Year 9 Tasmania Camp
On Monday, 28th of April, 50 students and 5 teachers came to school at 4:30am to embark on our airplane journey to Tasmania. Our first stop was a self-guided tour of the Maritime Museum. We learned about the sea, ships, and all the different aspects of maritime history. After a short walk down a dead end, we headed instead for our accommodation. We were all surprised because our cabins were huge! They looked like little houses. After we’d set up our cabins, and ate our delicious dinner and dessert, we went to the movies to watch Snow White. We can all agree that the free popcorn was the best part!
The next morning we had an early breakfast so we could take off on a long drive to the Tahune airwalk. We split into two groups so all of us weren’t on the airwalk at the same time. It was a bit wobbly but then we learned that it was supposed to wobble so it didn’t get any damage from the strong winds 50 metres above the Huon River. Later, we drove up Mount Wellington. Even though it was another long drive, it was worth it. Once we got there, it was 0.5°C and it was snowing! Freezing but fun! That night we went bowling, but found out that most of us weren’t very good at it. Some were definitely better than others. Despite that, we had the best time!
On the third day, we took the longest drive to Port Arthur. We made a few stops on the way to walk around and take some photos of the beautiful Tasmanian landscape. We stopped at the Devil’s Kitchen, Tasman’s Arch, Tessellated Pavement and the Blow Hole. At Port Arthur, we had a little tour and got to learn about the jail, the prisoners, the crimes that were committed, the escape attempts, and all the true stories. A little while later, we took a boat to the Isle of the Dead. We learned that the lower half of the island is where the prisoners were buried, while the residents were buried on the top half. Back at Port Arthur, once it got dark, the Ghost Tour began. Scary stories, abandoned buildings and a tour guide who couldn’t believe he got paid for scaring the lives out of kids!
Our last day saw us head to the chairlift at Cataract Gorge. It was quiet and peaceful, interrupted only by the sounds of the rivers and waterfalls. We were surround by hungry peacocks during lunch and although Mr K tried to catch one, it was too smart for him!
Then it was time to board the Spirit of Tasmania to head home. Although the teachers said it was a very smooth crossing of Bass Strait, some kids still got seasick. There were lots of activities to pass the time like the cinema, arcade games and watching the water from the deck. Before we knew it, we arrived in Geelong ready to board the bus back to school and go home for a big sleep!
We would like to thank Mr Jacobs for all his partially true but weird stories, Ms Tinker for her good chats, Mr K for making us laugh, Ms Moloney for being the camp mum, and Mr Kelleher for making sure everything went smoothly and ensuring he could be heard by all of us at all times, including everybody living anywhere on the island of Tasmania.
It really was an awesome camp, and we loved it!
Written by Year 9 student Chelsea C.
Mr Kelleher having his main character moment
