11OES Canoeing Camp

During Week 8 of Term 2, the Year 11 Outdoor Ed class spent four days canoeing down the Glenelg River located in the far west of Victoria (even crossed into South Australia at the end of the trip). Students camped under a tarp the first night before switching to tents for the final two nights. The class learnt how to canoe, set up camp, work together as a group and for some, learnt how to cook dinner and wash dishes! Students even made a few friends in the form of possums and leeches. 

On behalf of the Year 11 Outdoor Ed class and Ms Alfieri, thank you to Ms Livesay for attending and helping us out.

While canoeing we watched a lot of people run into trees and someone got stuck on a log so they started screaming for help. On the second night, our tents flooded and we woke up to a pool of water at the end of our tents. We slept on thin yoga mats (that were used as sleeping mats) that got soaked. We cooked our own food, which was made from strange ingredients there because there weren't many options. There were lots of animals, including possums, and we even named them, Bobby, Bobalina and Derek. Canoeing was really fun and the views along the river were amazing. On the second day all the canoes went along side each other and everyone ran across them, which was really exciting. Overall, the canoeing camp was an amazing experience and one that we'll never forget.

Jayde, Aimee, Keira

On camp we learnt the value of teamwork and responsibility. We also had fun by messing around in canoes by intentionally crashing into others and accidently slamming into trees and branches. Many of us didn’t help with the canoes and it was a wake up call to many of us from our new friend Dominic. He showed us the ropes and challenged our abilities by not giving us direct answers when we asked questions. In the canoes we travelled approximately 25 km over 4 days of us being there. Most of us learnt new physical abilities and things about people we didn’t usually talk to. 

Jay, Jyce, Jezelle

On the first night of camp while preparing dinner we noticed noises coming from our tarps. We shined our torch near the sound and noticed 2 possums fighting over bread that was left out in the open. Everyone was shocked and trying to get the possums away from the food. While doing so we found a third possum climbing up a tree right next to the food waiting for it’s opportunity to steal from the bag of food. After scaring the possums away while eating dinner, the possums appeared again to say hello before running off with food scraps on the floor. They did this again while cleaning and when we were getting ready for bed we noticed 2 possums sitting on a tree watching us from above.

Lucas, Charli, Breanna and Patrick