Rubicon Camp

Rubicon Camp 16/4-20/4/18

Rubicon outdoor education camp is situated at Nayook, in West Gippsland in Victoria.  Year 8 & 9the beginning of some sensational, tasty, healthy food (something we didn’t have on the side of the road!) by the camp staff.

Sorrell and Alex were our group leaders and they gave us all opportunities to develop our leadership and teamwork skills through a variety of activities and challenges.  Working together and encouraging each other were key to the many successes that we experienced throughout the week.  Orienteering (day and night!) was exciting and even introduced us to the local wallaby!  The High Tree Challenge and the High Ropes team challenge demonstrated that through giving feedback and supporting each other, we could do things that at first, seemed impossible.

The caving experience was surreal – an underground creek with little light and few entrances (although one student was able to create a new path for himself – amazing us all with his survival skills!).  Even if the Yarra River couldn’t give us the depth that we needed to canoe, it gave us lots of rapids, small animals (including a platypus) and rocks to navigate whilst floating on our stomachs or trying to balance in a kayak.  Helmets were well appreciated whilst navigating the rocks, as were the dry bus and clothes waiting for us at the end.

The students were introduced to ‘Boots’ the python, the resident lizards, bearded dragon, stick insects, green tree frog, chickens (hard to catch hey Marc?), next door’s cows and an abundance of native birdlife.  Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton taught us to never give up and to treat your team with respect. How many toilet rolls do Australian’s use?  “Who gives a crap” know and they introduced us to a novel way of saving many of the trees used in toilet paper.  Being kind to the environment was a key feature for much of the week.

All students participated in Community Service on the morning of our departure and contributed enthusiastically to the maintenance of the gardens, activity areas, animals and preparation of lunch.  Students enjoyed their experience of being able to give back to a property and program that gave them so much throughout the week.  Well and truly a great place to visit and a memorable week! 

One student was able to write this of their time at Rubicon:

What was I worried about, about camp? How did I overcome it?

 The Rubicon camp focuses on teamwork as well as taking leadership in a group. At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to camp because I had no friends going, but I also knew that I wanted to go because I would have fun and gain new skills. I was worried that I would be alone and not have as much fun as I wanted. On Monday morning I was anxious for the bus ride up, even after we got to camp after a prolonged drive, though I was able to find friends for a cabin and a friend in my group for the week. Just starting on the first day of working with new people you've never met is hard enough but by the end of the week you've got new friendships with other students, the teachers and camp instructors.

The next few days (Tuesday to Thursday) were full of camp activities and showing teamwork whether it be reading a map or encouraging someone on the high ropes, these are really enjoyable and easy to make friends while doing. For example the team tree challenge involved two other people who’d belay while you and a partner climb an obstacle.  This in itself means you need to trust your team mates. Other activities were caving and a river day, during both of these you would work as a team or show leadership by showing others the safest way through rocks.

I was able to overcome my fear of not having a friend at camp because I learned that you don't just need one friend cheering you on to do something or just to talk.  You have an entire group of students and teachers cheering you on if you get stuck or feel like you're not able to climb a tree because when you try something new that you never thought you’d be able to do, you'll have fun doing it and not have any regrets for not trying something new. This really helped me get the best of the camp experience.