Duke of Edinburgh

This year the Duke of Edinburgh camp took place at Mt Hotham and the surrounding location. In total 21 students attended, with 1 completing their Bronze Award, 18 their Silver Award and 2 their Gold Award.

It was a fantastic week away, with the weather perfect. The hike started at the Razorback Trail with students making their way to Federation Hut. Day 2 saw an early sunrise viewing on Mt Feathertop (for those who wanted a wake up at 4:30 am). This was followed by a long descent via Diamantina Spur into Blair’s Hut.  As the saying goes, “What goes up must come down”, was the reverse for our intrepid adventures, “What goes down, must go up”.  Day 3 saw a hike across to Dibbin’s Hut with a quick lunch before tackling a challenging climb up Swindler’s Spur to Derrick’s Hut.

Days 4 and 5 took a more relaxed approach across Hotham Central with an educational focus into the history of the visited hut and with a special presentation about bushfire management by Emily Willock, an employee of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.  The students enjoyed the presentations as there were many follow up questions asked afterwards.

I couldn’t be prouder of this year’s cohort who completed their adventurous journey. There was such a positive and encouraging spirit among the group.  The support and encouragement given by every student when they saw someone who needed it was heartwarming.

Check out the gallery below for pictures of the student's journey and Reflective piece by Taj Fox.

"I believe that this award is well worth doing and that it would be greatly beneficial for anyone. I had great fun doing this hike, even with all of everyone’s injuries and also considering just how tough the hiking was. This was certainly a great way for me to camp and hike with a pack for the first time. It was also a fantastic way for me to meet and talk to people that I would not normally talk to."  

By Taj Fox.

By Braedan Johnstone

Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator