On the 14th of February, the senior AP students embarked on a journey to Albany.
Day 1 of our journey to Albany was tiring and long. Today was all about getting to our campsite and setting up our tents. It was around a 6-hour road trip including stops along the way. At 4:40 pm we arrived at Roses Garden Caravan Park where we started to set up our tents. Everyone was exhausted from the long car ride, so we had a very relaxing night. For dinner, one group cooked Mark’s special curry. After dinner, we cleaned up and went to bed.
Day 2 of our journey to Albany was interesting. Today we had to wake up bright and early so we could be on time for our first activity. We all ate breakfast, hopped on the busses and drove to the Whaling Station. When we got there, we had time to look around before our tour started. When the tour started, we were shown where the whales were slaughtered. It was very gruesome but fascinating. I learnt that the sailor who captured the whale would get charged money if the whale was undersized. After they showed us the boat that they would use to tail and kill the whales. My favourite part of the boat was seeing the bedrooms. After the tour, we were going to go explore the town of Albany but unfortunately one of the vans had something wrong with it, so we had to take it in for maintenance. We all made it into town safely, but it took longer than expected. After we explored the town for a while, we went back to camp and had an early night to prepare for tomorrow.
Day 3 of our journey in Albany was a challenge. We started the day by waking up at 3:45 am to get ready for the granite skywalk. We left at 4:15 am and arrived at 4:45 am. Our goal was to reach the top before the sun rose. It was around an hour’s walk but once we reached the top all our regret and sorrow vanished. The sunrise was gorgeous and divine. After we took some incredible photos, we made our way back down the mountain. The rest of the day was a breeze. We got to relax and nap and soon enough it was night time and everyone fell asleep very fast.
Day 4 of our journey to Albany was compelling but also tedious. Today we woke up and got ready for the Anzac Centre. When we arrived, we went into this building where they gave us these cards and listening pieces that connected to screens and told us information about our soldiers. It was very captivating at the start but after a while it became a bit dull. I learnt that my soldier died from an ear infection. After we went back to our campsite and hung out with everyone. Then we went to bed.
Day 5 of our journey to Albany was entertaining. It was our last day in Rose Garden Caravan Park. Today we woke up and drove to a local market in Albany. The market was very nice and had some cute stalls. After some looking around, we split up. One group went back to camp and the other went to the Gap. The Gap is these two rocks in the ocean that form a giant Gap. It was a very beautiful site. After we went back to the campsite and played a competition of ping pong. Everyone participated in the competition. It was very fun. After the competition, we celebrated some birthdays and went to bed.
Day 6 of our journey in Albany was another road trip. Today we woke up early, packed up everything in Rose Garden Caravan Park and made our way to Fonty’s Pool. It was a two-and-a-half-hour drive. When we got to Fonty’s pool we set up our tents and put our swimmers on. The campsite was very pretty and the pool was so cool. It had a diving block and pool tubes. We were all in the pool for hours until it was dinner. After we ate some dinner, played on the park and went to bed.
Day 7 of our journey in Fontys pool was hot! Today was so hot, so hot to the point we had to cancel our activity. Instead, we went into a local town called Pemberton. We only stayed there for an hour because it got way too hot, and everyone wanted to go back to camp and swim in the pool. When we got back everyone put their swimmers on and swam. It was very fun. We were all playing in the pool tubes. After a while, we had dinner and played keepy-uppy with some of the kids who were also staying at Fonty’s pool. After a while, everyone got tired and went to bed.
Day 8 of our journey in Fontys pool was interesting. Today we went to the electricity museum in Manjimup. The museum was very big and exciting. We learnt all about the history of electricity in Western Australia. After we went back to our campsite and swam in the pool for the last time because today was our last day of camp. After swimming we had some dinner played with the other kids at Fontys Pool and went to sleep.
Day 9 of our journey in Fontys pool was exciting. Today was the day we had to go home so we packed everything up and hopped on the buses to head home. Everyone was very tired and missing their family so today everyone was getting excited to hop on the bus. The drive back was three hours. It felt like a very short drive. When we got back, we had to unload all the buses and pack away everything before we went home. After we cleaned everything, we all went home.
Isla Bennett
Karda Advisory