NILLUMBIK TERM 4 2024 WEEK 2

Hi all,

Welcome to Week 2, our first camp!

We started off our week a great note, having an awesome gym session with our instructor Brad creating personalized workout programs for each student to use across the program! We spent some time learning some good stretches involving foam rollers and balls and then headed into the gym where students started their programs and learnt how to use new machines!

We then headed off to do some rock climbing. Students learnt how to belay and the correct and safest ways to support the person climbing. We used lots of trust in this activity and everyone showed great responsibility when belaying their partner. We were super impressed with everyone's willingness to give it a go and face their fears, with multiple students making it the very top of their courses. Harvey showed lots of dedication in the free climbing section and Erin was keen to tackle some difficult courses that went upside down!

On Thursday we headed off to the Cathedral Ranges for our very first camp. Once arriving at camp we unloaded our trailer and quickly got stuck into setting up our tents. Once this was done we had some lunch and headed off on our hike to Ned's Peak. This was a challenging uphill trek with stunning views at the top of the peak. We practiced embracing a positive mindset and using resilience to get through difficult and tiring moments. Students were great with encouraging and supporting others and making sure everyone was okay. After approximately 1.5 - 2 hours we made it to the top and were surrounded by amazing views of the mountains around us. After some time taking photos and exploring the ranges we headed back down for about 1hr before reaching our campsite. Students had some time to relax before dinner and bed!

On Friday we headed off to Stevenson falls. Students ate breakfast and begun packing up their tents and the rest of the gear. We then made our way to the falls and embarked on a 60 minute return hike up the top of the waterfall! We again practiced positive mindsets which many students tired from the day before. Everyone did a great job in completing this hike and it was great to see the top of a big waterfall, after this we had some lunch at a local park and the headed home to Collingwood.

We had a great first camp! Students were engaged and keen to complete the 2 hikes we had planned. All students also helped with dinner and cleaning dishes. Students showed they were able to keep positive mindsets and were able to reflect on positive things they enjoyed about the hikes to preserver.