YEAR 11 CENTRAL CAMP

This story begins in the last week of term 2, where 5 staff, 33 year 11 students and one mascot (Kleo the monkey) jumped on a magical bus and trekked the 26 hour trip from Melbourne to Uluru, making pit stops in Adelaide, Coober Pedy and Alice Springs. We kept ourselves entertained on the bus with sleep, music, movies, sleep, getting to know each other and Mr Birkinhead’s 4hr trivia, which also resulted in sleep (jokes…) We spent a night in Coober Pedy, learning about opal mining and sleeping in an actual mine, where the temperature stays a spicy 24 degrees ALL NIGHT. 

We spent a few nights camping at the Alice Springs Discovery Park and making day trips out to The Royal Flying Doctors, School of the Air, the West Macdonald Ranges and the Desert Park. We also enjoyed cradling lizards, befriending a python and learning about the deathly eastern brown snake from Rex, the travelling reptile man. To quote Rex “you’ll know when a snake’s eaten a wallaby because he’ll bounce away.” That was a fun night. 

Upon preparing to leave Alice Springs, we were informed of the 40mls of heavy rain that was fast approaching. Our plans quickly changed as the rain loomed over us – we weren’t able to get into Kings Canyon for fear of getting bogged and stuck forever. We weren’t able to go camel riding because apparently camels sit down in the rain. I would too. But the spectacular thing that did happen in lieu of these activities was that we got to see the beautiful site of rain on the rock! Once every 7-10 years, it rains in Yulara and Uluru catches the water, creating sensational cascading waterfalls. We trudged through the muddy pathways to experience this magical site and it was 100% worth it! The following day, we explored Kata Tjuta (also known as the Olgas) and returned to Uluru with our passionate and animated tour guide, Leroy. He shared stories, passed on to him by Aboriginal elders, about the significance of Uluru and the ceremonies that took place there long ago. In Leroys words, “I can read Uluru like brail.” We were fortunate to have such a well-respected community tour guide, leading us as we learnt about Uluru. 

Our final two nights were full of pivoting plans and spontaneous accommodation. Due to being rained out of our campsite, we were offered to stay in the gymnasium at the Ayers Rock Resort in Yulara. They offered us mats, blankets, water bottles and mini soaps and shampoos. We took up this generous offer and stayed the night in a gym, just like a primary school sleep over! For whatever reason, this seemed to be the best night of sleep that most of us had! We were fortunate to have a safe and warm roof over our heads – an experience I’m sure many of us won’t forget. 

The Year 11 Central camp is a brilliant opportunity to see a significant and beautiful part of Australia. I would highly recommend adding this trip to your bucket list! 

By Tania Vairamuttu 

Central camp - Student reflections

Central Australia is commonly known as the 'Red Centre’ for being hot and dry. However, we were lucky enough to see the other side of it, the side where it rained for days on end and flooded everything. From being stuck on a bus for 30+ hours with our driver John and chef Billy, to seeing water on the rock in Uluru with our interesting tour guide Leroy, to endless games of coup, spot it and uno.  All the way to sleeping in a gym because all our accommodation kept flooding. The camp was full of its ups and its fair share of downs; however it was a once in a lifetime experience that I know none of us will ever forget.  

By Elke Lepp

On Wednesday the 21st of June, 30 odd, excited students embarked on one of the most fascinating journeys we will experience. In this camp we had visited magical places such as Uluru, which we were lucky enough to view in the rain, and mines of Cooper Pedy. Although we encountered some misfortune at times, we were always able to make the most of it. I would most definitely recommend this camp because it is truly an amazing experience. 

By Hilel Goldberg

Photography credit to Tracey Campion, Tania Vairamuttu and Isaac Roy