North West Tour

North West Tour

In the first two weeks of Term Three, 66 Year 11 students and staff members headed north for the College’s annual 12-day pilgrimage to the North West of our lovely state.  They departed early on the Monday morning in the rain and headed to Nallan Station near Cue where they camped the night.  The next morning they made their way to Meekatharra and then on to Newman for an overnight stay.

On Wednesday they boarded the buses for a tour of the Mount Whaleback mine in Newman.  After the tour they headed into Karijini National Park and after hiking in to the gorges, were treated to a swim in Fern Pool.  Their overnight stay was at Auski Tourist Village campsite.  Thursday was a trip to Port Hedland where they toured the Dampier Salt mines, ports and iron ore stockpiles and a quick trip to the shops before heading to Eighty Mile Beach Caravan Park for the night. 

The next day they finally made it to Broome after a delay leaving Eighty Mile Beach with a bus having a breakdown.  While waiting for a replacement bus to come from Broome, the students enjoyed the free time to walk along the beach, have a kick of the footy and play cards.  They were welcomed at the Broome Camp School with a roast dinner on arrival.  The weekend was spent in Broome, attending the markets, swimming at Cable Beach, camel rides, movies at the outdoor cinema, Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park and Willie Creek Pearl farm.

Monday was a long day travelling the 833kms from Broome to Karratha, with a couple of tyre issues on buses along the way.  They arrived in Karratha ready for bed at 11.30pm after a quick stop in Port Hedland for dinner.  A trip to the Visitor’s Centre in Dampier was the first stop on Tuesday for an information session on the North West Shelf and future job opportunities, followed by a visit to Red Dog, a bit of shopping and a swim at the Karratha Leisureplex.

They then made our way to Carnarvon on Wednesday with a visit to Bumbaks Banana Plantation and ice-cream.  They stayed at the Carnarvon PCYC for the night and visited Gascoyne Gold Tomato Processing Plant on Thursday morning before heading to Geraldton Camp School.  On Friday they made their way back to College after a wonderful trip away and a weekend to relax.