Year 7 Camp to Halls Gap

The Year 7's had a fantastic time on camp at Halls Gap. The students embarked on their annual camp on Wednesday 17th of March and upon arrival completed two activities – high ropes, abseiling or canoeing. The day ended with students going swimming with Mrs. Plews, sports with Mr. Green or on an adventure walk with Miss Dridan.

The second day students participated in a hike (lead by Mr. Collins) through The Grampians, enjoyed some ice cream and explored the Halls Gap Zoo. The day concluded with a game of trivia, live entertainment from Annie Kehoe and Matilda Venes (accompanied by back up dancers Ella Kerr, Adeline Corbett, Josh Fraser and Tristian Drinkwater), and the option of a movie or the footy with Mr. Green - a mad Tigers supporter.

On the Friday, students partook in the final activity which they didn’t do on the first day, returned to camp (Norval Lodge) for lunch, followed by their departure back to Beaufort Secondary College. 

The camp provided a great opportunity for the Year 7 students to get to know one another and develop their team building skills. Many students faced their fears of heights, and encouraged others to be successful in the adventurous endeavours. 

The following are some student reflections on the Camp to Halls Gap. 

"On Wednesday the 17th of March we got to school with our bags to head to camp at Halls Gap. We hopped on the bus and started to head up there. Everyone was excited to be heading away. When we got to Halls Gap we went into Norval lodge, and the hosts talked to us about camp and the activities we would be doing. We were put into our groups, and the first activity my group did was the high ropes, which was very very high up. I did the ‘leap of faith’ and I was very happy to land of the platform. When we returned to Norval, we found out our cabin groups, and I was lucky to be in with my best mates." 

"The second day we went for a bush walk to Venus Baths and Chautauqua Peak, and climbed to the top of the peak. In the afternoon we went to Halls Gap Zoo. I really enjoyed feeding the deer and seeing the rhinoceros. My favourite part of the day was getting an ice cream from the Halls Gap ice cream shop." 

"Our last day my group went canoeing, and also got to swim in Lake Bellfield before getting on the bus and heading for home." 

"It was a fantastic camp, full of lots of fun and exciting activities that I had never done before. I had the most amazing time!" - Ben Grant 

"On the first day, my activity group went canoeing and swimming at a lake over an old town called Bellfield. We then had high ropes and I made it to the top of the ladder, but couldn’t go any further. I had another go and got an extra metre but didn’t quite make it to the top. That night we had delicious parma's, and then had the option to do different activities. I went on the walk with Miss Dridan where we saw kangaroos, emus and possums." 

"The second day we went on a 3km walk to one of the highest points in the Grampians, and then on the way back to camp we got ice creams, and watched a movie that night after dinner." 

"The last day we went abseiling down a rock face, but I am a bit scared of heights, so the instructor Niko went down with me. After the first go, I went down five more times by myself! We finished off with a lunch back at camp, and then loaded up the bus with our bags and headed home." - Shannon Dubignon

Some of the students favourite camp activities were....

"I really enjoyed climbing Chautauqua Peak, it was really beautiful and gave us a birds eye view over Halls Gap" - Annie Kehoe

"I really enjoyed abseiling and being able to sail down the rocks as fast as I liked" - Nic Stares

"My favourite was dinner because the chef was really funny and the food was nice" - Myka Beaton

"I have never tried abseiling before so it helped me to conquer my fears" - Shannon Dubignon 

"I really enjoyed the movie night as we got to sit back and relax" - Beth O'Brien

"I enjoyed breaking out of my comfort zone during the high ropes course" - Aiden Brydson

"I enjoyed having a go at the 'Leap of Faith' on the high ropes course as I like heights" - Ella Kerr

"Abseiling was my favourite as we got to try different tricks on the way down and it helped with my fear of heights" - Tom Naylor

"I enjoyed trying the 'Leap of Faith' on the high ropes course even though I didn't succeed" - Evelyn McMullan

"My favourite part of camp was definitely going to the the ice cream shop!!" - Tucker Stewart

"I really enjoyed roaming around Halls Gap Zoo with my friends and I liked that we were able to go to the gift shop" - Gazelle Neville