8/28/09
Welcome to my Wambana Blog
Hi, my name is Billy. In this blog you will find the following entries on the cycle tour, information about the Wardli's and everything about my experience at Point Turton. So far the program has been enjoyable apart from the pain that I went through during the bike ride and the sunburns that I have. We also started a fitness program including a 3.4 km, 5.5 km, 9.6 km and 11.2 km runs, followed by 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups. These have been physically demanding. You can read about this and everything else that is happening here in the other categories. There are no labels on my photos because blogger messes it up. Enjoy!
Instructional Entry
Cooking with Moff
For the first few days of living in the Wardli's we were split into two groups. One half worked on their blogs and the other half cooked with Moff.
The first day we made home-made pizza shapes and margarita pizzas.
Shapes
- Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
- Separate the Pita Bread with a knife
- Butter one side
- Sprinkle on spices (E.g Moroccan spices, cinnamon sugar, salt, herb and garlic, etc.)
- Put in oven until brown
Margarita Pizza
- Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
- Separate the Pita Bread with a knife
- Spread tomato paste on one side
- Add grated cheese and spices
- Put in oven until cheese is melted and bread is brown
The next day we made home-made hash browns and potato chips (Like the smiths chips) We stayed in the same groups from the previous day.
Hash Browns
- Peel the potatoes and keep the skins (for the chips)
- Grate the potato
- Get paper towel and dry the potato gratings
- Add grated onion and egg for extra flavor
- Half fill the frying pan with oil
- Add a hand full of hash brown mix into the bubbling oil
- Once brown remove from frying pan
- Dry with a paper towel
Chips
- Get the potato skins from the hash browns
- Add spices (E.g chicken salt, salt, etc.)
- Put into the frying pan half filled with oil
- Wait until brown, then remove
- Dry with paper towel
Scones
- Add 3 cups of flour and a pinch salt into a mixing bowl
- Make a well in the centre
- Pour in 1 cup of cream and 1 cup of lemonade
- Mix with a knife
- Put dough onto a lightly floured surface
- Knead gently
- Cut dough into round circles
- Bake in a hot oven on 220 degrees celcius for 10-12 minutes or until golden
- Serve with jam and cream
Toffee
- Add 2 cups of sugar, 1 tablespoon of water and vinegar, 125 g of butter, a splash of food colouring into a saucepan
- Melt the butter, keep o stiring
- Once the mixture is a liquid, bring the temperature down and simmer, DO NOT TOUCH!
- Simer for about 10 minutes
Note: Put a bit of toffee on a spoon and put into a glass of cold water, how it turns out then is the type of toffee you have.
Poetry
The Ocean
BOOM!!
CRASH!!!
BANG!!!!
Thunderous roars.
The waves crash onto the rocks
Slowly eating them away
Every minute
Every second
Crumbling away…
This is one Moff wrote for me:
Billy was silly upon the cliffs at Stenhouse Bay,
The cliffs did crumble,
and Billy had a tumble,
Upon the cliffs at Stenhouse Bay
BOOM!!
CRASH!!!
BANG!!!!
Thunderous roars.
The waves crash onto the rocks
Slowly eating them away
Every minute
Every second
Crumbling away…
This is one Moff wrote for me:
Billy was silly upon the cliffs at Stenhouse Bay,
The cliffs did crumble,
and Billy had a tumble,
Upon the cliffs at Stenhouse Bay
Cycle Tour
Day 1 (25th August 2009) : Training Ride
(A) (AM) Point Turton to West Cowie Return (21 Km)
(B) (PM) Warooka Loop (25 Km)
At about 8 AM the cycling instructors, Pete, Paul and Riki, arrived at the campsite with 2 trailers filled with bikes. We started unloading the trailer and sorting them into small, medium and large piles. We then had an introductory lesson, learning about the bikes and safety. Then we grabbed a bike and started to get a feel it. Then we set off for the first ride. The ride was quite difficult because we had headwind for most of the ride. This tested everyone physically and mentally. We rode the training loop, to West Cowie and back. During his we learnt how to use the gears and just to get a feel of the bike. We rode back to the campsite for lunch. After lunch, since I was leader, I had to use the map and direct the whole group. This was quite difficult for me because I had to concentrate on my own riding and then I also had to use the map. I think I did pretty well, using the map. I wasn’t sure how I would do, I thought I wouldn’t do that well, but it turned out going fine. We rode to Warooka, to post our letters for the first time. It was quite different for most of us, seeing as pretty much all of us use email or txt messages and have never written letters. Once we had posted the letters we rode back to the campsite.
Day 2 (26th August 2009): Innes National Park Stenhouse Bay to Pondalowie Return (33 km)
We loaded the bikes into the trailer in the morning, and then we all loaded onto the bus. We were unsure on where we were going. Then after a long bus ride we finally arrived at Innes National Park. It took about 20 minutes to unload the trailer. Then we all grabbed our bikes and started riding. The first half of the ride to the light house was quite hard because it was very hilly. I stayed in the middle of the group, because at that time I was quite sore and couldn’t keep up with the fitter people like Arata and Viney. This ride wasn’t that hard because most of the bigger hills we were going down. We stopped for lunch at the Light House. Most of the group stayed at the tables and chairs but Moff suggested to us that we climbed the fence and explored a bit, where it was out of the wind. After I finished my tuna sandwich, I walked down the hill towards the water. It was quite difficult, as it was really steep and the walk back up was even harder. When I got back to the top I could see Nick Broadbridge doing stretches or some kind of dance, it was quite funny to watch. When we finished lunch we got back onto the bikes and started our ride back. One of the instructors, Pete, gave all of us a challenge, we had to ride all the way back to the bus in gears 2 and 8. Most of us tried it and Viney, Arata, Ben, Nick B, Angus and I rode ahead. We left the group behind us and we were so far ahead that Paul had to ride after us to tell us to stop. I was happy that I completed the 2, 8 challenge.
Day 3 (27th August 2009) Brentwood to Edithburgh - via Port Giles + Coobowie (50 km)
By the last day of the bike tour some of us were starting to really enjoy it. We had overcome the pain and were having a good time. We rode past canola fields and lakes. One of the tracks was really cool because on one side there was a blue lake and on the other, bright yellow canola fields. The view was spectacular. I enjoyed everything about this day. On the last part of the ride we were on one of the main roads and Viney, Arata, Declan, a few others and I were riding miles ahead and it was really fun, we were riding quite fast, but then Paul made us ride behind him so we wouldn't ride so far ahead. We finished the day by posting letters and riding past the golf course, loading the bus up with the bikes and farewelled the bike instructors, but only Pete was leaving, Riki and Paul came back on Monday.
(A) (AM) Point Turton to West Cowie Return (21 Km)
(B) (PM) Warooka Loop (25 Km)
At about 8 AM the cycling instructors, Pete, Paul and Riki, arrived at the campsite with 2 trailers filled with bikes. We started unloading the trailer and sorting them into small, medium and large piles. We then had an introductory lesson, learning about the bikes and safety. Then we grabbed a bike and started to get a feel it. Then we set off for the first ride. The ride was quite difficult because we had headwind for most of the ride. This tested everyone physically and mentally. We rode the training loop, to West Cowie and back. During his we learnt how to use the gears and just to get a feel of the bike. We rode back to the campsite for lunch. After lunch, since I was leader, I had to use the map and direct the whole group. This was quite difficult for me because I had to concentrate on my own riding and then I also had to use the map. I think I did pretty well, using the map. I wasn’t sure how I would do, I thought I wouldn’t do that well, but it turned out going fine. We rode to Warooka, to post our letters for the first time. It was quite different for most of us, seeing as pretty much all of us use email or txt messages and have never written letters. Once we had posted the letters we rode back to the campsite.
