Murray River Camp

Monday morning the students were up and ready early to make a start on the long trip ahead to the Murray River. There were lots of excited students and teachers eagerly waiting for Mr Graham and the bus to arrive so that they could get on their way. 

We stopped in Yea for a quick toilet stop and then again in Nagambie for a lunch break where the bakery was overrun by Wantirna staff and students wanting to buy something delicious. Everyone was excited to finally arrive at the Murray River and get the trip going, with everyone covered in sunscreen and ready to paddle, we were off. We arrived at our first camp site a little bit late, and everyone was very eager to cook some dinner and head to bed, nearly all the paddlers slept under the stars and had a very early start the next morning. 

The rest of the trip was filled with some long paddles, funny jokes, confusing riddles, and happy campers ready to give their best effort to get to the end of the Murray. The second day was a very long and hot 30km paddle which took it out of everyone, camp was very quiet early that night with everyone being very happy to go to sleep. 

Day three saw the campers have lunch in Tocumwal, enjoying some very welcomed comfort food before we went back out on the water. Thursday was the final day of paddling, and the students were making incredible time down the river. The students were excited to make it to our final camp site but did not want to stop paddling, everybody was going to miss the Murray and did not want to pull their canoes out. The final morning rolled around, and everything was packed up and the trailer was loaded and ready to go, we had one last debrief and hopped in the bus for the long trip home. 

We stopped in Nagambie for what was supposed to be a quick stop but changed into a hot chip lunch for the students, this boosted morale for the second leg of the journey. Once we arrived at school, there were some very happy parents, students, (and teachers), as everyone was very relieved to finally be back. 

Overall, the group of campers on this camp were amazing and enjoyed every day of the trip. They should all be very proud of themselves for completing this camp as they showed great ability to persevere and work as a team.

Brodi Martin

Murray River Camp