Duke of Edinburgh Award   

Adventurous Journeys

Over the last two weeks the Year 9 students undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award ventured to Wilson’s Promontory National Park to complete the Adventurous Journey component of their award.

Camp 1

Camp 1 left on Wednesday 30 October to beautiful blue skies and arrived at Tidal River at lunch time keen for their first surfing lesson. The conditions for surfing were absolutely perfect and after a few early falls they were all soon 'popping up' and riding some great waves. Tents up and dinner on The Trangias before the tough hike up Mt Oberon for the sunset. The view was absolutely spectacular and well worth the pain in the quads and calves. Back down the mountain and off to bed but not much sleep as the windy conditions made sleeping a challenge.

We were all up early the next morning and on the bus ready (but maybe not too eager) to tackle the 17km hike ahead in hot conditions. Despite the challenging conditions the girls were amazing and arrived back at the camp around lunchtime. A quick rest and back to the surf for another lesson in great conditions. After dinner we headed around to Whiskey Bay where we were once again blessed with an incredible sunset. The girls packed up quickly the next morning before hiking out to Lily Pilly Gully for another beautiful walk (although it was starting to get very hot). Wombats, echidnas, wallabies, snakes, birds, koalas and lizards were all spotted throughout the trip and amazing weather meant the students on this camp were really able to see the true beauty of The Prom.

Camp 2

Camp 2 departed on Wednesday 6 November and while the forecast was not quite as good as Camp 1, we were all hopeful that the rain that was headed our way was going to pass quickly. We arrived to dry conditions as we quickly put up our tents before heading off for a surf. While the conditions were a little untidy the girls had a great time with many first time surfers managing to catch and ride some ripping waves.

Pasta and noodles were popular choices for dinner again before we headed off to climb Mt Oberon. Despite the low and ominous clouds we were optimistic that we would be able to see the magnificent view from the top. Despite not being able to watch the sunset, the view was still pretty spectacular. We made it back to the bus just before the rain came, and boy did it come. Tucked up warm and dry inside our tents we were hopeful the night would pass quickly, however,  the rain and wind settled in for the night. Morning came but still the heavy rain continued and with the forecast predicting it to continue for the next 24 hours, we made the decision to head home a day early.  We managed to fit in the walk to Lily Pilly Gully as the rain eased slightly but it was back in full force as we packed up and boarded the bus for home.

We congratulate all girls for the way they approached both camps with such positivity and enthusiasm despite the challenging conditions they were faced with at times.

With the Adventurous Journey now ticked off the list, the girls need to ensure that they continue to log the other three components as they work towards completing their Bronze Award.

Jo Wood

Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator 

On Wednesday 6 November a group of Year 9 students headed off to Wilson's Prom to complete their Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journey.

When we arrived we had the chance to set up our tents, get our Trangias and organise our camp site. When we were ready we put our bathers on, headed down to the beach and participated in a surf lesson instructed by a man named Simon. We all had heap of fun catching waves and learning new surf skills.

Later that night we had around three hours to hang around the camp site, cook our dinner, kick the footy and chill before a big walk up Mount Oberon. It got really cold towards the end of the day and in particular on our hike up the mountain. It was around 3km and took us around an hour to get up. The walk down was much easier and only took around 40 minutes. As soon as we made it back to camp the rain, wind and a long night ahead began. We all experienced what we could call the worst storm with rain, hail, wind, thunder and extremely bright lightning causing none of us to get any sleep and the teachers to sleep in the bus!! Due to the not so great night of sleep and weather conditions on the second day our hikes were cut short and so was our camp. We did a quick little 8km nature walk, packed our bags and tents and headed back home.

This camp was one none of us will ever forget!!

Sian Napier

Year 9