International & Regional Engagement
Duke of Edinburgh 2023
Duke of Edinburgh is an internationally recognised award which enables students to go beyond their comfort zone and try new things. In order to complete this, an outdoor journey needs to be undertaken.
On a sunny Sunday morning our 12 enthusiastic students accompanied by Mr Zinga, Miss Madden and Mr Callaghan embarked on our journey to the snowy mountains. Our trip included gourmet toasties for lunch at The Marsden in Boorowa followed by a quick stop in Cooma to pick up last minute supplies before venturing into the wilderness for 4 days.
As we arrived at Thredbo diggings we were greeted by the pouring rain, however this did not dampen our mood, we persevered and set up camp. The rain passed and we were able to cook dinner with the help of our trangia’s which proved to be quite useful over the course of our trip. After a long day everyone was tried and ready for bed, awaiting the adventures of the next day.
Monday, we woke to a well-deserved breakfast and set out for the start of a 22km walk to the top of Mt Kosciusko, Australia’s highest point. The first few kilometres had numerous snow and swollen river crossings that proved difficult. Once we reached the top of Carruthers Peak the walk flattened out revealing picturesque scenery. Soon after we reached the peak of Mt Kosciusko, feeling triumphant and hungry we devoured our lunch. On the way down we trekked part of the way by foot and by chairlift ultimately finishing the trail. After the walk we headed to the recreational centre of Thredbo to partake in a well deserved swim, braving the water slide and shower to freshen up before heading back to camp. We were greeted back at camp by a curious wombat strolling about our camp, and a possum scouring for food. Once again we assembled our trangia’s and made dinner and quickly got to bed after a long day.
Tuesday, we begun the morning with a camp brekkie after a night of horrific winds rattling the tents and possums searching around our supplies. We took a bus ride into Thredbo village to get a rejuvenating coffee and croissant. We arrived prepared and determined to ride the Thredbo Valley Track, unfortunately however the track was closed. Despite this disturbing our plans, we pioneered and made the best with what we had - helmets, mountain bikes and a couple hours to kill. So, with the help of our tour guide, Scott from Sacred Rides Thredbo, we fired up and braved along the 2.4km golf course loop enduring technical drops, rocky trails and sharp turns.
Returning to Thredbo, we decided to further explore our adventurous sides and shoot down the Thredbo Alpine Bobsled with incredible speed, leaning into the curvy turns and hilly terrain racing each other down accelerating at full pelt. Still filled with energy and excitement we decided to explore the Thredbo valley track - now open. Creating engaging challenges, we split into two groups and scavenged for native wildlife, flowering flora, tricky to spot trout, cubic wombat dung and flat skimming stones. Arriving back at base camp in sweltering afternoon heat we were all itching for a dip in the refreshing Thredbo valley creek with its shallow icy waters and rocky bottom we submerged and rinsed off the sweat. Then settled in for a lovely dinner.
Wednesday morning started with a 6km walk to Crackenback Resort, followed by a farewell of our stunning campsite we called home for a few days.
We would like to thank our wonderful teachers Miss Madden, Mr Zinga and Mr Callaghan for accompanying us on our journey, without them it wouldn’t have been possible. They provided us with not only incredible geographical knowledge of the landscape but also many laughs.
Written by the DOE participants (dukies)
