International Students

Summer Holidays in Australia

As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to sizzle in Melbourne, as international students we did our part to stop the virus from spreading by choosing to stay in Australia. As a reward from Northcote High School, we had the opportunity to embark on two summer trips to the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island, both of which were equal parts entertaining and educational. 

On January 13, the sky was gentle and the sun was clear, the weather was perfect for us to enjoy our day on the famous Great Ocean Road. By popular demand from the international students, the bus made an unplanned stop by the beach for us to be able to enjoy the softness of the golden sand and laughter of having the waves hitting us on our shoes. We had a pleasant walk up to the majestic lighthouse and enjoyed the fantastic view of the sea and the saline scent of the winds. In the afternoon, we had a short but memorable lesson about Aboriginal Australian artifacts and were taught how to throw a boomerang. We also had the chance to try out kangaroo meat for lunch, which for a lot of us, was delightful. 

The trip to Philip Island was just as much fun as we tried to catch up to the rising sun early in the morning. International students at Northcote were joined with another group of students from a neighbouring school – Strathmore College and through that chance, many new friendships were forged.  We took our time in awe at the Philip Island chocolate factory and the fascination of seeing how these sweet treats are made. The bus then took a scenic route along the coast so we could see the clear seawater and hear the sounds of the protective seagull mothers hovering above our head. We had BBQ for lunch and went to an open zoo where we could see and interact with various Australian wildlife animals and were taught about the koalas, the dingoes and the snakes. 

Summer holiday in Australia has ended for us but we are truly thankful for the happy memories the school has generously provided us with during our time away from home. 

Ringo Bach-12B