Welcome to the Australia Alps Family blog for 2015!
This is an exciting time here at Outward Bound Australia, we love helping families get together for an unforgettable 7 day experience!
Day 1
The course began with all participants being issued their Outward Bound Australia gear; this gear will keep them warm at night and put a roof over their head all throughout the week. So far the group is working really well together. They have enjoyed the first day activities and spent their first night out in the bush! They all are really cheerful and said that they slept so much better than they anticipated!
Day 2
Today began with a long hike all the way to camp. They broke up the long day with a few rounds of camouflage, a fun run and hide game which finds its winner in the test of time. After their strong navigators led them to camp they were all feeling pretty tired, though extremely happy they made it to camp. They were all relieved to get their packs off and set up for the night. They found multitasking the biggest challenge of the day. Walking with a pack on whilst walking uphill and reading the map at the same time proved to be a challenge for all. However, they all came together to share the load and reach their goals!
Day 3
Phenomenal activities! This is how the group described their day today! With a whole lot of enthusiasm and adrenaline, the families gave their best shot at abseiling into the Orroral Valley overlooking some of the most spectacular rolling hills in the ACT. They feel as though they are getting really good at packing away camp, collection more and water for the day as well as simple but necessary tasks such as preparing lunch and morning tea’s. Making pancakes for breakfast was a delicious feast for the group to indulge in, enjoying camp cooking in ‘style.’ The group reports that, “everyone is feeling tired but also remaining enthusiastic. Abseiling was a challenge for most however, despite nerves, everyone is so proud of themselves and each other for facing the challenge and fighting the nerves.” Go team family!
Day 4
After a morning full on route planning and map marking, the group finally set off on a navigated walk towards the next campsite. The group hit their points of interest, whilst also hitting some tough sections of the trail. They completed their journey for the day in pairs, learning various things about one another. To their surprise, tonight they would not all be camping together as they had done so the past few nights. Tonight they would split into their family groups and each pair of family would be establishing their own camp for 24 hrs!
After completing the challenging 13 km hiking challenge for the day, everyone was feeling very tired, although feeling extremely proud of them for completing it. The family solo gave them the opportunity to relax and unwind with their family member and they all found that it was very fun, but also difficult at times.
Day 5
This morning the families finished their solo time, a time to reflect on the journey thus far. Each group thought it was amazing to wake up with a beautiful sunrise in the valley. Once the final hours were over, all the groups joined back together to recount their individual experiences. They then enjoyed lunch by the historic homestead in the valley. They then walked with no packs to their final campsite, through beautiful bushland, over a river where they washed their faces in the clean water. Once at their campsite they prepared and cooked delicious food for their “master chef” night!
Day 6
Today there was a big challenge, a challenge that tested everyone’s teamwork skills. The group had to work together to build their own rafts made from plastic barrels and other solid materials.
Once made, they all rafted down the river to test out their rafts! They rafted all the way back to Outward Bound Australia’s National base beach! As a positive consequence of their efforts they enjoyed hot chocolate, followed by a bunch of fun games in a carpeted warm room.
As a summary of the day, they initially felt really scared about the rafting due to the immense amount of challenge involved in making the raft successfully, however this soon turned into excitement when the challenge began. They all really enjoyed the rafting and thought it was a real highlight of the whole course.
Day 7
For their final day at Outward Bound Australia, the group got up early and completed the Giant Swing. This activity involved the participants individually being pulled up into the air by their team mates whilst attached to a harness. When high up in the air it is the participants role to release themselves sending them swinging down and over the group high in the air! This was a thrilling, scary and very fun activity for the group to finish up on. Whilst still buzzing from the giant swing each participant received a certificate and wrist band for a successful completion of the course!
Thank you to all participants for giving your 100% best every day throughout course, we hope to see you again sometime soon! Thank you also to the instructor and team here at Outward Bound Australia!
