Outdoor and Environmental Studies

Year 12 Outdoor Education Point Nepean Bike and Snorkel Tour

On Thursday 12th October our Year 12 Outdoor Education students travelled down to Portsea to participate in a Bike Tour through Point Nepean National Park and surrounding areas. Students learnt about Australia's involvement in the War getting to experience the many vantage points used by the many soldiers in the dunes at the heads of Port Phillip Bay. Students also experienced the beach location of where ex Prime Minister Harold Holt when missing, gathering information about his mysterious disappearance. 

The Afternoon session included being fully kitted up in snorkel gear and heading out into the middle of Port Phillip Bay to Chinaman's Hat. This is where 30-50 seals call home and our students where able to snorkel in around the structure getting to play around with the many seals who decided to interact with us. A really cool experience for our students and one many will remember for a long time. Students also learnt about the dredging of Port Phillip Bay and some of the environmental impacts that have occurred since the dredging. 

Year 11 Great Ocean Walk Camp

Outdoor and Environmental Studies allows students to participate in many activities, but none more special than the annual Great Ocean Walk. This year 16 students participated in a four day camp, which included surfing at Apollo Bay, hiking sections of the Great Ocean Walk and camping within the Great Otway National Park. For many of our students it was their first time travelling to Victoria's Surf Coast and with perfect weather the camp was an absolute treat. Students hiked 25km over the two days between Cape Otway and Johanna Beach and along the way experienced some breath taking views, saw an abundance of natural Australian Flora and Fauna, learnt historical facts about the area and most importantly enjoyed each others company whilst hiking for 3 -5 hours each day. A real highlight of the trip was camping alongside a family of Koala's at Aire River. Here it became evident that most students hadn't actually seen a real Koala in the wild before and all students took the time to watch the Koalas going about their business amongst the Eucalyptus. Many thanks go out to to Miss Riddle and ex student Natalie Rochfort for giving up their personal time and assisting with camp for the four days, the students will take away some lastign memories after exprriencing a fantastic time away, living within the great outdoors.

Mr Cameron Cox

Senior Outdoor Education Teacher