Day 2 (26th August 2009): Innes National Park Stenhouse Bay to Pondalowie Return (33 km)
We loaded the bikes into the trailer in the morning, and then we all loaded onto the bus. We were unsure on where we were going. Then after a long bus ride we finally arrived at Innes National Park. It took about 20 minutes to unload the trailer. Then we all grabbed our bikes and started riding. The first half of the ride to the light house was quite hard because it was very hilly. I stayed in the middle of the group, because at that time I was quite sore and couldn’t keep up with the fitter people like Arata and Viney. This ride wasn’t that hard because most of the bigger hills we were going down. We stopped for lunch at the Light House. Most of the group stayed at the tables and chairs but Moff suggested to us that we climbed the fence and explored a bit, where it was out of the wind. After I finished my tuna sandwich, I walked down the hill towards the water. It was quite difficult, as it was really steep and the walk back up was even harder. When I got back to the top I could see Nick Broadbridge doing stretches or some kind of dance, it was quite funny to watch. When we finished lunch we got back onto the bikes and started our ride back. One of the instructors, Pete, gave all of us a challenge, we had to ride all the way back to the bus in gears 2 and 8. Most of us tried it and Viney, Arata, Ben, Nick B, Angus and I rode ahead. We left the group behind us and we were so far ahead that Paul had to ride after us to tell us to stop. I was happy that I completed the 2, 8 challenge.
Day 3 (27th August 2009) Brentwood to Edithburgh - via Port Giles + Coobowie (50 km)
By the last day of the bike tour some of us were starting to really enjoy it. We had overcome the pain and were having a good time. We rode past canola fields and lakes. One of the tracks was really cool because on one side there was a blue lake and on the other, bright yellow canola fields. The view was spectacular. I enjoyed everything about this day. On the last part of the ride we were on one of the main roads and Viney, Arata, Declan, a few others and I were riding miles ahead and it was really fun, we were riding quite fast, but then Paul made us ride behind him so we wouldn't ride so far ahead. We finished the day by posting letters and riding past the golf course, loading the bus up with the bikes and farewelled the bike instructors, but only Pete was leaving, Riki and Paul came back on Monday.
Living in a Wardli
Living in a Wardli is a foreign thing to most of us, seeing as some of us have never cooked or even cleaned! There are quite a few challenges that we have faced, some of these include: cooking food, making our beds (for some of us) cleaning our rooms, vacuuming and mopping, and just doing everything that our mums and dads usually do for us. Living in a Wardli introduces things that most people have never even heard of. But there are more positive things than negative, some of these positive things are making new friends, learning more things about the people that we are staying with, learning how to cook and clean everything ourselves. The living standards in the Wardlis are very high, and if these standards aren’t met then we have to spend a night in "Hotel Hilton" (The BBQ Shed) and as some of us found this out the hard way as everyone in our Wardli didn’t have everything tidy, so we have to spend a night in "Hotel Hilton" We start off with 10 points and if things on the Wardli aren’t in place we loose points, like having bags under our beds, having dirt and food on the floors, not having the bathrooms in order, etc. We lost 14 point so we have to stay in "Hotel Hilton" for one night. Another thing that makes it hard to live in a Wardli is the time. Everything is timed to one clock and for example on the runs we start at 7 AM on the dot, as soon as the second hand hits the zero we are starting to run. The washing machines were difficult at first s none of us knew how to use it but after Dale showed us how to use it we were fine. The highs and challenges that I have faced are:
Highs
Highs
- Free Time
- Chill Out Time
- Wrestling with Declan and Matt
- The sing alongs (High School Musical songs)
- Freedom
- Learning new things about people in my Wardli
- Cooking for ourselves
- Being with friends
Challenges
- Cleaning everyday
- Having magpies swooping me in Chill Out Time
- Early starts
- Fitness program in the morning
- Running out of food
- 3 minute showers
Wardli Members
Declan Russell
Blake Anderson
Matt Faull
Stefan Athanasov
Seb Mugford
Our Wardli Group
Sharing a Wardli
My strengths in the Wardli would be cooking and sort of cleaning. I have no trouble coking, just the cleaning part. I can easily cook a meal and it usually tastes alright. Keeping a house tidy is something I have trouble with. I have difficulty keeping the floors clean, like when my job is to keep the lounge room clean, when ever I vacuum or sweep, an hour or 2 later its dirty again. This is a pain because we clean it after dinner and then after we have had dessert and stuff it’s dirty. Then we need to have it clean by the next morning. This has to be done in the hour that we have, after the run, and after our showers and breakfast. For us this is a problem because it’s usually done in about half an hour.
One of the issues in our Wardli would be food. On our first shop we didn’t really know how much everyone would eat. We didn’t really get enough cereal because most of us have a few bowls each, but we did get the amount of milk right, because we have some left over. Next time we shop we need to buy more of everything, especially cereal and snacks. We defiantly need to buy more snacks and cereal, because during the day we are looking for things to eat but there aren’t things to eat. Another issue is people not pulling their weight. Some of the time people just do their job and then say that is enough. It would make it better if they just offered help, for example, when someone’s job is just to put the washing machine on, they just do that and then sit down while others are washing dishes and cleaning their rooms. The third issue in our Wardli is cleaning. When we have swept, 5-10 minutes later it’s dirty again. This is really annoying because it takes while to sweep the lounge room and then there is alot of dirt and dust on the floor again. This is bad because we have daily inspections, and when dirt is back in the house after a few hours, and then we have to sweep again. The verandah is real hard to keep clean for even an hour! Because there is dust blowing back onto the verandah.
All of the things that I have done in the Wardli make me appreciate how much my parents do for me, and what I take for granted. Some of the things I already do at home but others like sweeping, cooking every meal, making my bed (I rarely do this) and just cleaning every day. At home I wouldn’t make my bed every single day, sweep, mop and vacuum every day. After this program I will help out alot more at home. Probably a way to make us all keep everything clean at home would be threatening us with the sleeping outside if we didn’t have our room up to scratch.
Fitness Program
While on this camp we have to participate in a fitness program. This includes various runs (3.4 km, 5.5 km, 9.2 km and an 11 km) followed by 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups. Some other activities that we have to do are power training (sprints and push-ups) and games (footy, soccer, etc.) Every morning we have to wake up at approx 6.30 AM and make our way to the shed. We then have to start stretching and prepare for the run or activity planned.
On Friday the 28th of August we participated in a 3.4 km run. We didn’t really know what to expect on this one. We had to run from the shed in the campsite, along the bike path, touch the rock at the end of the track, turn around, and take the same path back to the campsite. Times ranged from 14 minutes to 35 minutes. My time was 18.05 minutes. After we finish the run we have to grab a mat and start our 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups. I find the sit-ups quite difficult, as I can’t do them. The push-ups are quite easy.
The next day, Saturday the 29th of August, we did the same distance, 3.4 km. This time we had to try and beat our previous time. Everyone’s times decreased, my time went down to 15.55 minute. This run was quite a bit harder because of how tight and stiff our muscles were. This run I found harder because I ran for all of it but the previous day I walked for quite a bit of it. Today my time was better because I ran for all of it. Then followed by a set of 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups.
Sunday the 30th of August we did a 5.5 km run. This run was significantly harder. We had to run from the shed to the end of the jetty. This run was harder because there were more hills and I think I ran too fast in parts. I walked for a great part of it. I had alot more pain in this run. All of my muscles were stiff and I found it hard to run, and when I stopped to walk I found it quite difficult to start running again. My time wasn’t as great as it could have been; I finished it with a time of 32.15 minutes. I wasn’t that happy with my time because I knew I could have done better. Then we had to do the set of 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups. This was really hard because all of my muscles hurt and then after a few sit-ups every muscle in my back hurt.
