Welcome to the Wambana Curriculum!

WELCOME TO MY WAMBANA BLOG!

Welcome family, teachers and friends. On my page you can enjoy many photos and summaries of our enjoyable activities, by clicking on the links below. This four week program, of living in our own houses with friends has taught us many things that we are unable to learn at school. Such as being independent, cooking, recycling, practical enviromental study and of cause the fitness like riding, running and swimming.


My Wardli Members-


Simon, Christian, Sam, Hugh, Alex and James.

Myself high up on the West Cape Beach-

Our Wardli-

The Kitchen-

Cycle Tour

The Cycle Tour was a three day expedition all around the Yorke Peninsula. It was a very enjoyable yet tiring trip. We travelled through many sites including Innes National Park, a large Wind Farm and many main towns. Overall the expedition added up to 130 kilometre with Day 1 having to ride two 20 kilometre rides, Day 2, 46 kilometres and Day 3, 44 kilometres.

Day 1- 1st of February

Everyone was eager to jump on the bikes and head off, but first we had to check the bikes in case anything was faulty from the Christmas holidays. We put our helmets on and started riding down the path, ready for a big day ahead. Day one wasn't to tiring, since everyone had a early night in our dirty tents and we were only warming up for the rest of the expedition. We headed up through the streets and onto a very bumpy and uncomfortable dirt road. Minutes later we reach the old Warooka town school, where Hugh Murdoch's grandfather once went to. The school was very small and rundown, with rusty corrugated iron roofs and trashed rooms with old cars parts surrounding us. We grabbed a couple of old toys and attached them to the front of the bus for a bit of decoration. Moff who was driving the bus behind us, showed all of us his old Holden that was in the small shed at the front. Amazingly it was in quite good condition, although it was extremely dirty on the outside. We had a few snacks and then headed off on our trip down the dirt road. Duthy and I hung back for the rest of the trip to help the riders who were having a bit of trouble. On the way back to the camp site, we came across a herd of sheep that were being move to a new paddock by a couple of sheep dogs. That was very exciting although we then had to ride through all the poo they left behind. We finally arrived back at Wambana to have lunch. The trip through West Cowie was very hot but fortunately the strong breeze kept the flies of our face. But the day wasn't over yet, we then had to hop on our bikes and set off up the road to Warooka. The second ride seemed a lot longer, since most of it was uphill. We travelled all the way up large hills until we finally arrived at the Warooka town to drop of our detailed letters. The great thing about going up hill to the Warooka town was that the whole way back was down hill. Everyone sat back and relaxed as we strolled through the rest of the ride coming down large hills with fierce tail wind. After our first day of the riding expedition everyone was bothered and ready for bed, well... the tents.

Day 2- 2nd of February

The long bus trip to Innes National Park gave us some time for an extra sleep as we had to get up bright and early for the long ride ahead. After my long but uncomfortable sleep in the bus we pulled the bikes out of the trailers and continued on our expedition through the Innes National Park. The parks landscape was fantastic, with 360 degree views of the National park and the wonderful coasts surrounding it. We headed along the burning bitumen road admiring the salt lakes and sand dunes that we past. After our early start to the trip we stopped off at West Cape light house for lunch. Lunch was a bit of a failure as my wrap never seemed to stay together. We refilled our water bottles to keep hydrated and head back down the hilly path. This time everyone was pushing themselves to the next stop eager to arrived at Dolphin Beach and swim in the clear, cool water. After our hard work the mission was accomplished. Having to ride through the burning sun on a sandy corrugated road with terrible hills and soft tracks, to the fresh swim at dolphin beach was definitely worth it. Even better we were able to swim with a friendly seal that didn't seem to mind us. He later became sick of us and headed off down the beach. All of us changed back into our cycling clothes and continued our ride through the National Park. We stopped off to the side of the road, had some Scroggin and got ready for Paul 2,8 Challenge. The challenge required us to complete the rest of the ride staying on the gears two and eight without having to stop. Paul was amazed to find out that nearly half of us completed the challenge. Paul later had to reward us with a cool Pepsi. The day ended slowly with the long bus trip back.

