Grade 6 Canberra Camp
It started at 6:30am in the morning, Grade 6 students were arriving at school full of energy and ready for adventure. After an hour of travel on the Hume Highway many neck pillows had been recovered from back packs and sleep that had been lost due to the early morning was being caught up on. It didn’t take long to arrive at our first stop. The freedom from our weekly routines and a chance to stretch our legs invigorated everyone as we stepped off the buses for the first time.
Another two hours of travel bought us into New South Wales to the famous HMAS Otway, an old submarine repurposed as a tourist attraction in the township of Holbrook. It was here we had our lunch before embarking on the next stage of our trip to Gundagai. Gundagai was the quickest of our stops as we had our hearts set on our destination now. A pose for a picture with the Dog on the Tuckerbox and we were back on the road.
We made it – the dreaded marathon bus trip was over as we rolled into Canberra Park. The energy levels had lifted again as we gathered our possessions and moved on to inspect our cabins for the first time.
There were a lot of tired people waking up to have breakfast at 7:15am on Tuesday but it didn’t take long to bounce back into action. We had to see the Geoscience Centre, the National Gallery of Australia, the High Court of Australia, the National Capital Exhibition, Mt Ainslie Lookout, a tour of the Embassies and finished off the night at Questacon.
The middle of the week brought another adventurous day, we departed early to visit Parliament House. We got to experience the hustle and bustle of our nation’s capital when bills are being made into laws and see the places where decisions of national importance are made. It was in Parliament House that we got to learn about the role and functions of the Federal Parliament by considering issues of national importance in role play activities. We then finished off the day with some high intensity Laser Tag!
Thursday will be our last full day of activities, and we depart early to visit the National Australian War Memorial where we will meet a member of the Australian Defence Force who was enrolled during the war in Afghanistan, and we will get some valuable insights into what it means to serve our country. The highlight of the visit will be seeing our school leaders lay a wreath at the feet of the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and hearing the last post played in remembrance.
Another long trip home on Friday and we will complete a very memorable journey to Canberra and back. We will return a little more tired, but a lot wiser — with a deeper understanding of our nation, its history, and the people who help shape it. Beyond the landmarks and learning, it has been the shared laughs on the bus, the cabin chats late at night, the teamwork, and the moments of reflection that have truly made this camp special.