Monday the 31st of August we did something different to the runs, we played a game of soccer. This was fun because it was something different, but some of the less skilled people didn’t get the ball often. It made it worse by raining half way through our game and then we were all slipping over and injuring ourselves. But overall it was fun. Then we did the usual 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups.
Tuesday, 1st of September. We did power training. This involved running down to the beach (about 1 km away) from the shed. Once we arrived at the beach we did shuttle runs. These are 8 metre sprints. We sprint to the other side, turn around and sprint back. We did this until Dale was satisfied. After the shuttle runs we changed the distance to about 10 metres and added 5 push-ups at each end. After these were completed we changed to sprints. We had to pair up with someone of equal speed ad then race them to where Dale was standing. Then once we had done 3 of these the slower group ran back to the campsite, followed by the second slowest group followed them. I was in this group. My group had Stuart, Ben, Chester and Harrison. We overtook the other group and got back to the campsite first. This was probably the most enjoyable part of the fitness program.
Wednesday, 2nd of September. We ran 9.2 km, but the people who had higher times from the 5.5 km run did a slightly different run. I was in the group that did the different one. We ran from the shed to the same place that we did power training the previous day but kept on running along the beach. This was quite difficult because there were areas where the sand was really soft and then it was hard. This made it hard because I rolled my ankle a couple of times. Running along the beach was also really tiring. When we had run for about half an hour we met up with the other group, Dale said that when we met up with them we had to turn around and run back to the campsite. We met up with them ad then started our run back. This took just under half an hour. The run back wasn’t as hard because we knew where the better spots for running were. My time was 56.15 minutes. At the beginning of the run, I set a goal to run it under an hour and I was happy that I achieved that.
Thursday the 3rd of September. Today we played a game of Gaelic football. It was really fun. It was the same rules as the soccer that we played on Monday. Our team was made up of Wardli's 3 and 4. We won 7-4.
Friday, 4th of September. Today we did another 3.4 km run. This one was quite easy. I ran for most of it, I think I sopped once or twice. But on the way back I had alot of trouble because my foot started to hurt and I couldn't put much pressure on it, and the previous day during snorkelling I pulled my quad and did something to my knee and ankle and the pain came back during the run. My time was 15.55 minutes. I got then same time as my previous 3.4 km time. I was happy with this time.
Saturday, 5th of September. This morning it was Dale's Birthday, so Bairdy took our morning fitness program. We started off with a run around the oval, while the end person would swerve in and out of evryone else. One everyone had done this twice, we then did a game of dodgeball. We had one Wardli in the middle and all of the other Wardli's throwing balls at them. We had one person at the front and then the other people in a line behind him. We had to throw the ball at them until the front person was left then it was everyone onto him. Once this game was over we played a game of chasey or something. We lined up side by side and then Bairdy would say "Crusts" or "Crumbs" Then the other group would chase them. When we had finished this game we went for breakfast.
Sunday the 6th of Sptember. Dale wasn't working with us this morning so Bairdy took us for our morning program again. This morning it was another 3.4 km. Except this morning we had alot of headwind the way there and then a tail wind on the way back. This session was alot harder te way there, and then I was stuffed on the way back, even though I had tail wind. My legs were still really sore and I had to stop a few times., but on the last 500 or so metres i pushed myself and didnt walk at all. My time was 16.54 minutes. I wasnt very happy with this time, because I worked harder but my time got worse. I hated having head wind. After this we did our 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups. I finished this early so I did another 100 sit-ups.
Monday the 7th of September. Today we did another 5.5 km run. Moff gave us the chance to start running at 6:55 to get the run over quicker. The sick people walked the 3.4 km track, while the non sick people did the full track. The weather wasn’t too bad, it started raining while we were stretching but it stopped before we started. I ran with Stuart for most of it. My time was 31.40 minutes. I was happy with this time because it’s faster than my other one and I ran for most of it. I didn’t do the 100 push-ups and 10 it-ups because today I was leader and Barnesy ran back to the people at the back to help them out.
Tuesday, 8th of September. Today was another power training. We started off with a 1.2 km jog to the beach. We started off with some sprints, we had to sprint down a slope and then back up it. This was quite difficult, especially the sprint back up the hill. Then Dale made a slight variation to it. We had to do the same thing but when we got to the bottom of the hill we had to do 3 sit-ups. I didn’t think I could do this because I can’t really do sit-ups but I did them easily. Then we moved onto a running course. This was quite easy. Overall this training was quite easy. Then we started the run back to the campsite.
Wednesday the 9th of September. Today was a 3.4 km run. This was quite easy because there was not alot of wind and no rain. I didn’t have alot of trouble with my leg today but I had to stop a few times. I was happy with this morning because I managed to stay in front of Dale for the whole run, but I can’t keep up with him on the other runs. My time was slightly slower than my P.B, it was 16.10 minutes. I was quite happy with my time but I know that I could have done better. Then we did our 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups.
Thursday the 10th of September. Today we played a game, the warm up was a run to the classroom and back, once that was done we played "crumbs and crusts" We had to pair up with someone of equal speed, I went with Chester. We didnt catch each other, so our score was 0-0. After this we played a game of soccer and then we changed to rugby. This was fun, and this time I got the ball more, which was good. The teams were Wardli's 3 and 4 and Wardli's 2 and 5. This was good because we didn’t have to do alot of training before the 11km.
Friday the 11th of September. Today is the 11km. We had alot of wind, which was bad. We thought it was a headwind but when we got there it turned out to be a tailwind which was good. We had bout 5 minutes of stretching. Once we had finished stretching we had the countdown, we started the run at 7:20 AM. Once we had started running I was running up with Matt, Viney and Arata, The fastest people in our class, I was quite happy that I was running with them but then after a kilometre or two they started getting faster and I fell behind. I still managed to stay in the top 10. I ran for the first few K's but then my legs started to really hurt and I had to slow down. Once I had got my breath back I started running again, I felt really dizzy when I started running again, which was really bad. I kept at a constant speed but had to stop a few times. It got really hard when the sand was soft and when there was seaweed. The first five or six K's was quite easy because the wind was behind me and was pushing me, this was really easy but then when we made it around the beach the wind started blowing on my side, it was here where it started getting harder. I was making goals, so I would keep on running to that point and then I could walk, one goal was to stay in front of Dale but I failed that, another goal I set was to run the first four of five kilometres, I achieved that. Jack Viney stayed in front the whole time, which wasn’t surprising, then Arata, Matt, Seb, Dale, Chester, Chris, Declan and a few others finished before me. My time was 1 hour, 8 minutes. I was happy with this time, because I wanted to get under an hour and a half and I was happy that I achieved that. The 11 km run wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.
Monday the 14th of September. Today we had a 5.5 km run. I was very happy with this one because I was in front of Dale the whole time and I cut my time down by about 6 minutes. My aim was to run the whole thing, because in the 11 km run I managed to run the first 5 or so kilometre, so I knew I could run it. Even though my legs were hurting I still kept on running. I was happy with my result because I stayed in the top 10 for the whole run. There wasn’t much wind, no rain, and a bit of sun. My time was 25.28 minutes.
Tuesday the 15th of September. Today was a game. We played soccer and Gaelic footy. The game was a bit better because Viney wasn't here tackling all of us. We had to pair up with someone of equal skills and speed. I paired up with Harrison Marks. We had to play on that person for the whole game. Today was really fun, and it was a relief from all of the running.
On Friday the 28th of August we participated in a 3.4 km run. We didn’t really know what to expect on this one. We had to run from the shed in the campsite, along the bike path, touch the rock at the end of the track, turn around, and take the same path back to the campsite. Times ranged from 14 minutes to 35 minutes. My time was 18.05 minutes. After we finish the run we have to grab a mat and start our 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups. I find the sit-ups quite difficult, as I can’t do them. The push-ups are quite easy.
