Year 4 Camp Recount Story – By Rhys Howard-Jones 4P

We boarded the bus ready for the fun days ahead…

The bus trip took a few hours, but when we got to Kincumber we were sorted out into cabins then put into groups. Our first activity was power fan. The instructor of our group, Becky, told us how to put the harness on, which was a full body harness. We had to climb a pole then go off a metal grid up the top. Imagine this…

You put your harness on and adjust the helmet so that you will be safe when you jump off. As Becky connects you up to the rope you feel nervous about whether this is actually safe. Becky’s words float through your mind. No-one has ever been injured on this activity. Now you remember but still you are a bit scared. You start climbing and you are only about halfway when you suddenly are paralysed with fear. You hear your classmates cheering you on from below “Just one more step”. You climb up further then look below you, and after some time you jump. You feel the air rushing up from beneath you, not like you are falling, but like you are gliding slowly down. You feel like a bird! When you land you decide to climb to the top this time. You just manage! Now you just lean back and drop. You glide all the way to the bottom. Full of smiles you hand your harness over to the next person.

After Power Fan we went to do fencing. We were taught the words they use, the equipment, how to score points, and where it came from. After we had dinner we went down to play Commando. Commando was a game we played in a bushy area which was teachers vs students. The students had to find the hostage base and bring all the hostages back without being caught, but the rules were: You can only take one hostage at a time, you can only take a hostage if you return to the base camp with a life token and your full group, when a teacher shines a torch on you, you are caught and have to give your life token to the teacher, the only way to get a life token is to tell the instructor a joke or perform a dance, you can only have one token per group of  five or six. Playing Commando was fun and by the time we got back, we were all very tired and fell asleep right away.

The next day we were woken up at six-thirty and got dressed quickly in time for breakfast. Our first activity was Bush Tucker, where we cooked damper and made shelters and had a conversation about being stuck in the bush for a night. After Bush Tucker we went to rock climbing, where we had to climb a wall. Becky showed us how to put on a harness the people there called a blue waist harness. It was trickier than usual, because we had a pole with a rope and a ‘belay’ team had to pull to ensure safety for the climber. Being part of the belay team posed a challenge and made it fun.

Next we had lunch and then went over to the mud run. The mud run was an obstacle course with lots of mud. There was a slide that went into mud and a tightrope over mud. We had to cross monkey bars and a wall with holds that turn around when you step on them. At the end we did a game of tug of war. Our group was split into teams and had to get the most rope to win. Because we were covered with mud, we had to have showers to wash the mud off, nevertheless we had a really fun time getting covered with mud.

When we had washed all the mud off, we went over to the high ropes course everyone had a go and a great time. We had to click the things that connect you to the wire on and off (they called them clickets), so it was a bit like the adult courses and made it a bit more challenging. The high ropes course was full of obstacles three to seven metres above the ground. What was fun was at the end they had a zipline which we had to connect our flying fox to. Imagine this…

You connect your clicket and climb the ladder. The first obstacle is lots of planks of wood connected by a long stretch of rope. Easy peasy! Like a ladder. After that there is an empty space. You figure out that you must jump to make it. Then there is a tunnel made of wood – crawling through was simple. You are beginning to enjoy yourself. Later you come to an ‘X’ made of wood. You cross it. Then at the end you get to the zipline. You see your classmates below you and they challenge you to a race. You adjust your flying fox and go down. They just beat you. You found that really fun and challenging.

After a day full of fun activities, we went to have dinner then went to do the county fair. The county fair was a fair where we ran all the activities. We had a milkshake stand, a nail salon, a massage station, a bakery with a chocolate mud cake and fairy bread, a jumping castle and an arcade and sock-wrestling place. We paid for the things there using play money. They had rules and fines if you didn’t follow them. The team that won would have to have the most play money by the end of the fair. The three teams that won the most money were: in first place bakery, second place milkshakes and in third place nail salon. Finally it was time to go to bed.

