Banyule/Nillumbik Week 7 2017

It's expedition week! On the second last week of the program, we have a three day camp where students are assessed on areas they have been focusing on throughout the term including communication, respect, participation, organisation and behaviour. All students attending the camp worked hard throughout the three days and it was lots of fun for everyone.

After making sure we had all equipment needed as well as enough food for the whole camp, we jumped on the bus and headed up to Archeron, near Alexandra, to begin the canoeing journey. We met Kelto and Maddie from Rubicon who had all of our canoes waiting for us. Students packed their belongings for the week into dry bags before heading off down the river. This was a big challenge for some as we could only take what would fit in the waterproof bags. Everyone managed it however and we were soon on our way. Students worked well in pairs to paddle 8km to our campsite for the night, using all the skills learned last week during our canoeing session on the Yarra.

Thursday was a huge day canoeing, with the group travelling 18km. The weather was hot again and we were grateful that we were able to cool down in the river when needed. With the group travelling smoothly we arrived at our campsite in the afternoon, leaving plenty of time to set up camp, have an explore, cook dinner and relax. Overnight it started storming as we slept in our tents and it was here that the student's resilience was really tested. Packing up in the rain, paddling our final 6km in the rain, and unpacking and repacking all the gear at the other end (still in the rain) was a huge challenge for everyone, however we were pleased to see everyone help out and get the tasks done. Throughout the camp teamwork was really evident and everyone was supporting each other through the journey. It was a great way for students to show the skills and resilience they have been focusing on, and everyone should be very proud of their efforts.