Camps + Trips 

Year 11 Challenge Camp

From Monday March 28th to Friday April 1st, the Year 11s gave the rest of the school some peace, while we went on the first ever Wilderness Escape Challenge Camp. At 6:30am, Melbourne Airport was inundated with 60 bleary-eyed, but excited Year 11s, about to hop onto a plane to fly into South Australia. 

From Monday to Wednesday, we stayed in the Fleurieu Peninsula, using the natural outdoors as our classroom, to find our limits and challenge ourselves to venture beyond them. In South Australia, we travelled to some beautiful locations to participate in aquatic activities such as boogie boarding, kayaking and snorkelling. We were able to appreciate the scenery along the way, and our teachers' poor singing! There were only a few showers creating a long line of sandy students, but a resoundingly commanding voice from Sienna informed the entire campsite that “WE ARE ON TANK WATER HERE!”. This helped shorten the showers and move the queue along. 

On Wednesday morning it was a quick pack up and clean before heading on a 6+ hour drive to the Grampians, with a playlist curated by us and teachers. Arriving in the Grampians by evening, we had to take on the responsibility of setting up our own tent for the next couple nights, and for some students, the biggest challenge on camp was dealing with the smell from the drop toilets. 

In the Grampians, we went on two challenging hikes that emphasised the importance of having a strong team. It was really heartwarming to see how everyone supported each other, particularly when fellow group members were struggling. My group had lots of encouragement and we joined in a “bum shuffle” down the steep parts of the mountain. 

We worked together while engaging in lots of fun activities like the “Peg Challenge”. The teachers handed out six pegs to six teams with the goal to hang them on another team without being caught.

As a collective, the teachers presented us with a challenge; a stuffed toy sloth known as Gilbert was to be carefully looked after by a particular team. He had to be with the team at all times and if he wasn’t… Gilbert would find a new team to call home.

I’m sure most would agree that this Year 11 Camp was an amazing experience which helped further develop our organisational skills, self confidence, leadership, trust and helped form a stronger bond between students and teachers alike. (And I’m sure the school appreciated having a week without Mr Millar! Kidding!)

Quotes from students:

“Dude! The camp was totally RADICAL, and it’s been the highlight of the year so far. I’m so glad I was able to go!” - Mimi Gu 11F

“Camp was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I was able to make friends with unexpected people! It was a great start to the year and I wish I could re-live it.” - Sienna Gedeon 11E

“Camp was an excellent escape from daily life - I guess” - Sally Ngo 11A

By Flynn Slater 11B