Year 11 Camp, Sydney
Awoken in the early hours of Monday morning (4am for some of us), we hastily departed our homes in a race towards Beaufort. Leaving at exactly 5:36am, possibly due to Jayda leaving her purse behind, we were now on a not-so-direct route to a crowded and busy Melbourne Airport.
Upon arriving at the traffic-piled drop zone, we "carefully” piled out of the bus and assembled, while some half-asleep and slightly confused onlookers gave us an eye. The sight of domestic customs was new for many and so too was the incredible number of food options and beauty cosmetics available for purchase. McDonald's, however was still preferred as the go-to option. Bags checked in, seats allocated, and a rather questionable boarding experience from the back of the plane, we were on our way to Sydney.
The cruisy flight was followed by an overwhelmingly long Opal meeting, then a mixture of train and bus rides to get us to our destination, The Village Glebe. Rooms unavailable as yet, we set our stuff aside and headed out in search of food. With full bellies, everyone started to take in the fact that we were indeed in Sydney. A fun night was on everyone's mind, as our first activities were at Strike Bowling, followed by a variety of escape rooms. The one and only Mr Lindorff put up an amazing 150 score in bowling, walking away the top scorer, winning his game. Meanwhile, efforts to beat the escape rooms were futile, as all the groups came out as losers. The local tram system, otherwise known as the light rail, returned us to our accommodation, to rest up and ready ourselves for the week ahead.
On Tuesday, we headed off on the light rail after our first continental breakfast of the camp. With many of us still half asleep, we were off to Circular Quay (Key? Kwee? Kway?). Once we arrived, Mr. Green Mr. Lindorff, and Miss Dridan set us on our way for some sweet, sweet, free time! Some groups went shopping or got a bite to eat at the multi-level shopping centre, The QVB. By 10:40 we were back at Circular Quay and ready to board the ferry to Taronga Zoo. On the way, we got our first real glimpse of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Cameras were out and mouths were gaping. What a sight!
Once we arrived, we split into groups to explore the world-famous zoo. We saw tigers, elephants, giraffes, otters, and even a pygmy hippo! We needed to be back at the dock in order to board the ferry to Manly by 12:30 on the dot, although some of us didn’t quite make it in time (Mr. Lindorff, Alannah L and Alysha).
With wind whipping through our hair and sea breeze on our faces, the ferry made its way past Watson’s Bay to arrive in Manly. The second we hopped off the boat, everybody was itching to dive into the crashing waves of Manly Beach. Under Miss Dridan’s strict instruction we all slip, slopped, slapped on some sunscreen, before making our way to the fluffy white sand. However, some of us didn’t slip, slop or slap as much as we should have, with a few people sporting some bright red sunburn. Luckily Siena, brandishing a bottle of after-sun spray, came to their assistance.
Manly Beach was a hoot! Many of us frolicked in the waves, some had a much needed beach nap, some got buried alive, some went on a shopping spree and some bought ridiculously overpriced Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream. We were all overjoyed to see a Whatsapp message from Mr. Green, letting us know that we had an extra hour of free time.
Once the clock hit 5:30 it was time to head back for dinner. Much to our annoyance, the Captain Cook Ferry didn't appear, after almost half an hour of waiting. So, onto the Opal ferry it was. After reaching Circular Quay, the group split up; some impatient individuals decided to make their own way home before everyone else, Miss Dridan took a few people to go buy barbeque supplies and the rest headed back to Glebe.
Once we got back, most of us showered and headed up to our rooftop barbeque dinner. Afterwards, ice-creams were shared and it was time to rest after a big, big day.
We woke up bright and early on Wednesday morning for brekky and caught the light rail to the CBD. We made our way across Pyrmont Bridge to reach the Sydney Tower Eye. Once there, we had about half an hour to grab something to eat before it was time to catch the elevator up 309m to the observation deck. Some of us were a bit scared of heights, while others were fearless. We took cute snaps in the photo booth and had a look at the view before heading back down to ground level. Afterwards, we went off to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. A funny highlight for many, we got photos with some famous stars, including Tarkyn taking one with Obama. Mr Schier rocked up just in time for Sea Life Aquarium, our next stop. Filled with ramps (and some fish), there was nothing too special about the aquarium, besides their resident dugong, Piggy.
After Sea Life, we were once again given some free time - to each lunch, explore the city, see Louise Bourgeois’ works at the Art Gallery of New South Wales or go shopping to buy merch (with Trai, Angus and Riley spending a combined total of $1000!)
After a day filled with a variety of activities, we were told we had to be at the dock in Glebe at 4:30, in time to be ready for our well-planned and reserved spot at The Sporting Globe. This was where we all received our beloved parmas, with the attendance of Mr Schier on his first night with us. After our delicious parmas, we then headed (via the Pyrmont Bridge) to the Lyric Theatre to watch Wicked the Musical, which took up the rest of the night, finishing at 10pm. After that stunning performance we all then headed off to the station, before catching a train back to our accommodation. We all witnessed Kaitlyn being chased by Angus as she stole his water bottle, which was hilarious to watch.
On Thursday we rose around 7am, had our breakfast and headed off to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but not before we all applied our sunscreen, with a few bringing their hats for the long walk ahead of us. The first location on the agenda was the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We all walked there, which was a bit of a hike. The view up there was great and we all took lots of photos. We then headed off to the Sydney Opera House, where our host led us through, whilst a few ballet dances and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra rehearsed. We were told the history of some of the rooms, which made for a fascinating tour. Afterwards, we all headed to catch a bus to Bondi Beach, where we bid farewell to Mr Schier, as he had to leave to return to school.
After a long bus ride (45 Minutes) to Bondi Beach, we were all given the option of time to explore Bondi or complete the Amazing Race with a group before meeting at 4pm. We all walked to Greek Feast for dinner and had an excellent meal to refuel before exploring Bondi Junction. After arriving back in Glebe, the Amazing Race winners were announced - Fletcher and Josiah! Ice-cream prizes were awarded and we made our last journey up the hill to Village Glebe, where we showered and packed for the journey home in the morning.
After being explicitly told to pack their bags the night before, Rylan and Fletcher (amongst others) lived life on the edge and chose to pack their luggage the following morning. Another early start, this time 5:30am, saw everyone doing what they needed to do to get ready for departure. Breakfast was quick and showers were even quicker and by 6:30am we had left our rooms, although not before triple checking we hadn't left anything behind. More lineups and check-ins, and a changing of gates, saw the tiredness of some start to creep through.
The flight home, although smooth and for the most part calm, took a surprising turn when we reached Melbourne airspace and were lashed with huge gusts of wind and a bumpy landing. Relieved faces appeared as we touched down.
An easy airport escape ensued and it seemed our troubles were done and that our way home would be carefree. Except this wasn't the case. A quick escape meant not knowing that we had taken up a specified bus loading zone, and with the bus not being able to turn in, this caused a short holdup. With all that behind us, we were off on our way home, our holiday finished. We had a quick Macca's stop before the end of our journey, arriving at three on the dot, back at school. Our camp for this year and our last camp as students…had come to an end.
- Siena Grant, Riley Burrill and Fletcher Holz.