The next day, Saturday the 29th of August, we did the same distance, 3.4 km. This time we had to try and beat our previous time. Everyone’s times decreased, my time went down to 15.55 minute. This run was quite a bit harder because of how tight and stiff our muscles were. This run I found harder because I ran for all of it but the previous day I walked for quite a bit of it. Today my time was better because I ran for all of it. Then followed by a set of 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups.
Sunday the 30th of August we did a 5.5 km run. This run was significantly harder. We had to run from the shed to the end of the jetty. This run was harder because there were more hills and I think I ran too fast in parts. I walked for a great part of it. I had alot more pain in this run. All of my muscles were stiff and I found it hard to run, and when I stopped to walk I found it quite difficult to start running again. My time wasn’t as great as it could have been; I finished it with a time of 32.15 minutes. I wasn’t that happy with my time because I knew I could have done better. Then we had to do the set of 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups. This was really hard because all of my muscles hurt and then after a few sit-ups every muscle in my back hurt.
Monday the 31st of August we did something different to the runs, we played a game of soccer. This was fun because it was something different, but some of the less skilled people didn’t get the ball often. It made it worse by raining half way through our game and then we were all slipping over and injuring ourselves. But overall it was fun. Then we did the usual 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups.
Tuesday, 1st of September. We did power training. This involved running down to the beach (about 1 km away) from the shed. Once we arrived at the beach we did shuttle runs. These are 8 metre sprints. We sprint to the other side, turn around and sprint back. We did this until Dale was satisfied. After the shuttle runs we changed the distance to about 10 metres and added 5 push-ups at each end. After these were completed we changed to sprints. We had to pair up with someone of equal speed ad then race them to where Dale was standing. Then once we had done 3 of these the slower group ran back to the campsite, followed by the second slowest group followed them. I was in this group. My group had Stuart, Ben, Chester and Harrison. We overtook the other group and got back to the campsite first. This was probably the most enjoyable part of the fitness program.
Wednesday, 2nd of September. We ran 9.2 km, but the people who had higher times from the 5.5 km run did a slightly different run. I was in the group that did the different one. We ran from the shed to the same place that we did power training the previous day but kept on running along the beach. This was quite difficult because there were areas where the sand was really soft and then it was hard. This made it hard because I rolled my ankle a couple of times. Running along the beach was also really tiring. When we had run for about half an hour we met up with the other group, Dale said that when we met up with them we had to turn around and run back to the campsite. We met up with them ad then started our run back. This took just under half an hour. The run back wasn’t as hard because we knew where the better spots for running were. My time was 56.15 minutes. At the beginning of the run, I set a goal to run it under an hour and I was happy that I achieved that.
Thursday the 3rd of September. Today we played a game of Gaelic football. It was really fun. It was the same rules as the soccer that we played on Monday. Our team was made up of Wardli's 3 and 4. We won 7-4.
Friday, 4th of September. Today we did another 3.4 km run. This one was quite easy. I ran for most of it, I think I sopped once or twice. But on the way back I had alot of trouble because my foot started to hurt and I couldn't put much pressure on it, and the previous day during snorkelling I pulled my quad and did something to my knee and ankle and the pain came back during the run. My time was 15.55 minutes. I got then same time as my previous 3.4 km time. I was happy with this time.
Saturday, 5th of September. This morning it was Dale's Birthday, so Bairdy took our morning fitness program. We started off with a run around the oval, while the end person would swerve in and out of evryone else. One everyone had done this twice, we then did a game of dodgeball. We had one Wardli in the middle and all of the other Wardli's throwing balls at them. We had one person at the front and then the other people in a line behind him. We had to throw the ball at them until the front person was left then it was everyone onto him. Once this game was over we played a game of chasey or something. We lined up side by side and then Bairdy would say "Crusts" or "Crumbs" Then the other group would chase them. When we had finished this game we went for breakfast.
Sunday the 6th of Sptember. Dale wasn't working with us this morning so Bairdy took us for our morning program again. This morning it was another 3.4 km. Except this morning we had alot of headwind the way there and then a tail wind on the way back. This session was alot harder te way there, and then I was stuffed on the way back, even though I had tail wind. My legs were still really sore and I had to stop a few times., but on the last 500 or so metres i pushed myself and didnt walk at all. My time was 16.54 minutes. I wasnt very happy with this time, because I worked harder but my time got worse. I hated having head wind. After this we did our 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups. I finished this early so I did another 100 sit-ups.
Monday the 7th of September. Today we did another 5.5 km run. Moff gave us the chance to start running at 6:55 to get the run over quicker. The sick people walked the 3.4 km track, while the non sick people did the full track. The weather wasn’t too bad, it started raining while we were stretching but it stopped before we started. I ran with Stuart for most of it. My time was 31.40 minutes. I was happy with this time because it’s faster than my other one and I ran for most of it. I didn’t do the 100 push-ups and 10 it-ups because today I was leader and Barnesy ran back to the people at the back to help them out.
Tuesday, 8th of September. Today was another power training. We started off with a 1.2 km jog to the beach. We started off with some sprints, we had to sprint down a slope and then back up it. This was quite difficult, especially the sprint back up the hill. Then Dale made a slight variation to it. We had to do the same thing but when we got to the bottom of the hill we had to do 3 sit-ups. I didn’t think I could do this because I can’t really do sit-ups but I did them easily. Then we moved onto a running course. This was quite easy. Overall this training was quite easy. Then we started the run back to the campsite.
Wednesday the 9th of September. Today was a 3.4 km run. This was quite easy because there was not alot of wind and no rain. I didn’t have alot of trouble with my leg today but I had to stop a few times. I was happy with this morning because I managed to stay in front of Dale for the whole run, but I can’t keep up with him on the other runs. My time was slightly slower than my P.B, it was 16.10 minutes. I was quite happy with my time but I know that I could have done better. Then we did our 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups.
Thursday the 10th of September. Today we played a game, the warm up was a run to the classroom and back, once that was done we played "crumbs and crusts" We had to pair up with someone of equal speed, I went with Chester. We didnt catch each other, so our score was 0-0. After this we played a game of soccer and then we changed to rugby. This was fun, and this time I got the ball more, which was good. The teams were Wardli's 3 and 4 and Wardli's 2 and 5. This was good because we didn’t have to do alot of training before the 11km.
Friday the 11th of September. Today is the 11km. We had alot of wind, which was bad. We thought it was a headwind but when we got there it turned out to be a tailwind which was good. We had bout 5 minutes of stretching. Once we had finished stretching we had the countdown, we started the run at 7:20 AM. Once we had started running I was running up with Matt, Viney and Arata, The fastest people in our class, I was quite happy that I was running with them but then after a kilometre or two they started getting faster and I fell behind. I still managed to stay in the top 10. I ran for the first few K's but then my legs started to really hurt and I had to slow down. Once I had got my breath back I started running again, I felt really dizzy when I started running again, which was really bad. I kept at a constant speed but had to stop a few times. It got really hard when the sand was soft and when there was seaweed. The first five or six K's was quite easy because the wind was behind me and was pushing me, this was really easy but then when we made it around the beach the wind started blowing on my side, it was here where it started getting harder. I was making goals, so I would keep on running to that point and then I could walk, one goal was to stay in front of Dale but I failed that, another goal I set was to run the first four of five kilometres, I achieved that. Jack Viney stayed in front the whole time, which wasn’t surprising, then Arata, Matt, Seb, Dale, Chester, Chris, Declan and a few others finished before me. My time was 1 hour, 8 minutes. I was happy with this time, because I wanted to get under an hour and a half and I was happy that I achieved that. The 11 km run wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.
