Wow what an amazing week we have had up here at the SRC (Snowy River Campus). The hype had been building due to an extensive period indoors and finally we were into it; a full 7 days of outdoor adventure.

It all started with freezing cold surf at Cape Conran, and when I say freezing I mean it; my hands were purple, bordering black even when I made it back to the shower at SRC. That’s not to say we didn’t enjoy ourselves, indeed even when we were all shivering back on the beach we were all gunning to get another shot at the ultimate goal: standing up on a surfboard.

The next day we had Expo prep which is a class designed to give us all the basic skills that we would need on the expo that would take place in 2 days. During the class we learned how to use a trangia which is a portable cooking stove, set up the tents we would be using and practice walking with a really heavy hiking pack on our backs. That last one was one of the main concerns that many people held for expo, in fact no-one except Lars and I had gone on a long hike before.

You might not have heard of them, but here at SRC we have things called rest days. On rest days people can put in proposals for activities or, for those of us with little or no taste for adventure we have the choice to kick back and relax on campus. On this particular rest day Jessie and I went to play tennis at the Orbost tennis club with a few others while Willo, Ingrid and Megan hit the Bemm River rainforest with a few of the other people in their local learning project group.

Now that I’ve mentioned it I guess I should explain it; the local learning project (LLP) is a curricular activity here at SRC where kids from the local primary schools come up and we teach them about a certain aspect of the local Marlo- Orbost area or, in some cases a subject of our choice.

Next on our list of activities was the one we had all been waiting for: Expo NO.1. We had packed everything the day before but even so we didn’t get on our way until 9 o’clock. The hike would take us along a path beside the road for about 2 km’s before we hit the beach and walked for a further 8 km. During the walk along the coast we were treated to beautiful, clear skies and crystal clear waves broke along the glassy shoreline, 10 meters from where our footprints stood, the only set along the marble golden sand.

To our left the sand dunes stood, easily 20 meters high and perfectly untouched in their seemingly immobile grace. By the time we had reached the end of the beach all our calves were starting to feel a little sore… not that this was going to stop us from shucking our packs and exploring the picturesque stone boulders, I mean any relief from the heavy packs was welcome, especially when they felt like boulders themselves.

Nearing the end of our hike – and the day - most of us were beginning to fatigue making my job as the whip all the more important in making good time.

Reaching the campsite felt like a great achievement and everyone was in high spirits, high spirits that rose in a crescendo as the hype surrounding Mr. Bourke’s birthday grew and grew. Finally all out ecstasy shattered through the rickety façade we had held in place for the sake of the surprise party; the mud cake appeared and looked like a glorious, chocolaty god… a god that tasted like you wouldn’t believe for all us sugar deprived kids. But the fun didn’t stop there; oh no we were just getting started. Under the light of the full moon and using torches as flags we played three amazing games of Capture the Flag on a pearly white beach with sinister, dark trees allowing for devastating sneak attacks.

That’s all for now

Later guys

Gabe – Fitzroy HS