Day 3- 3rd of February

Our last Day seemed to be the most relaxed ride since everyone became used to long riding expeditions. Yet again we were dropped off by the buses at Sturt Bay and we were ready for the long ride. Today we brought Jack along, Dales 5 year old son. He rode on a one-wheeled bike that connected to Dale's seat post. Everyone had turns towing Jack along, including myself. While we worked our hardest pulling Jack's weight along, he enjoyed sitting back and pulling off a few unusual tricks. On the way to our lunch stop, a few of us noticed a large 6 foot brown snake slither across the track. Luckily the snake didn't take any notice of us standing beside it. We finished our lunch and yet again set off on our bikes towards the large wind farm. The wind turbines were absolutely huge, towering over us making us feel like tiny ants. I never realised how large they were because I had only seen them before far in the distance. We continued down the dirt road, finally reaching Edithburg. We changed into some boardies and ran down to the water ready for a fresh swim. The riding expedition was finally over!!! Everyone moved into their Wardlis ready for a good night sleep.

Instructional Entry

How to cook a Stir Fry-

Ingredients-

-Chicken
-Onion
-Olive Oil
-Rice
-Capsicum
-Soy Sauce
-Coconut Milk
-Boc Choy

Method-

Step 1-
Place the required amount of rice into the Rice Cooker once the 'cook' light turns on.
(1/2 cup serves 1 person.) 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of rice should be sufficient.
Step2-
While the rice is cooking chop up the vegetables and chicken into approximately 50 cent peice size.
Step3-

Pour a thin layer of Olive Oil into the frying pan, heated at 180 degrees.

Step4-

Place the ingredients into the frying pan, with one can of coconut milk and stir thoroughly.

Step5-

After a few minutes add a small amount of soy sauce and continue to stir.

Step6-

Continue to mix and add soy sauce if you need until the chicken is golden brown.

Step7-

Place the rice onto a plate when the 'warm' light appears with the stir fry on top.

Step8-

Eat and Enjoy!

Novel

Point Blanc
Anthony Horowitz
Date of Publication: 2001


TEXTUAL CONVENTIONS-
Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz is a third person, fiction novel written in past tense.

LITERAL COMPREHENSION-
The novel is about a teenage, under cover secret agent named Alex Rider. Alex is sent to an expensive school for rich kids in the French Alps, to find out the mysterious coincidence happening there. He is sent there disguised as Alex Friend, the son of a billionaire. Alex later finds out that the evil Dr Grief is cloning them to take over the world.
The main characters of this exciting novel are Alex rider, Dr Grief, The Friend Family, MI6 Crew, Mrs Stellenbosch, James Sprintz and the other students. It is first set in his home town in England but the scene later moves to the French Alps where the College is. The novel is set in present times around the early 21st century. The main issue is obviously Dr Griefs cloning but Alex soon finds a way to destroy the clones and save the world from Dr Grief's harsh plan.

CONTEXT-
Anthony Horowitz wrote the series of Alex Rider because he was always interested in the MI6 and action. He quotes that when he was a teenager and always wanted to work for the secret service. Anthony Horowitz was inspired by the the first successful clone, Dolly the sheep. Horowitz read about it in a newspaper one day, and this inspired the book Point Blanc.

INTERPRETATION-
What was Dr Grief's childhood/life in South Africa like?
What happened to Alex Rider at the end of the novel?
What happened to Alex Rider's Family?
How many more novels in the series are you going to publish?

SYNTHESIS-
The story is not based on any real events. Although most things in the scenes are possible in real life. Such as where its set, the MI5 service and also what its about could be possible. Alex Rider and all the other characters are only fictional.

EVALUATION-
The story made me feel excited and curious about what would happen next.
At the end of the novel I felt amazed to see how everything fitted together, but I became a bit lost at the end as it seemed quite hard to understand.
Since Alex Rider was a teenager I could relate to how he felt in situations and enjoyment for engaging in something out of his comfort zone.
This novel had many hidden messages behind the story line. I learnt how teenagers are troubled in life because of peers or family issues. For example James Sprintz was a very troubled kid. This was mainly because his father was a very wealthy man and never had time to engage with his son. This made James feel not important so he became rude and bad behaved mainly to attract his fathers attention.
At first when i read the novel I found James very disruptive, rude and aggressive. But as the story progressed I realised that James really was a caring friend that was just a bit frustrated about a few issues.
The snowboarding scene down the hill to find help, stood out greatly in the novel. It was intense and made you unsure how Alex would end up. Especially at the end of the snowboard scene where he escapes Dr Griefs guards but is hit by a train and is later found by MI5 unconscious. Mrs Stellenbosch finds out that he is at the hospital so she goes to get him. The nurse tells her that unfortunately Alex died from the injury over night. At that point I thought the novel was over and felt so confused about how sudden it ended. But in the next chapter Alex wasn't dead. The nurse was a MI5 agent and told Mrs Stellenbosch that he was dead for his safety. Mrs Stellenbosch was then arrested when she left the hospital.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and I would recommend it to any teenager who enjoys action and excitement. The novel showed many different themes, such as bullying and peer pressure as well as high levels of action and violence.

