this trip would be possible without our fantastic teachers, Ms. Lester, Miss Mimmo, Mr Martin, Miss Malcolm and Dan the man who encouraged us and supported us the whole way. As well as our spectacular, adventurous tour guides Luke, Kara, Banjo and Rael, who taught us all they could in our nine days and made this trip one that we will remember forever.

~Lucy M

The Northern Territory Trip was such a memorable experience and privilege to be able to spend 9 days in Alice Springs, Lilla and Uluru. In Alice Springs we met our amazing tour guides Luke and Rael, we explored the environment through incredible hikes, reptile and bird shows, swimming in stunning waterholes, and watching beautiful star shows.

Lilla was a remote indigenous community; it was a place where we were able to gain a deeper connection and cultural understanding of the indigenous culture and environment. We met so many amazing people in the community who were all so kind and welcoming to us, being able to give back through community service, taken on sacred cultural walks, and being smoked onto country are things that were very special and we will keep with us forever.

In Uluru we were able to see some of the most remarkable cultural landmarks such as the Uluru where we did the base walk and watched the sunset, waking up at sunrise for Kata Tjuta and going camel riding.

But it was all the smaller things that made the trip: the bus rides, the mandarins, the count offs, sleeping under the stars and music around the campfire. This trip was a truly life changing experience, to be able to meet so many amazing people, make so many new memories and learn so many new things is something we are all incredibly grateful for and will never forget.

~Abby M

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