1984 School Magazine

YEAR 9 CAMP REPORT or HOW I SURVIVED YEAR 9 CAMP O.K., now l'll answer that question that's been on everyone's lips - what was Year Nine camp Iike? Don't let the title scare you, "ll those Grade Eights who will have to go through the same things we did (mud, long grass, spiders, dirty water etc.) Oh, you'll have the thrill of your lifetime. lmagine this - being woken up at the unearthly time of 6.20 a.m. (unless the cold creeps through your 29 jumpers or that person in the next sleeping bag who snores wakes you up at six), to do your morning P.T. (Physical training, better known as Physical Torture) which consists of dragging yourself out of the tent to do f if teen m in utes of exercise solely concentrated on getting you exhausted , you r backside dirty and your sandshoes sopping wet. After this, it's time to drag yourself back to that scrap of canvas (also known as a tent) to get ready for the "enjoyable" (?.) day ahead. To start the usual day of a Year 9 on camp you wou Id grab the nearest bowl (Not the one with the cockroach in the bottom please) and hurry over to the dining area to grab some ricebu bbles and cornf Iakes (if lucky) or (if unlucky) some bacorr and eggs cooked by (wait for it) the people in tent No. 4. (That's right, the ones who didn't have a bath last night.) After trying to devour that last cornflake in the bottom of the bowl (but not quite managing) you'd struggle out to the meeting tree for the orders of the d.y. On Wed nesday we were lucky (debatable point) enough to be the people to walk up ro Harry's Hut, a 12 km walk (more like 100) through the beautiful Australian countryside where we encountered the joys of schklorshing through knee deep mud and swimming across near-freezing point streams. (All this was done with a 10 ton pack on you r back). Once we had hobbled into the campsite and had a slight rest, we (once again) experienced the thrill of settirrg up our tents. by the time we had finished umffi, €rr (how shall I put it?) rebuilding the campsite we found out that we would have to cook our own meals (Gasp! Shock! Horror at the thought !)

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Once we had polished off a meal that wouldn't have kept a f lea alive, let alone a starving Year NiD€, most of us were beckoned by the call of nature (literally, no toilets here) only to discover what Saint Laurence guys and torches have in common. Most of us were content to wait until morning. When Th u rsday morn ing f inally d id roll arou nd, the group I was in had th" pleasure of canoeing back. Again we met the Saint Lau rence boys, and we had the pleasure of watching them capsize,drown (no help was offered from us) and crash upon submerged trees. (Who? Saint Laurence boys bad Canoeists? Never!) Once we arrived in our "home" camp once again, most of us staggered into the showers or preferably bed. There you have it, an eye-witness account of the terrors and hishlights of our Year 9 Camp. Of course thanks must go to Miss McAdam and all of the other teachers who gave time to come to the camp, and thanks must also go to the seniors who missed a week of school for camp. (How the old must suffer!) Istillfeel deeply sorry for all those Year Eights going next year. What do you mean you'll be sick? I was only joking. . . Heidi Kitson Year 9 B

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