Monday the 14th of September. Today we had a 5.5 km run. I was very happy with this one because I was in front of Dale the whole time and I cut my time down by about 6 minutes. My aim was to run the whole thing, because in the 11 km run I managed to run the first 5 or so kilometre, so I knew I could run it. Even though my legs were hurting I still kept on running. I was happy with my result because I stayed in the top 10 for the whole run. There wasn’t much wind, no rain, and a bit of sun. My time was 25.28 minutes.
Tuesday the 15th of September. Today was a game. We played soccer and Gaelic footy. The game was a bit better because Viney wasn't here tackling all of us. We had to pair up with someone of equal skills and speed. I paired up with Harrison Marks. We had to play on that person for the whole game. Today was really fun, and it was a relief from all of the running.
Snorkelling
Today, the 3rd of September. We went to Edithburgh to do some snorkelling. We bussed there, and I slept most of the bus ride. When we got there we unloaded the trailer, there were about 6 crates full of wet suits, flippers, mask and snorkels and hoods and rash vests. Once these were unloaded, we sat on the grass and one by one Wardli's were called up and were given suits and everything. My group went up first. We walked down to the swimming pool (A cement wall around sea water) and started the introductory lesson with Bairdy. One all of us could duck dive, clear our snorkel and swim comfortable we moved on into the open water. As most of us were confident swimmers we started making our way around the cliff and towards the jetty. The view was amazing, there was coral, starfish (Black, purple and blue) seaweed, rocks, rocks and more rocks and lots of small fish. It was really cold, my hands were really pale. Then I think pulled my quad and my knee and ankle was really sore. I could only really kick with one leg and use my arms. This made it quite difficult to get back to the pool so I could get out. Then when I finally got out, I ran to my towel and warmed up. I ran to the shower and rinsed off and rinsed my wetsuit and rashie off and got changed. Then we loaded the trailer with al of the crates and hopped on the bus. Ready for the long ride home (which I slept for most of.)
History Tour 1
On Tuesday the 1st of September we wee split into our groups again. Wardli's 2 and 3 went on the history tour and Wardli's 4 and 5 went to do activities with disabled people. Moff drove us to Innes National Park. We learnt about the history of the sacred sites and the native plants and trees and also how Innes was used as a source for Gypsum.
Trees and Plants: -
We started our drive to Innes and about 9 AM, and as soon as we passed the gate Moff stopped the bus. Just as we left the campus Moff showed us a pine tree, the Norfolk Pine. The tree was found when Cook was sailing down to Australia. He saw these trees and thought that they would be useful for making masts, because they were so straight and strong, and also o this island he found hemp, useful for making rope. These trees are planted along the coast to show there is a port there.
Buildings: -
Next to the Aleppo pines we saw a building tat was about 150 years old. The roof was made of asbestos. Moff said that the cottage would have been made somewhere else and then shipped over here. As we passed a paddock Moff stopped the bus. We got out and Moff showed us the remains of an old farm cottage. It was built similar to a castle, with stone walls, and cuts in the wall for windows. The reason for this design was because of the Aboriginal people. There was a well nearby the house which Moff thought was an Aboriginal well. Moff said that the sheep on that farm were dying, and the farmer would shoot at the Aboriginal people because he thought that they were poisoning his sheep but the reason they were dying is because of magnesium depletion in the grass
Aboriginal People: -
Before we got onto the bus Moff told us a story about a huge warrior that fought all of the Aboriginal tribes on the Yorke Peninsular. The huge warrior had defeated all of the tribes and he got to the last tribe (which lived were Innes National Park is now) The Little People. He fought them to a cliff where the Shaman of the tribe summoned a massive bird, the Kadyja Bird, to fight off the huge warrior. The bird lea him away and the warrior followed him, he got stuck in one of the gypsum lakes. And if you so to Innes you should be able to see the warriors head and foot stuck in one of the lakes, and one of the massive rocks is where the Kadyja bird is resting.
Mining: -
During the late 1800s and early 1900s Innes National Park was used as a primary source for gypsum. Innes no longer has the cottages and houses that the miners would have lived in, the have all been destroyed. Moff explained to us that the gypsum was mined by waiting to the lakes to dry out and then simply mining the gypsum out. We then stoped at a lake and Moff told me to try the water because it was sweet, but I didn’t want to, so Blake went first, he immediately spat it out, but hen I wanted to try it. The water was so salty. Moff just walked off laughing.
The Ethel and the Ferret: -
In the 1900’s there was a steel hulled ship called the Ethel. It was travelling along the coast through a storm, with high winds. When they reached a point between two light houses, the captain decided to put the anchor down. He then put his first mate in charge. During the night his first man ran and told the captain that they had drifted and that he could only see one light house. There was only one person on the boat that could swim, so they tied a rope o his waist and he dived into the water and started to swim to shore. But the storm was so strong, that he started to drown. A tug boat called the Ferret passed them but didn’t help them. But when it reached the coast of Adelaide it was stolen by pirates. It then got returned to Port Adelaide but got wrecked where the Ethel did. The Ferret did try to help but a big wave pushed the Ethel back into the sand so they just left it.
Trees and Plants: -
We started our drive to Innes and about 9 AM, and as soon as we passed the gate Moff stopped the bus. Just as we left the campus Moff showed us a pine tree, the Norfolk Pine. The tree was found when Cook was sailing down to Australia. He saw these trees and thought that they would be useful for making masts, because they were so straight and strong, and also o this island he found hemp, useful for making rope. These trees are planted along the coast to show there is a port there.
Buildings: -
Next to the Aleppo pines we saw a building tat was about 150 years old. The roof was made of asbestos. Moff said that the cottage would have been made somewhere else and then shipped over here. As we passed a paddock Moff stopped the bus. We got out and Moff showed us the remains of an old farm cottage. It was built similar to a castle, with stone walls, and cuts in the wall for windows. The reason for this design was because of the Aboriginal people. There was a well nearby the house which Moff thought was an Aboriginal well. Moff said that the sheep on that farm were dying, and the farmer would shoot at the Aboriginal people because he thought that they were poisoning his sheep but the reason they were dying is because of magnesium depletion in the grass
Aboriginal People: -
Before we got onto the bus Moff told us a story about a huge warrior that fought all of the Aboriginal tribes on the Yorke Peninsular. The huge warrior had defeated all of the tribes and he got to the last tribe (which lived were Innes National Park is now) The Little People. He fought them to a cliff where the Shaman of the tribe summoned a massive bird, the Kadyja Bird, to fight off the huge warrior. The bird lea him away and the warrior followed him, he got stuck in one of the gypsum lakes. And if you so to Innes you should be able to see the warriors head and foot stuck in one of the lakes, and one of the massive rocks is where the Kadyja bird is resting.
Mining: -
During the late 1800s and early 1900s Innes National Park was used as a primary source for gypsum. Innes no longer has the cottages and houses that the miners would have lived in, the have all been destroyed. Moff explained to us that the gypsum was mined by waiting to the lakes to dry out and then simply mining the gypsum out. We then stoped at a lake and Moff told me to try the water because it was sweet, but I didn’t want to, so Blake went first, he immediately spat it out, but hen I wanted to try it. The water was so salty. Moff just walked off laughing.
The Ethel and the Ferret: -
In the 1900’s there was a steel hulled ship called the Ethel. It was travelling along the coast through a storm, with high winds. When they reached a point between two light houses, the captain decided to put the anchor down. He then put his first mate in charge. During the night his first man ran and told the captain that they had drifted and that he could only see one light house. There was only one person on the boat that could swim, so they tied a rope o his waist and he dived into the water and started to swim to shore. But the storm was so strong, that he started to drown. A tug boat called the Ferret passed them but didn’t help them. But when it reached the coast of Adelaide it was stolen by pirates. It then got returned to Port Adelaide but got wrecked where the Ethel did. The Ferret did try to help but a big wave pushed the Ethel back into the sand so they just left it.
