I’m on the train again, for the second time this week. The first time was on Monday heading up to boot camp at Port Hacking. Dan went home for the weekend so he went straight to Port Hacking so they decided to send me up on the train and catch a ride back with him rather than drive a vehicle up. This meant an early start but it was fine with me as the tracks run right along the coast most of the way, making for a scenic view.
This time is a bit different though as it is already 8:00pm. It is dark, so no coast line to be seen. Monday is Labor day so I am headed up to Sydney for the long weekend! I am soooooo excited because Allison is going to be there and we are staying with Fiona, a friend from last time we were here! Allison has been traveling around Oz since late September and Sydney is her last stop. It’ll be so good to see her!
So this past week has really felt like two weeks; boot camp Mon-Wed then our first “realish” days at Shoalhaven. Right now kids have off school for “holidays” so we were running a “holiday camp” called “Adventure Days” on Wednesday – Friday. It was just Alison and Scott on it so Dan and I helped out with that. It was lots of fun! Usually we will be working with school groups so the teachers will be there but this is more like summer camp where it is just us and the kids. I stuck with Scott (foundly known as Scoty_ for the two days and helped out with the year 5-6 kids. Dan helped Alison with the year 3-4 kids since he said he had never worked with that age before.
Thursday we started out with the low ropes course. It was really good to see that run but to have the chance to be involved in it as well. I find it really beneficial to experience the things you will be leading / teaching / facilitating. Low ropes went until 10:30 when we took a break for morning tea (a piece of fruit, water, and juice).
After morning tea we had Christian Discovery (CD); sang some songs, did some skits, had a message, and then split back into our age groups for discussion. We gave the kids a bit of free time while we set up lunch and then a bit of time after lunch before moving onto our afternoon activity of canoeing!
Canoeing was pretty fun! Unlike the somewhat protected cove area at the marina at Sandy Cove, at Shoalhaven we canoe right out on the river. It was another windy day on the river so the kids were fighting the current. Luckily we were split into three boats of three people each so two of the boats had an instructor with them. There are so many lessons to be learned from canoeing. Besides the obvious canoe strokes and learning what side to paddle on, team work and communication are also key factors in a successful canoe experience. Trust is also a factor as each person in the boat has the potential to cause a capsize. Not to mention the physical aspect and concept of “pushing yourself.” While on the water we “rafted up,” meaning we had all the boats come together side by side. Scot then had everyone grab hands with the person next to you from the other boat. We stood up one row at a time until everyone was standing. He had everyone clap once, twice, then do the “YMCA.” No one fell in – this time!
So that was wonderful, exciting day one. Day two was pretty much the same accept “billy carting” took the place of our morning activity and jetty jumping occurred in the afternoon.
I believe I described how waterslea is set up on a hill overlooking a cow pasture as well as the Shoalhaven River. Billy carting pretty much involves the kids sitting in a box on wheels, strapping on a helmet, holding on, and riding down the hill!
Jetty jumping was good fun, although again we had the current to look out for. There is 2k (a little over a mile) walk to get to the jetty which involves going over, under, and around a few pasture fences, a bit of a trek through the bush dumps you out at a park where people like to have bar-b-ques on the weekends, then down some rocky stairs lands you on the jetty (pretty much a little dock with a ladder and stairs leading up out of the water). The instructor always goes in first to “check the water” then the kids can jump in, wearing a PFD. Apparently the PFDs are a somewhat recent thing after a student claimed he “forgot how to swim” when he jumped in. I think PFDs are probably a good idea anyhow especially for the young kids and when there is a current.
We call them PFDs because apparently someone in the US sued b/c it was a family member died wearing a life jacket and the term life jacket implies that it should save his life?? I don’t know – so PDF – personal floatation device.
So that was Tuesday! Lots of fun! Really good to actually get into a bit of what I will eventually be doing, although it will be a bit different with a school group.
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