Bushwhacked close to home

Mark Haebich

Outdoor Education Coordinator

Teacher - Bushwhacked

Unfortunately,  at the end of last term circumstances didn’t allow for our planned 3 day program in the Upper Yarra Valley at Warburton to go ahead.

 Students once again showed great adaptability as we adjusted plans and organised for a day program on the river at Yarra Bend. Rubicon Outdoor School supported this day with staffing and boats, and both Bushwhacked classes were involved in a walk and canoe cross over loop through some stunning parts of Melbourne, albeit in some inclement weather. 

Students adapted roles and responsibilities set up for the Warburton program and applied these to the Yarra day trip, and in doing so they completed an associated assessment task and took ownership of the day. With some more day programs and first aid training coming up this term, the Bushwhacked cohort is building well to the end of year Wilson’s Promontory expeditions and the completion of the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.

Abbie Connolly

Year 9

At some points, the map was confusing and hard to follow but Rainey  and I worked it out and got our group to where we needed to be. On the river, Tameka and I were paddling together - I was at the front and she was at the back. At first we found it quite hard as we hadn't communicated properly and we didn't have a clear idea on how to paddle properly, but as the day went on we got a lot better. We worked out words to say when someone needed to back paddle, and made sure we paddled in sync because we went faster when we did that.

Chloe Anthony

Year 9

At the start of the day I was excited, but also a bit stressed because I didn't really know how the day was going to go. Afterwards, I felt proud that the day had been really successful. I got organised the night before so there wasn't much I had to remember in the morning. My group  organised a have hot drinks! Paddling was good, but towards the end it got really tiring because we were paddling upstream. I was in the front with Liberty at the back, and I think we communicated well and worked efficiently. The walk was really fun and went by really quickly. We didn't get lost at all and we all helped each other. I learned about some of the rivers animals like the bats which were relocated there.

Layla Carver

Year 9

I have learned that planning the exact details of an event and making the role of a group/person clear is very important. For example, if the details of the Trangias and hot chocolate was organised better earlier, it probably would have gone ahead!

Liberty Redican

Year 9

My working group went pretty well. Once we got to Yarra Bend there was not much which we had to do as most of our planning had been done before. With people away and different things happening, some of the groups for canoeing and walking got changed around a bit to ensure that everyone was comfortable and happy. My working group discussed canoe groups and we arranged it so that everyone had a partner and [were happy].

With the walking planned for the Warburton Program we kept those two working groups. The groups were fairly split up and there was a pretty good mix of people and friendship groups. 

Tilly Stuart-Ali

Year 9

I learned that there are many aspects to collaboration and that collaboration is an essential part of Bushwhacked studies.

Robert Stagg

Year 9

At the start of our adventure I was feeling a little nervous. The weather was cold and miserable and the thought of falling in to the Yarra made me hesitant about the whole thing. I have been to Yarra Bend Park before, but every time I seem to find something new or experience something different. This time I got to experience the park from the water rather than the [river] banks. I had packed several jumpers for after the canoeing which kept me warm on the walk. Several sections of the walk required members of the group to try different approaches to an obstacle in order to find the safest/least muddy approach.

Silvia Righetti-Baker

Year 9

Before the day, I wanted to stay home and be warm but by the end of the day I was having a pretty great time. I have never been to this part of the Yarra before and it was very nice. I will definitely be going back there with my own family. I think the working groups worked out very well and we managed to get everything done effectively. I liked the paddling a lot, it was super fun which I did not expect. The walk was fun: I liked the slippery bits, but we had to do a bunch of collaboration work which took more effort.  I learned that there were a lot of bats near the river a which made me extraordinarily happy. Fruit bats are so cute!