Hardwicke Bay Community Project
On the 31st of August, half of the group was bussed to Hardwicke Bay to help out in the community. The other half stayed at the campsite and worked on our blogs. Then at lunch time we were bussed to Hardwicke Bay. We met the other half of our group and the people that we were helping out. Among them was Blake (One of the ladies sons) who is going to board at PAC next year. We had lunch with everyone and after lunch we helped tidy up, then the second group went into the other room to talk to Cheryl (one of the volunteers) about the plants. She told us what plants were introduced to Australia, and which ones are native. After the introduction we drove to the little garden area that PAC helped plant and decorate. There was a pile of gravel that we had to cover the path with. We got three wheelbarrows and four shovels and started to load the wheelbarrows with gravel. Pritch and I were dumping the gravel in various places on the path and then one of the men was spreading it out and covering the path. Once the path had been covered we got in the bus with Mr Williams. He drove us all over the place and then we got lost and drove back to the hall to find out where we had to go. When we finally found out where we had to go we were loading parts of pine trees that had been cut down onto a trailer. Then once this had been completed we moved on to the beach to weed the introduced plants. This was difficult, as we had to find the introduced plants then weed them and pull out everything. We continued with this for about 45 minutes then we said thank you and goodbye and all hopped back on the bus and went back to the campsite.
Q1: Why are weeds so bad for the environment? Name 3 weeds you have learned about today.
Weeds are bad for the environment because they get rid of the native plants and animals. Introduced plants in the sand dunes are bad because they weaken the sand dunes.
Q2: What role do humans play in the distribution of weeds?
People from other countries think they are beautiful and colourful and then bring them to other countries ad then they can spread through the wind, rivers and streams and sometimes insects.
Q3: What are some of the common ways that weeds spread?
Some ways that weeds spread are in the wind, when there is a storm and high winds, the wind picks up the seeds and then it moves them to other places. Another way is through rivers and streams, this works the same way as the wind, and another way is people from other countries think they look beautiful so they bring them on boats and then plant them here and then they spread.
Q4: Are weeds the same all over Australia?
The specific type of weeds wouldn’t be the same but the amount would be. When we were at Hardwicke Bay there were sour sobs and they were everywhere. But there would be lots of types of introduced plants and weeds all over Australia.
Q5: Is climate change likely to add to the weed problem? If so, how?
Q6: Why do people volunteer to weed and plant local plants in public reserves and areas?
Q7: What can you do?
Q1: Why are weeds so bad for the environment? Name 3 weeds you have learned about today.
Weeds are bad for the environment because they get rid of the native plants and animals. Introduced plants in the sand dunes are bad because they weaken the sand dunes.
Q2: What role do humans play in the distribution of weeds?
People from other countries think they are beautiful and colourful and then bring them to other countries ad then they can spread through the wind, rivers and streams and sometimes insects.
Q3: What are some of the common ways that weeds spread?
Some ways that weeds spread are in the wind, when there is a storm and high winds, the wind picks up the seeds and then it moves them to other places. Another way is through rivers and streams, this works the same way as the wind, and another way is people from other countries think they look beautiful so they bring them on boats and then plant them here and then they spread.
Q4: Are weeds the same all over Australia?
The specific type of weeds wouldn’t be the same but the amount would be. When we were at Hardwicke Bay there were sour sobs and they were everywhere. But there would be lots of types of introduced plants and weeds all over Australia.
Q5: Is climate change likely to add to the weed problem? If so, how?
Q6: Why do people volunteer to weed and plant local plants in public reserves and areas?
Q7: What can you do?
Community Service - Leisure Options
On the 4th of September we swapped groups, Wardli's 2 and 3 went to the Yorke Peninsular to do work with people with disabilities and Wardli's 4 and 5 went on the history tour with Moff. Our group worked on our blogs until about 10 AM and then left to go to the Yorke Peninsular. When we arrived at Clem's Shed (The place where we were working) we introduced ourselves to the people and they introduced themselves. Then we signed in. We split into 3 groups, a group of 6 and two groups of 3. Some of us emptied all of the dirt out of the small pots into a pile, then grabbed crates and put the pots into them. Once tat was done we filled the pots with potting mix. We did this until about 1, we then stopped for lunch. At 1.45 we started work again. Doing the same as before. We emptied all of the crates and filled about half of them. We continued this until about 3 PM, where Chris said a thankyou speech and we all said goodbye and hopped back onto the bus. On the way back we stopped in the town for half an hour of free time, where we could do what we wanted (Within reason) and we could only buy 2 items. At about 4PM we got back onto the bus and drove home.
What does being a volunteer mean to you?
Being a volunteer makes me feel good that I made a difference to people, because the jobs that we did today, took us 5 hours, would have taken them a few weeks. This made me feel good because we lightened their work load by alot.
What did you learn about people living with a disability?
What did you enjoy most about this experience?
I enjoyed working with everyone and just doing something that I wouldn’t usually do in Adelaide.
What did you least enjoy about this experience?
I enjoyed everything.
What does being a volunteer mean to you?
Being a volunteer makes me feel good that I made a difference to people, because the jobs that we did today, took us 5 hours, would have taken them a few weeks. This made me feel good because we lightened their work load by alot.
What did you learn about people living with a disability?
What did you enjoy most about this experience?
I enjoyed working with everyone and just doing something that I wouldn’t usually do in Adelaide.
What did you least enjoy about this experience?
I enjoyed everything.
Scientific Research - Hooded Plover
The Hooded Plover
By Billy McFall
A hooded plover (Thinornis Rubricollis) is a small bird, about 10 cm tall, 20 cm long and weighs about 90-100 g. They feed on insects, sand hoppers, small bivalves, and soldier crabs. Their nests are a little indent on the ground, just in front of the dunes. The hooded plover is slowly becoming extinct, but they are in the venerable group. The cause of the hooded plover becoming extinct is people running along the beaches not even looking out or nests and just running over them. The hooded plover has no way to defend its self, the only way it can protect its nest is by walking away from their nests, so that we follow them, leading us away from the nest. Once they think their nest is safe they fly out to sea and then back towards their nests. A solution to help save the hooded plover would be to stop people driving on the beach, even though its fun, you could be crushing heaps of nests, and putting up signs, telling people that hooded plovers inhabit this area.
The aim of this session was to collect data about the hooded plovers inhabiting Emu Beach at Innes National Park, where their nests are, what the predators are, what behaviours they display around people and what the nests look like. We were lucky enough to be walking about two meters behind them. We first saw the Hooded Plovers on our way back to the bus. We didn’t see them at first, but we saw a lot of tracks in the sand, we saw lots of sea gulls, pacific gulls, what we thought were hooded plovers, small predators tracks, and then our tracks. The other groups signalled to us to stop walking and pointed at the ground, and then we saw two hooded plovers walking side by side. We spotted them around 1.45 PM. We were walking behind them for about 30 minutes. They walked quite close together, side by side, walking towards the water and then when a wave came, they would run towards the dunes. We took alot of photos, so now we can see what they look like. When we were looking for the nests we watched where we were walking and hen we saw alot of tracks we would send one person up to look for a nest, but we were unlucky and didn’t see any nests.
With the research we did yesterday I found out that the population of the hooded plover is slowly depleting. The hooded plover has a low percent of one adult having a child and that child making it to the adult stage, the ratio is 9:500. So the hooded plover has a very low, almost no chance of surviving. This was proved because we only saw 2 hooded plovers on the whole beach. Some more evidence that the hooded plover has a slim chance of survival is that we saw alot of other prints on the sand, belonging to seagulls, pacific gull and some predators, like lizards, cats, dogs, etc. We also didn’t see any nests. This showed that there weren’t many hooded plovers, and that they aren’t reproducing. Since the hooded plover are venerable, only time will make them extinct, unless we can start doing something about it. If we do nothing then they will become extinct in years to come.
