2020 Annual Review

When summer kicked in early, I adapted my routine, often setting off hours before the sun had risen and walking by the light of the moon so that it was cooler. And these are some of my most precious memories of the trip so far. The stillness and peace of walking through the sand dunes at night knowing that there is no one else out there for hundreds of kilometres is something I’ll never forget. Girls, you have spent the past six years being taught by one of the best learning institutions in Australia. You may hate me saying this as you’ve only just finished exams, but now is not the time to stop learning. You are about to find an even greater teacher, life and the world around you. So take it slow like a camel and enjoy the journey not just the destination, make your footprint on the planet light like that of a camel pad, let your sense of adventure roam and explore nature and the space and light that our country offers, ruminate on the things that life teaches you and learn from your mistakes, know that there will be highs and lows in life like the never ending sand dunes in the desert and above all things tap into that resilience of spirit that will allow you to cross the harshest of deserts and find the oasis, or if we’re being Australian the billabong on the other side. Know now what I discovered when my camels bolted on me; because you are Grammar girls the strength and resourcefulness exists within you to overcome all challenges. You have been given the best possible preparation by this School to adapt to a changing and sometimes tumultuous world. You are courageous and empowered young women that are capable of reaching heights that you may not have yet dreamt. As I was loading my camels onto the truck for the six-day drive across the country to the coast of WA to begin my journey, I felt overwhelmed by what I had set out to do. ‘What if I can’t do it?’ ‘What if I didn’t make it?’ My boss at Uluru who had taught me so much turned to me and said one simple thing ‘You’ve already done it.’ At the time, I could not quite understand what he meant. I hadn’t even started the trip. But I realised that he was right, in the years of preparation my determination and spirit of adventure had already crossed the desert. And those words he said gave me the confidence to physically begin. And so I say this to you girls right now, to have come this far means that you already have the strength and resilience within you, ‘You’ve already done it.’

I was distraught. It was the most terrifying experience of my life. Once I had caught the rope, I tied Jude to a bush and inspected the other camels for possible injuries. I then remembered something that I had read in a wilderness survival book; when you’re lost the first thing you should do is boil the billy. So I sat down sobbing and had a cup of tea. When life throws you a curb ball just pause and breathe. No good decisions are ever made from a place of fear and panic. Once I had boiled the billy several times, I knew I had to keep going. Crying in a heap in the middle of the Australian bush was not going to achieve anything. I still needed to collect the gear that had fallen off, find my phone, make sure I had not lost any water, walk some more, find a camp and feed my camels. So I knew I would have to summon up enough strength to pick myself up and keep moving. This was one of the many experiences during my journey that would teach me perseverance and resilience. We are much stronger and more capable than we often give ourselves credit for. The worst times in our life are often the best teachers and in COVID-19 seemed a million miles away from me, I was experiencing what most of the population was going through. Not only was I social distancing to the extreme but I was learning that things do not always go according to plan, and adaptability is key. I realised I was pushing both me and the camels to get across Australia before the heat of summer kicked in, so I decided to split my trip into two years—walking from Shark Bay to Coober Pedy this year and finishing the journey from Coober Pedy to Byron Bay next year. I realise that there were factors to this trip that were beyond my control. I realised I could not control whether the country was in drought and if my camels had enough to eat, nor could I control the swarms of flies, dust storms, the rain or heat. Sometimes the only thing you can change is your perspective. So always search for the good in a situation. For me, because most of the country was in drought it meant that I needed to slow down so that I had enough time to feed my camels and enjoy the journey, not just the destination. Even though it rained and everything got muddy and wet it meant that I got to see the desert come to life with hundreds of wild flowers and flocks of budgerigars flying overhead. the end will often make the best stories. Although alone in the desert the effects of

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Brisbane Girls Grammar School Annual Review 2020