On Tuesday, 22nd of November, year 8 set off on their exhilarating camp experience at Glenworth Valley. Whilst many remained eager to be free of the school gates, others contained nervous energy, mainly revolving around the fact that there would be limited bathroom facilities and arduous hikes. And to be truthful, that same energy encircled us for the majority of the camp, however, we were also able to create many enjoyable and humorous memories.
Upon arrival, the year 8 girls enjoyed singing banger tunes on the bus, mostly consisting of the Frozen soundtrack, along with a bit of One Direction. When off the bus, we separated into our form classes and met with our instructors. For Morgan, we had the lovely Vicky, with her soothing English accent. She explained how we were to pack our bags and supported us as we painfully realised that the weight of these backpacks was lethal. We all looked highly fashionable in our combination of anaconda fishing shirts, Kmart workwear and sticky suncream. Soon enough, we set off on our dreaded journey and endured the burden of these red and green packs. Once we stopped for lunch, some of us were brave enough to become one with the bush and do a pleasant wee among the trees (I was NOT one of those people). We continued along the neverending dirt track and attempted to enjoy one another's company and the gorgeous scenery to ease the pain of our backpacks. And to be honest, it did slightly work.
We were then faced with the significantly challenging hilltop that we were required to hike down. This obstacle made each of us more resilient, as we overcame nerves and concerns. We were able to share some laughs, as we watched our peers slip and slide down the precipitous hill, with no path whatsoever guiding us. We trudged through bushes and thick mounds of leaves until we reached a lovely stopping point. However, this break actually just gave the three instructors a chance to communicate our situation, which was, that we were slightly lost. Thankfully, due to their experience, they were able to find a safe way down the gully and led us down with care and consideration. Whilst side-stepping a particularly steep part of the hike, I was bitten by what appeared to be a fire ant. And truth be told, it hurt. Fortunately, one of my good friends flicked it off for me and assisted in easing the sting. This act of support and kindness was shown frequently throughout the camp, in multiple situations and scenarios. We all understood that the activities we faced were slightly out of our comfort zones, so we helped one another and reinforced utmost teamwork and motivation.
On the first night, we were reunited with our friends from the opposing houses and enjoyed a delicious sun-dried tomato pasta, as well as gooey toasted marshmallows made by the fire. The next morning we took part in some engaging initiative activities, where we were required to untangle ourselves from a human knot! We then set off on our next hike, which was supposed to be up a large mountain. However… my group didn’t quite make it. Due to the sweltering heat, our instructor was concerned for our health and lack of water. So, we headed back down after reaching less than a third of the way up the trail and relished a splendid lunch under a beautiful and elegant tree. Unlike us, the Butterworth and Orrock groups made it to the top but had to deal with the consequences after. Many suffered from heat stroke and exhaustion, but were, of course, taken care of by our instructors, teachers and friends.
Our second campsite was about a 2km walk from our initial one, which may seem like absolutely nothing, however, each of us was notably tired from our big day, and that hike was probably the longest 45 minutes of my life. We were BEYOND grateful once we saw the gorgeous green field surrounded by trees… and NO toilets. This night had been the one we were all dreading most. Despite the alluring scenery, we had no access to bathroom facilities! But of course, we adapted to the situation and accepted our fate of having to deposit waste among the bushes. In order to give us some sense of privacy, myself and a few other girls helped put up a tarp across two trees and dug a trench for people's business. I must admit, it was somewhat fun exploring nature whilst searching for an appropriate bathroom spot. That night, we enjoyed some questionable butter chicken and headed to bed to prepare for our next early departure and begin our canoeing journey!
Thursday began with a bang. Despite being woken up annoyingly early we were all in a surprisingly good mood. Whilst hiking to our final destination to the canoes, we Morganees enjoyed an amazing Karaoke session, beginning with Christmas carols, then morphing into Frozen (obviously). This fun eased our knowledge of the significant weight of our backpacks and was definitely one of the highlights of my camp experience. Once we reached this checkpoint for canoeing, we played many games involving riddles and problem-solving, which was very amusing. We then met our amazing canoe specialists, Tom and Amanda who were both total icons. After they explained the logistics of canoeing and prepared us for 10km of paddling we finally set off on our journey.
Throughout the paddle, my friend and I continuously crashed into bushes, trees and other canoes, as well as went around in endless circles. On the way back, however, we were by far the fastest and most efficient canoers. On our way to the campsite, which was located along the Hawkesbury River, we took breaks by joining all our canoes together and enjoying lovely snacks whilst still on the water. Of course, we also sang many tunes and stole the little rubber animals placed in each boat, which eventually turned into a rather serious chasing game on the water. Once we finally arrived, we were all quite exhausted and agreed that we would just chill for the remaining afternoon. We enjoyed a notably late lunch and appreciated the beautiful view of the river, and then began a very enthusiastic and exhilarating game of ‘Spoons’. We noticed many unique birds wandering around the campsite, including two female and one male Peacock who was searching for his mate. He flashed his gorgeous feathers, which we were rather mesmerised by and heard the very unique sound of his mating call, which almost sounded identical to that of a dying cat. At first, we thought it was funny, but when he kept calling into the night all of us became beyond irritated. Just before we all went to bed we participated in a game known as ‘Shiny Shiny.’ This game involved us scrubbing ALL of the pots and pans we had been utilising for the four days, as they were covered in ash. One of the girls in our group was selected as Queen, and Amanda and Tom were the Gods. Once we had finished cleaning a piece of cooking equipment we would show it to the Queen, and she would have to approve whether or not it was acceptable to the Gods. The fastest that this activity had ever been completed was 7 and a half minutes, and we strived to beat this record. However sadly, not all dreams come true.
The next day, we were woken up at 5 am!! Everyone was so exhausted and dirty that although we were upset our camp experience was coming to an end, we also were looking forward to going home. By 6:30, we were upon the calm water paddling as we witnessed the ending of the sunrise. This trip back was much more relaxing and filled with even more Karaoke. Once we returned to the initial canoeing checkpoint we gathered all our stuff and experienced one last hike to the reception area. We waited there for about two hours, and in that time barely did anything but rest. We were so unbelievably tired. The busses were greeted with a very loud cheer once they arrived and after saying a huge thank you to our instructors for an incredible experience, hopped onto the bus rather enthusiastically and headed back to school.
Although this camp included many challenges that pushed us beyond our comfort zone, we were able to overcome them with the endless support of our instructors, teachers and friends. We partook in activities, that we would usually never have done and made multiple memories together, as well as grew closer with people that you wouldn’t normally hang out with. Overall, it was an amazing experience that will remain one of the highlights from year 8.
By Imogen King
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