We have discovered that the hooded plover doesn’t live in large quantities. They are struggling to survive, with al of he people that walk on the beach that could be crushing the hooded plovers nests without even knowing it, and he dirt bikes and cars that drive on the beaches The hooded plover could have a higher chance of survival if we put up signs at the beaches, telling people that they live there, and ban vehicles on the beach to prevent as many nests being crushed.
I think if everyone was more aware of the hooded plover and what the nests look like, and if we stopped driving on the beach, we could see a difference. The hooded plover surviving isn’t impossible, but they will become extinct if we don’t do anything about it.
By Billy McFall
A hooded plover (Thinornis Rubricollis) is a small bird, about 10 cm tall, 20 cm long and weighs about 90-100 g. They feed on insects, sand hoppers, small bivalves, and soldier crabs. Their nests are a little indent on the ground, just in front of the dunes. The hooded plover is slowly becoming extinct, but they are in the venerable group. The cause of the hooded plover becoming extinct is people running along the beaches not even looking out or nests and just running over them. The hooded plover has no way to defend its self, the only way it can protect its nest is by walking away from their nests, so that we follow them, leading us away from the nest. Once they think their nest is safe they fly out to sea and then back towards their nests. A solution to help save the hooded plover would be to stop people driving on the beach, even though its fun, you could be crushing heaps of nests, and putting up signs, telling people that hooded plovers inhabit this area.
The aim of this session was to collect data about the hooded plovers inhabiting Emu Beach at Innes National Park, where their nests are, what the predators are, what behaviours they display around people and what the nests look like. We were lucky enough to be walking about two meters behind them. We first saw the Hooded Plovers on our way back to the bus. We didn’t see them at first, but we saw a lot of tracks in the sand, we saw lots of sea gulls, pacific gulls, what we thought were hooded plovers, small predators tracks, and then our tracks. The other groups signalled to us to stop walking and pointed at the ground, and then we saw two hooded plovers walking side by side. We spotted them around 1.45 PM. We were walking behind them for about 30 minutes. They walked quite close together, side by side, walking towards the water and then when a wave came, they would run towards the dunes. We took alot of photos, so now we can see what they look like. When we were looking for the nests we watched where we were walking and hen we saw alot of tracks we would send one person up to look for a nest, but we were unlucky and didn’t see any nests.
With the research we did yesterday I found out that the population of the hooded plover is slowly depleting. The hooded plover has a low percent of one adult having a child and that child making it to the adult stage, the ratio is 9:500. So the hooded plover has a very low, almost no chance of surviving. This was proved because we only saw 2 hooded plovers on the whole beach. Some more evidence that the hooded plover has a slim chance of survival is that we saw alot of other prints on the sand, belonging to seagulls, pacific gull and some predators, like lizards, cats, dogs, etc. We also didn’t see any nests. This showed that there weren’t many hooded plovers, and that they aren’t reproducing. Since the hooded plover are venerable, only time will make them extinct, unless we can start doing something about it. If we do nothing then they will become extinct in years to come.
We have discovered that the hooded plover doesn’t live in large quantities. They are struggling to survive, with al of he people that walk on the beach that could be crushing the hooded plovers nests without even knowing it, and he dirt bikes and cars that drive on the beaches The hooded plover could have a higher chance of survival if we put up signs at the beaches, telling people that they live there, and ban vehicles on the beach to prevent as many nests being crushed.
I think if everyone was more aware of the hooded plover and what the nests look like, and if we stopped driving on the beach, we could see a difference. The hooded plover surviving isn’t impossible, but they will become extinct if we don’t do anything about it.
Community Service - Aleppo Pine Removal
On Tuesday the 8th of September we started off the day cooking with Moff. We cooked scones, bread and toffee. Then we had lunch and at 1PM we hopped onto the bus to go to Minlaton. Once we arrived we met Don, a volunteer. We grabed a workers vest and got to work. He started off by telling about what aleppo pines are and where they are from. There were steaks and bags laid out where we needed to hammer the steaks in ad put the bags on. All we did was hammer in steaks, put the bags on and plant plants. Don walked around helping us and was also burning the aleppo pine ythat had already been cut down. Unfortunately we didnt get to cut down any trees, but we did get to smash rocks, which was quite fun. We did this until about 3PM and then got on the bus to go back to camp.
History Tour 2
On Thursday the 10th of September, Wardli’s 2 and 3 went on the second history tour. This one was alot better than the first one. Our first stop was the Warooka Museum. From the outside it looked quite small but on the inside it was actually quite big. While in the museum I learnt lots of things, like that the museum used to be a police station, which during the 1900’s nudity in the family was common, they would help each other wash one another, and that gas masks are quite heavy. When looked at everything in the museum, we moved off to the Brentwood Cemetery. It was a fairly small cemetery with about 36 graves in it. Most of the graves had an epitaph (the saying on the grave) such as “His End was Peace” and “In Good Care” there was also one grave in un-holy land. The child had been dammed to hell. The rave was facing in another direction to the other graves and also was a few metres away from all of the other graves. On our way out we found this interesting spore plant that shot out green stuff everywhere when touched. It was really cool.
We sat in the bus and had lunch for about an hour.
Our next stop was really quite freaky. Moff warned us that there could be some people (ferals) living in the house on the farm that we went to. Moff told us a story, the last time he went there one of the students started punching a punching bag and the ferals chased them out of the shed and away from the property. Hopefully this story wasn't true. We walked through all of the rooms and Moff told us a little bit about each of them. On our way out we noticed that one of the doors that we had closed was open, it was probably the wind but we weren’t sure. Moff told me to go and close the door. But I didn’t, instead I went with Chris and Matt. We had a look inside and lamed the door, as if we had been pulled in, but we then got quite scared because the door had locked. We climbed out through the back window and joined the group. Then Moff got really scared because he apparently saw a window move. The cows that were on the property had surrounded us a few times, and then the disappeared for some random reason. Once we started driving out we saw the cows lined up along the gate so we couldn’t get out. But Moff just drove towards them and we moved.
Our second to last stop was Yorke Town, for food. Most of us got chips, or an energy drink. We also stopped at the Yorke Town Community Centre and I got a kerosene lamp for no particular reason. Our final stop was the “Moffat“ Seel Colony. This was really interesting. After this everyone on the bus had the job of directing us home. This was difficult because Moff didn’t turn the way we wanted.
We sat in the bus and had lunch for about an hour.
Our next stop was really quite freaky. Moff warned us that there could be some people (ferals) living in the house on the farm that we went to. Moff told us a story, the last time he went there one of the students started punching a punching bag and the ferals chased them out of the shed and away from the property. Hopefully this story wasn't true. We walked through all of the rooms and Moff told us a little bit about each of them. On our way out we noticed that one of the doors that we had closed was open, it was probably the wind but we weren’t sure. Moff told me to go and close the door. But I didn’t, instead I went with Chris and Matt. We had a look inside and lamed the door, as if we had been pulled in, but we then got quite scared because the door had locked. We climbed out through the back window and joined the group. Then Moff got really scared because he apparently saw a window move. The cows that were on the property had surrounded us a few times, and then the disappeared for some random reason. Once we started driving out we saw the cows lined up along the gate so we couldn’t get out. But Moff just drove towards them and we moved.
Our second to last stop was Yorke Town, for food. Most of us got chips, or an energy drink. We also stopped at the Yorke Town Community Centre and I got a kerosene lamp for no particular reason. Our final stop was the “Moffat“ Seel Colony. This was really interesting. After this everyone on the bus had the job of directing us home. This was difficult because Moff didn’t turn the way we wanted.