The next day we were woken up at 6:30 and our first activity was Orienteering. We were given a sheet that said what compass bearing we had to make it towards and how many paces we should go. Becky showed us how to use a compass and what we would write in the clue box. It was a fun challenge that we had to work through and a little different to what we were used to.

When we were all gathered up, we went up the hill to the giant swing, our last activity. We had to put on a full body harness to do the activity. It was really fun and we all had a great time. Imagine this…

You get yourself clipped up to the giant swing and hang there waiting for the swing to start. You get passed the orange handle of the ripcord and watch as your classmates run with the rope in their hands and slowly you get pulled up. Then you reach the top and your teacher yells “Just one more step”. You watch as your classmates squeeze in one more step rising you up by a bit. “3,2,1, PULL!” Becky yells from bellow you. Your fingers are trembling as you pull the orange ripcord and everything happens at once. You are no longer held by the rope which was holding you up before, a jolt is sent down the rope toppling your classmates over like dominoes and you start swinging. “Whoohoo this is so fun” You yell over the sound of the rushing wind. Slowly the swings get less and less. Becky unclips you and as you take your harness off you wish you could do that again. Sometime…

After we did the giant swing we collected our bags and went on the bus back to school where we got picked up by our parents then had a well earned rest. Camp was fun and very enjoyed by everyone. Thank you teachers for taking us to camp and all the people who put effort or used time to get us there and look after us at camp. We couldn’t have had such a fun and safe time without you.

Year 4 Camp Recount Story – By Fergus FitzSimons 4T

On Wednesday 16th May, Year 4 went on a journey to the Great Aussie Bush Camp at Tea Gardens. We had to be at school early so that we would not miss the bus. Everyone was chatting excitedly. 

When we arrived at The Great Aussie Bush Camp we unpacked and went to our cabins. The top three cabins had ensuites that were given to three lucky groups of boys. The rest of us had average cabins that had toilets and showers a mile away. Some boys came home cleaner than others! 

The first activity that group 4T did was orienteering. This was an activity where we needed to find clues to break a code. We used compasses and numbered paces to find the clues. My group was first to break the code and find the answer.

Later that day we went on the giant swing. This was my personal favourite activity. It was 17 metres high and we were pulled to the top by a rope. When I got to the top I needed to pull a cord and doom myself to an exhilarating drop. I was quite scared but the instant I pulled the cord I knew this was going to be my favourite activity. I was disappointed that we only got one turn each on the giant swing. Before bed we did Commando. We were in the dark wood and we needed to find hostages and bring them back to the Commando Base. The teachers had spotlights that they used to catch us. If you were caught you had to give away one of your life tokens. Commando was extremely fun although some of the teachers (mostly Mr Martin) enjoyed jumping out at us and giving us a fright. 

Each meal at camp was absolutely amazing. We had pancakes, meatballs, BBQs and snow cones after every activity. My sister had warned me about the food at the Great Aussie Bush Camp but I thought it was exceptionally tasty! At night l slept quite well although within the confinement of my sleeping bag the heat was almost unbearable and I nearly roasted.

On day two of camp, group 4T went on the power fan. This was a 15 metre high pole that we climbed up using the semi-circle like handles. We were strapped to a fan like structure at the top of the pole and when we reached the platform we stepped off and the rope slowed our fall. After that activity we went on the Lost Island Mud Run. This was a long run through mud filled pits and obstacles to the end of the course. The water at the bottom of the pits was dirty and freezing cold and as if this wasn’t bad enough, as we came down the slide the instructors threw buckets of water on us. Our final activity of the day was fencing. We had to wear a face mask and jacket. The swords were called foils and they had a small ball on the end to stop them poking through the vest. We were only allowed to jab forward or parry a blow to the ground but we were not allowed to slash. The fencing was a lot of fun because it was just like having a real sword fight although without the risk of death.

On day three we only had two activities. By then I was so tired I barely remember the activities we did that day. We also had to pack up and tidy our cabins and leave on the bus. The bus ride home was much more silent that the trip up, everyone was happily exhausted and some boys even fell asleep. The Great Aussie Bush Camp was amazing and I can’t wait to go again in Year 6.