Out and About
Year 9 Outdoor Education Adventures in Semester 2
Camp
During week 6 of term 4, 36 Year 9 students travelled to Wilson's Promontory National Park for Outdoor Education Camp.
We left school early on Monday morning and sat through a long bus trip. We stopped at Leongatha for a quick break and then hopped straight back onto the bus and arrived at Tidal River, ready to set up our tents and unload the trailers. We ended our day with a 6.8km walk to the Mt Oberon Summit. The view was so beautiful and was definitely worth it! To end the night we all made dinner, set up our sleeping bags and went to bed.
On day 2, we split off into our classes and did separate activities. Ms McConachy’s class (my class) went surfing at Norman Beach in perfect conditions and had loads of fun. While we were surfing, the other class walked the Big Drift which is a 4.5km walk to and from massive sand dunes. We all came back for lunch at Tidal River and then swapped activities for the afternoon. To end the day we visited the Tidal River and played some beach games back at Norman Beach, and on the way, we spotted a wombat! As we were heading to bed, the rain started bucketing down, but lucky for us we had perfect weather during the past two days.
On Wednesday, we woke up and went for a walk around the campsite and beside the river and then went on the Wanderer Adventure Eco Boat Tour. The weather was less fortunate than the other days, but luckily we were still able to go out onto the water. Sadly, we didn’t see any dolphins but were still lucky enough to see lots of seals. We were all soaked so spent the day back at camp getting dry and then finished with beach games, dinner and a night walk around the campsite.
On Thursday, we packed up camp, loaded the trailers and got ready for the drive ahead of us. We stopped at Squeaky Beach to take some photos and stretch our legs, another stop at Leongatha and then arrived back at school. We all had the best time and made lots of new memories, learnt new skills and tried new things.
Brooke Sweatman
And some of that is captured here. What an experience.
Kayaking
Miss McConachy’s Outdoor Education class recently went sea kayaking in Sandringham. We spent the morning paddling across the calm waters of the bay, while being guided by two friendly instructors. It was an exciting experience for both groups to learn the basic skills of kayaking while enjoying the beautiful view and weather. The clear sky with calm water made it a perfect day for an outdoor adventure. Games were played and everyone had a great time, and it was a fun way to bond with classmates while exploring the beauty of the Sandringham coastline whilst learning about human impacts on the environment.
Tiffany Jacquin
Tree Surfing
During Week 4 Term 4, our two Year 9 Outdoor Education classes went to Belgrave to participate in a tree surfing adventure. The bus ride was about an hour up from our school. Once we got there, the instructors helped us put our safety gear on. Once that was done we got a debriefing and one of the friendly instructors taught us how to navigate the courses. After that was done, we were finally free to venture out and go do the courses ourselves. We were up in the trees for about two hours, and then went down for a snack. The weather was beautiful, sunny and a bit chilly. Me and my friends' favourite parts were the ziplines, and the big jump. Everyone enjoyed and it was definitely one of my favourite activities from Outdoor Ed this year.
Camila Peran
Stand Up Paddleboarding
Throughout Semester 2, the Year 9 Outdoor Education classes participated in Stand Up paddleboarding (SUP) .
We walked down to Mentone SLC, in Bunurong country, and once we arrived the company Bayplay Adventure Tours helped us to put on our wetsuits and PFDs, and then we carried the boards down. They taught us some basics of how to paddle, and then we set off! We paddled out for a bit, then we played some really fun games, including swapping boards and tag. The weather was perfect and it wasn't too wavy or too cold.
Being further out from the shore allowed us to have an amazing view of the cliffs and better understand the impacts of erosion on coastal environments. It was a super fun day for the Outdoor Ed students!
Leila Tait