Sea Kayaking
Monday, 7th of September. This morning we had our morning maths class, at 8:45 and it finished at 9:30 for us. We walked to the shed and met Phil from Adventure Kayaking SA. We loaded the kayaks onto the trailer and grabbed last minute warm clothes. We then got onto the bus and Paul drove us to the Point Turton jetty. When we arrived at the jetty we unloaded the trailer and started the introductory lesson. We learnt the different types of paddling, how to turn the kayak, how to go side ways, etc. we learnt how to make sure the kayak is sea worthy, as Phil said. We had to check the rudder, the hatch covers, the peddles, our seat and make sure everything was comfortable. Once we had done all of that we picked up the kayaks and carried then down to the ramp, ready to launch them. Phil showed us the training track tat we had to do, we had to paddle out straight, stop, turn right, go forward, sop, turn right, stop, turn right, go forward, stop. We had to do this 3 or so times. The we started paddling towards the campsite, past a boiler from an old ship and kept on going. We kayaked for about a kilometre or so. Then we stoped and talked for a bit and then turned around and paddled back to the ramp, but we continued and kayaked under the jetty and did an obstacle course through rocks. This was really run trying to avoid all of the rocks. The we paddled back to the ramp and carried them back up to the car park ready for the next group.
Wednesday the 9th of September. Today was our second day of sea kayaking. We already knew how to check our kayak and make sure it was sea worthy. Then we carried the kayaks down to the ramp and launched them into the water. We started kayaking out of the launching area and turned left today, we kayaked under the jetty. But kept on going. Phil said that today we were kayaking about 6 km's today. Once we passed the jetty we continued on paddling along the cliffs, past all of the funny looking birds that could swim underwater, until we reached these bars that looked like a swimming pools stairs. Phil showed us the different skills that the Eskimos did, like resting on your partners kayak, resting on the water by yourself, an Eskimo roll and sitting and standing on the kayak. It was really fun. The we started the adventure back to the jetty. Blake attempted an Eskimo roll but ended up capsizing, it was funny. The once we reached the jetty, we went under it and paddled passed the place where the boats are launched and then Phil gave us a challenge that we had to have one foot in our partners boat and have a race. When Blake and I finished we got out but Blake fell in and pulled me in with him. I wasn’t happy. But it was fun we pulled the kayaks up through the sea weed. Overall the kayaking was fun.
Wednesday the 9th of September. Today was our second day of sea kayaking. We already knew how to check our kayak and make sure it was sea worthy. Then we carried the kayaks down to the ramp and launched them into the water. We started kayaking out of the launching area and turned left today, we kayaked under the jetty. But kept on going. Phil said that today we were kayaking about 6 km's today. Once we passed the jetty we continued on paddling along the cliffs, past all of the funny looking birds that could swim underwater, until we reached these bars that looked like a swimming pools stairs. Phil showed us the different skills that the Eskimos did, like resting on your partners kayak, resting on the water by yourself, an Eskimo roll and sitting and standing on the kayak. It was really fun. The we started the adventure back to the jetty. Blake attempted an Eskimo roll but ended up capsizing, it was funny. The once we reached the jetty, we went under it and paddled passed the place where the boats are launched and then Phil gave us a challenge that we had to have one foot in our partners boat and have a race. When Blake and I finished we got out but Blake fell in and pulled me in with him. I wasn’t happy. But it was fun we pulled the kayaks up through the sea weed. Overall the kayaking was fun.
Parent Weekend
On Friday the 11th of September my dad came to pick me up at around 1 PM. I had to show him around the Wardli at about 1:30 as we were in the middle of cleaning. Once we had finished cleaning I showed him through the Wardli and around the campsite. Once I had showed him through the Wardli I grabbed my bag and we started the drive to our house. My dad had rented a little farm house about 3 kms out of Warooka. Once we reached the house we unpacked and just relaxed. We had alot of chips, lollies and sugary stuff. It was different to what we usually have at the camp. We relaxed until about 6 PM when we went out to dinner at the inland restaurant. After dinner we arrived back home and slept. I managed to get a sleep in until about 8:30 which was good, and I didn’t have to run in the morning. That was a big relief. When I woke up we had bacon, eggs, hash browns and mushrooms for breakfast and then we drove to Innes National Park. I showed everyone around Innes and told them some of the stories that Moff had told us. After we had gone to al of the places that Moff took us to we drove to the Rhino Tavern. By now it was around 2 PM and it was time to drive to Yorke Town to see my mum. Once we met my mum at Yorke Town we drove to Coobowie. We stayed in one of our friends houses. When we got there we relaxed some more. My grandparents, my mum, my sister ad my mums partner and his daughter were there. We threw the vortex, played darts, played pool, played table tennis and ate food, and slept. For dinner we went to the Coobowie Tavern. It was alot different to the pubs in Adelaide. After dinner we went home and played pool, then went to bed. I got another sleep-in. This was really good. We had more bacon and eggs for breakfast, and more junk food. We pretty much did nothing for the whole day, except at about 3 PM we went for a walk around Coobowie, my grandparents regularly come fishing around the Yorke Peninsular. Then I showed them around the campsite and they dropped me off. After being away from my parents for 3 weeks I don’t really feel that different about them, but I do appreciate how much they do for me, but I did help cook and do the washing, I just didn’t clean up that much. I just left everything around the place. It was good to see my family after not seeing them for 3 weeks. Now that the parent weekend is over I am looking forward to either surfing or going home.
Surfing
Monday the 14th of September was our first day of surfing. Longy, Mark, Boyde and Sean. We got an introductory speech, made by Mark. He talked about putting sunscreen on, rips and looking after the equipment. They fitted us with wetsuits and we tried them on to make sure they fitted. I found this hard because I couldn’t get my feet through the holes. We got into the bus to go to Berry Bay South. When we got there we grabbed a leg rope, a rashie and a board. My leg rope was the manliest colour of all, pink. We grabbed everything and started the walk down the stairs. This was quite painful. When we reached the sand we put our boards on the sand, some of us tested the water, and it was defiantly colder than it looked. Mark told us to stand in a group to have a photo taken. After the photo we divided into three groups, two groups of eight and one group of seven. We had another introduction lesson, which was quite boring. We were told about rips, how to paddle, how to stand up and everything else we need to know. We also had to build a sandcastle so that we could warm up our paddling arms and also so we could see where the rocks were. After all of this we finally got to get into the water. The water was freezing!! But I got used to it. We pretty much did our own thing. After a few tries I finally got used to surfing and I was standing up on pretty much every wave. We had to be careful of the rocks either side of where we were surfing. After we got used to it Ben and I both caught the same wave and hi-5ed while surfing. It was really cool. Unfortunately Mark didn’t get a photo of it, but it would have been a cool photo. After 2 hours we had to get out. We carried our boards back up the stairs, which was really hard. We loaded the surfboards back onto the trailer and changed out of our wetsuits.
Tuesday the 15th of September. Today we had our second day of surfing. We had a game of Gaelic footy and then breakfast. We had to be at the bus at 8:15 AM. We got together all of our stuff and got onto the bus to go to the Dust Bowl (Northern end of Formby Bay) We grabbed a board and started the long walk down 280 stairs, just to get to the bottom. The walk down was hard and then we realised that at the end of the day we had to walk back up them. My legs were already hurting and we hadn’t even warmed up. again we had to build sandcastles as landmarks. After our warm up and stretches we got to go into the water. he waster was still cold, but it was good with the wet suits because they didn’t let any cold in. We had to watch out for the rips either side of where we were surfing, and the rocks. We had to move around, up and down the beach. it was really annoying because the tides would pull us out and then we had to keep on moving around. We stopped for lunch for about an hour. After lunch we got back into the water again. It was still quite cold. Most of us were standing up now. I had to sit out a few times because of the rashes on my arms and legs, which was annoying. We surfed until about 2:30 PM. We then walked up the staircase, which was the hardest thing ever. This day was still enjoyable but wasn’t as fun as the first day.
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