On Saturday, 5 May - Monday, 7 May, 12 students completed a Duke of Edinburgh Award kayaking expedition, with the expert guidance of Hillcrest staff members Paul Wotton, Cath Baddeley and Steve Baddeley. The students completing their Practice Journey included Aurora Zhang, Molly Swanson, Jaylen Semaan, Brandon Jones, Madeline Abio, Chris Turner, Cassie Prior, Mikaela Matthei, Alice Kerr and Luke Halberstadt, as well as students completing their Qualifying Journey Paige Kruger and Grace Preston.
The group met at Budds Beach in Surfer’s Paradise, and were all set for a long weekend of kayaking , camping and walking. After some practice with the kayaks, students packed their rafts with food, cooking equipment, clothes, tents and other gear, and prepared to paddle their way to the South Currigee camp site, on South Stradbroke Island.
The wind made the journey challenging at times, but spirits were high and students looked forward to spending their first night under canvas. For some, this was their first time both kayaking and camping.
On Sunday morning, the group woke early to a bright and glorious day. Students were given the choice of kayaking to Tipplers, or walking the distance along the inside of South Straddie. Those who kayaked had the wind behind them the whole way again, and saw some interesting wild life, while those who walked were given the challenge of leading Mr Baddeley by map, to the next camp ground.
When everyone had arrived at South Straddie, they had fun pumping for yabbies and fishing, and after showers, students cooked their own meals on their burners. They all set a camp fire, to finish the enjoyable evening with roasted marshmallows and devotion time.
It was great to see students who don’t normally interact at school, bonding and having fun together in a setting where everyone felt included and accepted – regardless of their singing ability!
On Monday morning, the adventurers were homeward bound, and kayaked as far as Pimpama, before discovering that the last section of the journey to Jacobs Well might have been be impassable for the next hour and a half due to weather. Many of the students were very tired and relieved to be able to call their parents, for an earlier pick up.
Grace, however, was determined to finish the originally planned journey, and kayaked back to Jacobs Well with Mr Wotton. God was so gracious with the weather, and despite heavy rain in some areas, the weather held out for them to reach Jacobs Well.
Type on the line above then press the Enter/Return key to submit a new search query