Duke of Ed adventurous journey 2024

Banner image: Hieran, Bailey, Darcy, Luke and Mr Johnstone at Werdug.

This year the Adventurous Journey for the Duke of Edinburgh program occurred in the beautiful location of The Grampians, nestled 3.5 hours west of Melbourne. Our intrepid and excited adventurers set off at 8:30am Monday 9 December for the weeklong hike. The group was broken up into two groups, one led by Mr Jake Barnett and myself (Mr Braedan Johnstone). 

Mr Barnett’s group travelled north from Halls Gap to Mount Zero whereas my group travelled south from Mount Zero to Halls Gap, crossing over on day 3 of our trip. After dropping off the group travelling south to north, we headed north to Mount Zero where, after getting our packs ready, we scaled Mount Zero and then returned to the parked minivans to travel to Stapylton. 

However, upon arriving back at the minivans, we were greeted with an unwelcome site of a flat tyre. Ms Deanna Chesterton led the way in changing the tire as well as teaching the students how to do it.  

Our mantra for the week was “leave no trace”. The aim of this mantra is for each student to develop/consolidate a respect for our environment and that we are to leave it as we found it or even better. It was great to see that across the week students picking up rubbish left on the trail so that it could be disposed of properly.  

From different landscapes, to changing flora and fauna and majestic views, each day of the trip was unique, making it very special. The trip is definitely not for the fainthearted though, with an average of 11.5 km and 450 metres of elevation gained each day. Rolled ankles, blistered feet, bruised shoulders and a relentless, hot afternoon sun added to the challenges of each day. However, each group persevered and made it successfully to each campsite. Three of the four campsites were named using a combination of different Indigenous words. Each name described the location of where the campsite was found. 

For example, day three we stayed at the Gar Hike-in Campground. Gar = ‘big mountain’ and is the highest on the western side of the Range. As it faces west, the sunset viewing from this location was like none other the group had ever seen before.  

An important objective of the journey is for each member to work towards building a cohesive group that supports one another, and realising that at times an individual’s strength may be their weakness and vice versa. I am so incredibly proud of each individual member of the 2024 Duke of Edinburgh cohort and the way they supported each other with words of encouragement, distributing pack loads of those who were struggling and sharing food amongst the group, to complete what was a very challenging yet extremely rewarding hike.  

Above images show Nate, Oak, Amiya, Ava, Keira, Taj and Rohan cooking at Gar, and Ms Chesterton cooking up a storm.

I am incredibly thankful to Mr Barnett, Ms Chesterton and Ms Haylee Murphy who provided above and beyond support in the successful completion of the trip. 

Additionally, I want to recognise and thank the support provided by Sabrina Lee (2024 School Captain) and her father, Bruce Lee. Sabrina Lee is Box Hill High School’s first ever recipient of the Gold Level for the Duke of Edinburgh program, and attended the 2022 and 2023 Adventurous Journeys. Bruce also attended in 2023 as well. They travelled with Jake Barnett’s group and were immensely supportive to each team member.  

As another year comes to an end, I’m already excited for the 2025 Duke of Edinburgh cohort, where our enrolment numbers have grown by over 100%, and what they will achieve.  

 Rohan, Amiya, Taj, Oak, Nate, Mr Johnstone and Ms Chesterton taking in the sunrise from Mt Difficult