WASP Camp

The Year 9 students travelled to the Delhuntie Wilderness Camp in New South Wales. The camp this year was not in a dormitory-style campsite but rather in a bush setting with tents, a campfire, and water collected from the river and lake on the property. The experienced Christian staff from Delhuntie Youth Park guided our students through the week. The students participated in a wide range of activities designed to help them grow as they overcome challenges and gain skills in teamwork, initiative, leadership, problem-solving, and decision-making; all to equip them to make positive life decisions.

Below is a recount of a participant, Emily Sun:

Year 9 2024 WASP Camp was an amazing experience for my whole year level. We naturally learnt about each other, such as how we cope under pressure, our morals, etc. We also learnt more about ourselves. We were pushed past our limit, creating a new comfort zone for us all. Boys and girls were forced to cooperate in the same environment, not only during the day, but at night too. This helped all of us mature and make newfound connections that we wouldn’t have if not for this camp. We had physical, mental, and spiritual challenges along the way, that weren’t always planned, but this only helped us grow more.

A personal challenge my peers and I had, was learning to live with the people who we only saw for 6 hours, 5 days a week. At the start, it was exciting to see the people who I care about so much for 5 days straight. However, midway through the camp, we all started to see and learn about each other’s habits and preferences. Some didn’t like being woken up, others loved it. Some loved being outside and dunking themselves in water at 7.00am, some hated the mere thought of it. We especially learnt more about each other through activities. People who we perceived as the shy type stepped up, and people who we saw as strong and brave, we saw as vulnerable. By the end of camp, we realised, that what we had previously thought of each other wasn’t accurate at all. We weren’t as similar as we thought, the “brave” people aren’t brave all the time, and the “shy” people can step up when they want to.

The activities I loved were abseiling and the Nightline. The Nightline was about making choices and deciding what voices to listen to. We were partnered with someone and had to lead and be led through the forest, blindfolded, with no communication. This forced us to rely on our other senses and not the one we favour, sight. This was also paired with lightning and thunder, which made this activity surreal for us all.

Personally, the highlight of WASP Camp was having free time in the water. It really allowed all of us to bond and have fun together. There was a swing for the water, diving boards, and platforms to jump off. Although the water wasn’t the cleanest, we all had the best time with each other, as it gave us the chance to be silly together. Another highlight for me was these stones that we gave out to people, generally at the end of the day, or activity. There were love, trust, self-worth, courage, and forgiveness stones. They were given out by people who had recognised someone who showed any of these values. The person who received a stone would then stand up and accept the stone, sharing a little bit about why they did what they did. This was amazing, as it was a way for my peers (and teachers) to recognise those who may not get recognised often.

Overall, the 2024 WASP Camp was awesome, with the friendly staff, new experiences, and lifelong memories. I definitely, recommend it.