Year 9 Experience
Trip Diary
On the day we arrived in Darwin we had a tour of the boarding facilities at Kormilda College and afterwards were invited to participate in army drill activities run by one of the boarding staff - Stewart - who is an ex sergeant in the British Army. The activities began at night and involved students in teams working together to roll truck tyres, crawl under nets and participate in races in the pool. It was a physically demanding start to the trip but a fantastic way for our students to interact with the boarders at Kormilda.
Over the next two days our students enjoyed participating in class activities with both boarding and day students. Classes included indigenous Art, Music, English and PE. Our students also learned a great deal from Flinders University Associate Professor Don Christophersen who presented an indigenous cultural and historical awareness session.
From Darwin we travelled to Litchfield National Park where we were treated to some of the Top End's most magical swimming spots. We visited Florence Falls, Wangi Falls and the Buley Rockhole.
We marvelled at the Cathedral and Magnetic Termite mounds and made friends with the oh-so-cute green tree frogs which came out at night at our hotel.
From here we travelled to Katherine for the Barunga Festival where students camped (many for the first time) for three nights under the gums - a real highlight of the trip. It was great to see our students involve themselves in the Festival and to further their connections with the Kormilda students, beginning with the Friday night dance party. Our group certainly learnt a bit about dancing, as the local kids’ elaborate routines rather put the Preshil students’ “jumping up and down in a circle” moves to shame! The students were given plenty of opportunities to improve this, with some great music over the weekend; particular favourites were Courtney Barnett and Jen Cloher, Eleanor Dixon and Wildflower.
Over the course of the weekend, our students participated in a range of activities in the community as well as watching the footy and basketball competitions (David and Ollie even played a game or two). Some activities were organised by the Festival – traditional medicine making, basket weaving and tours of the town by Jawoyn Junior Guides – and some were improvised by our own students.
A particular highlight was seeing Tom Phillips – unburdened by his three devices when there was no reception in the community – fishing for hours in the creek surrounding the town before preparing the black bream he caught to eat. Unfortunately for Tom, a buffalo had other ideas!
After the Festival we returned to Katherine where we had a dawn cruise of Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) and watched the rocks change colours as the sun came up. We immersed ourselves in the wildlife, history and culture of Kakadu, beginning with a dawn cruise through the Yellow Waters river where we saw water buffalo, crocodiles and magpie geese as the sun rose.
The cruise was followed by a delicious buffet breakfast at a local resort before we made a swift exit to meet our guides for the next tour on the East Alligator river. Here we saw crocodiles a plenty. We also had the opportunity to step onto Arnhem Land and wonder at some ancient rock art depicting intricate fish skeletal systems and water spirits.
In the late afternoon we ventured towards Ubirr rock for the sunset and were met with awe at the sight of caves adorned with rock art, some 30,000 years old. Having met with Don Christophersen earlier in the trip we had insight into the history of some of the works that adorned the caves and cliff faces along our path to the plateau of Ubirr rock. The sun was setting and we sat to watch it disappear behind the horizon before returning to our bungalows and a buffet meal at the local sports club.
Our remaining time led us to the Mindil Beach Night Market where we feasted on international cuisine and explored the different musical performances and market stalls. We took some time to reflect upon the trip and were left with a sense that this would be a time in our lives not easily forgotten, from swimming under waterfalls to strengthening friendships, learning about the richness and complexity of Aboriginal culture and history, building independence and learning to live in a small community.
We as teachers were incredibly proud of the maturity and kindness that this group showed for one another, and look forward to what next year’s trip will bring.
John Collins, Anna Williams, Lazare Agneskis and Annabel Grigg
Year 9 Experience Team 2016
