Well done to all the students who completed the Adventurous Journey last week. After a quick location and date change due to the horrendous weather forecast, it was great to be able to experience the beauty the Mornington Peninsula had to offer.

Well done to the Year 9 students who commenced the Award this year and a big congratulations to those across Years 9 to 12 who have worked hard to complete their Award throughout the year.

To those that are nearly there, keep working through and touch base with us if you require any assistance.

Jo Wood and Maree Clark
Sport Coordinators   

Student Reflections

On 2 November, 35 girls from Year 9 were taken to Point Leo to achieve their Adventurous Journey for the Duke Of Edinburgh Award. The Camp consisted of two days of hiking with packs, one day of surfing madness, sleeping in tents and cooking our meals on trangias. On day one of the trip, we walked the Bushrangers Bay Coastal Walk. The walk was around 4.2km along the coast. The walk was so surreal and the ocean was so pretty, as well as the kangaroo we found. Anytime we began to struggle a little bit we all sang songs and encouraged each other to keep pushing. After we finished the walk we got onto the bus and drove to our second walk as it was still beautiful weather.

The second walk was the Red Hill to Merricks Rail Trail. The walk was fairly long but thankfully it was pretty much a smooth flat walk with lots of mud!  After that, we got back on the buses and drove to our campsite. We all chose where we wanted our tents to be set up and then we set them up and emptied our packs. We were all very hungry so we started cooking dinner pretty early. All meals were very different but well planned out and they all smelt and looked delicious. After dinner, we walked down to the beach and sat to watch the sunset. The night sky and stars were so beautiful and such a sight to see. Everyone was tired so we all fell asleep pretty quickly that night.

The next morning we woke up and packed our packs onto the bus. The third walk we did was Mornington Peninsula Coastal Walk from Sixteenth Beach to Sorento Back Beach. This walk was around 10km so it wasn’t too bad. The walk was so stunning, looking down from the top of the cliffs to the crystal clear ocean! On this day though of course, Melbourne’s weather could not decide if it wanted to rain, be sunny or be extra windy! The weather never stopped changing! After our walk, we came back to the campsite and started to prepare for another night of amazing dinners. We went down to the beach and watched sunset once again.

On the third day, we all woke up early ready to go surfing. The first group started at 8.00am while the others began packing packs and putting away tents. Surfing was so fun and we all had a blast. The sun was shining and the water was perfect! This experience was definitely one to remember! Even though the camp wasn’t when or where we planned to be it was still full of adventure, laughter and great memories. 

Bailee Drew
Year 9

The best part of the Duke of Edinburgh Camp was the location (being so close to beach) and also having free time to have dinner, walk around and chat with friends. The hikes were challenging but also enjoyable and made us feel accomplished, whilst also not being overly demanding. I would recommend this Camp as it’s very active with the hikes, surfing and hiking. There are times where you can rest, eat or chat with friends instead of having set times for everything else like other camps.

Jasmine Allen
Year 9

The best part of the Duke of Edinburgh Camp would have been on the last day, when we all learned how to surf! The group enjoyed being taught by our experienced instructors and loved catching waves with our friends at Point Leo. The biggest challenge I overcame was keeping motivated to do all activities. On our last day at Camp, we had a surfing lesson at Point Leo. After two full days of hiking, many of us were tired and hungry, longing to go back home and sleep in our own beds! However, we overcame the challenge and gave it our all best, paddling and catching waves! It was a very fun experience and I am glad I learned how to surf with this amazing group!

An important lesson I learnt was to always stay close to your friends whilst on a bush hike and to never veer off on to another path! I would definitely recommend Duke of Edinburgh to others as it was an incredible experience to be out in nature and spend time with your friends camping, hiking and cooking.

Elysia Gilmour
Year 9

We started the journey on 2 November 2022. We hiked, we sang and we laughed throughout the walks. On the first day we walked 10 kilometres. The Bushranger’s Trail was beside the coast and was one of the trails that hurt the most! Point Nepean was especially gorgeous with dangerous waves and winds. The Enchanted Woodland Walk was absolutely magical, and definitely Mr Brown’s favourite. It was raining, spitting, windy and sunny however the laughter and talks made up for it all! It’s good to see everyone without their phones. The time flew and it was like we had just left, when then we were back to reality at school. I miss it and really recommend it to all those looking for new friends and new skills.

Lily Proudfoot-Napier and Charlotte Hewitson
Year 9