Young Writers in Action: My Coonawarra Farm Resort Camp Experience

This was my first camp experience and I will never forget it!
The lead up to camp made me both excited and a little bit nervous. I got to buy some new items for camp, which was great and our teddies were also invited to come. I brought my pink bear, who wore her handmade colourful scarf and my friends brought their stuffed toys too.

It was a cold start to our first day, but only the adults noticed that. The kids were all too excited to care and just wanted to get on the bus and go. The weather soon warmed up and the bus trip there and back was heaps of fun and we stopped for lunch at a park. I was very lucky to get to sit with Sarah on the way up, who was my designated bus buddy and then on the way back I got to sit in the prestigious back row with Bianca, Milly and Emma. On the bus there was lots of talking, laughing and singing and on the way back many of the boys sang ‘Let It Go’, redefining how NOT to sing in tune and why not everyone should try to reach the high notes.

The camp I went to (Coonawarra Farm Resort) is located in East Gippsland on approximately 140 ha. It is surrounded by bush, with a huge lake and beautiful views and home to a variety of wildlife, including kangaroos.

Our rooms were terrific, warm and had bunk beds. I shared a room with Milly, Emma, Sarah, Jemima and Lila. We all took turns getting the top bunks, as they were the most sought-after location, with the best views. We had a lot of crazy fun in our rooms including singing, dancing and way too much laughing and not a lot of sleeping.

The food was great, all cooked and prepared for us and the only jobs the kids had to do was help with setting the tables. The only thing that I didn’t really like about camp was that I couldn’t get the shower water temperature as warm as I liked.

We got to do lots of activities such as red faces, trivia night, movie night, night walk, high ropes, hut building, rock climbing, damper making, visiting Den of Nargun, etc, but my favourites were horse riding, the flying fox and the big swing.

I got to go horse riding in a large group, luckily which included my friends Emma, Bianca and Sarah. My horse was called Buzz. He was white and patchy and was a really nice, calm horse. The only thing is that he did those things no one wants to talk about, as he walked along, not even trying to wait until he got back to the paddock.

The Big Swing, what a rush! The adrenaline you get just as you pull the rope was great. Your life flashes before your eyes. Then you just have to do it again and again. I chose the very top level both times, but I would have gone even higher if I could and I could have done it all day.

The Flying Fox was so much fun, though the hill we had to walk up to get there was very steep. The Flying Fox was very high, with incredible views and you could hear the air rushing past as you travelled along the line.

Archery was another of our activities. I didn’t find it that much fun, as the target just kept moving and the ground kept jumping in front of my arrow. I think Mrs Harvey had the same problem.

In groups we all had to attempt to make waterproof huts out of branches, logs, bark etc. Then the adults got to throw large buckets of water over the huts, drenching us. Mr Bennett seemed a little bit too happy doing this job. He had a big smile on his face seeing us all wet and listening to us scream. We then got to warm ourselves by the fire and make and eat damper. The damper had the best fruit in it, that made it especially yummy.

I will also give a special mention and thank you to Monty, who we met while building our huts. Only a small group of kids will know who I’m talking about, but he was very special to us and though only with us for a short time, he touched our lives, gave us a huge amount of laughter and will forever be in our hearts.

We also went on a trip to Den Of Nargun which was the best. I really enjoyed the aboriginal stories and the beautiful views on the way.

Overall I think this was a terrific camp.  I had the best fun, I got to have so many new experiences and I left with fantastic memories that will last a lifetime.