9/10 Camp

 

 

A week in The Grampians: accepting and successfully overcoming the challenges presented to us by working together and looking out for each other 

by Anthony Cavagna, teacher and happy camper!

This year’s camp took place in the beautiful and ancient landscape of Gariwerd, the Northern Grampians National Park near Halls Gap. Our encounters with the Djab wurrung and the Jardwadjali traditions during our introduction at Brambuk - The National Park & Cultural Centre were a great introduction to stories of the peoples who came before and shaped in us the need to be respectful of the environment and cultures that we found ourselves sharing during the week.

The abundant kangaroos and emus further added to the feeling of connection to nature, as did camping together in tents for the week!

Thankfully, despite some wind and rain early in the week, we enjoyed wonderful weather and from our base camps we encountered physical and mental challenges through bushwalking with packs, kayaking, rock climbing and abseiling. Our camp leaders also challenged us to organise ourselves during the day by accepting leadership roles in order to assist our groups to be successful, including the cooking of our meals and managing our campsites by looking after the environment and “leaving only footprints”.

The week was a fantastic opportunity to work together away from the classroom and get to know each other better, especially the many new friends that have joined us this year. The theme that emerged from the camp - accepting and successfully overcoming the challenges presented to us by working together and looking out for each other – will no doubt continue to be a reference as we travel through 2019 and beyond.