CREATIVE-
This novel Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz would be a fabulous story line for a movie. It is exciting, engaging and has many intense scene that would make this movie a blockbuster. The first novel of this series has already become a movie. People found the movie Stormbreaker very action packed and it was popular within a large variety of ages. Already having the first novel Stormbreaker turned into a movie, this will give Point Blanc the extra popularity to boost it high in the ratings. Although I would advise one scene to be removed from the plot. There is no need for the very first scene where the lives of two billionaires are taken. Instead it can go straight to the scene with Alex Rider. With out the first scene, the movie will be less confusing and it can always be explained easily, later in the novel.

The author aimed this exciting novel at young readers. Anthony Horowitz used themes such as bullying, peer pressure, social issues and of cause action to engage the readers. The novel mainly focuses at teenagers who experience these themes everyday. The main character Alex Rider is a normal high school student that also experiences these themes. Having the main character the same age as the reader gives the reader a stronger knowledge of what the character goes through. Many teenagers enjoy the thrill of adrenalin, so Anthony Horowitz packed the novel full with stunts and violence that Alex fights through.

Poetry

On Sunday afternoon our English teacher Mr Brougham took us out to the beach to right a Free Verse poem about the coast and ocean.

The land becomes smaller and each day grows more obstacles.

Yet the ocean stays still, free from man's destruction.

The growth of life slowly disintegrates.

Although deep down in the depths of the ocean life continues undiscovered.

The sea's death becomes washed up on the shore giving land what he does best.

Man's waste and tracks cover the sea's perimetre.

Yet one powerful mood and the ocean has swept it clean.

The strong thundery winds of power are over thrown by the settleness of the seas surface.

Her life is simple and delivers life for all kind.

But his destruction keeps growing, wanting more power.

Without her, young can not be born.

Battles begin, taking lives,

And man still starves for control.

Living in a Wardli

Highs-

-Sharing the house with friends.
-The humorous conversations.
-The feeling of making your own meals.
-The choice of what food you want. (not including junk food.)
-The enjoyable nights, without homework.

Challengers-

-Cleaning the whole house everyday.
-Getting up really early.
-Cooperating to complete a task.
-Making a meal that you have never made.
-Avoiding laziness.

Expectations of others in your Wardli-

-Cleaning up after themselves.
-Thinking about others before themselves.
-Using their initiative.
-Being cooperative
-Doing there fair share.

What do you expect of yourself-

-Not lying around while others are cleaning up.
-Using my initiative.
-Respect my Wardli members.
-Not leaving things lying around.
-Being Supportive

Session 1-

My strength in our Wardli would be cleaning up after myself although i seem to leave it for later instead of just finishing it while I'm there. If a Wardli member told me to clean or help with something i would definitely do it. But i need to improve on cleaning up something without anyone advising me first. I help most nights with the cooking, although i seem to forget to clean up after. I always ask someone if they need anything before myself. I use my manners and respect other members in the Wardli, although at times i muck around and be a clown in important times of the day.

One of our large problems we first had in the Wardli was everyone doing their fair amount of work. A few people were slacking off and sitting around while others were cleaning their own room as well as the lazy member's room. This caused many other problems, people started to say they had done everything and then they would slack off too. It was just getting too confusing that no one was doing anything and the Wardli was becoming very messy. All the Wardlis seem to be having the same problem as well. So Dale suggested that each Wardli should have their own roster. We all thought that it wouldn't work and everyone would just forget about it, but we were wrong. Everyone did their fair amount which was written on the roster and we all got the jobs done with a some time to spare.

Another problem we had was finishing dinner and cleaning up before we were due in the classroom. It would take us ages to make dinner, especially when we weren't too sure and had to wait till the nanny's came. Once dinner was finally made we all went straight to the table and ate. By the time we were finished it was already time to be in the class room and we hadn't even started cleaning. We would complete a few chores but there were always a couple we missed making us lose points and nearly getting sent out to 'Hotel Hilton'. But we soon learnt out how to manage our time by cleaning before eating and obviously we became more independent with our cooking and didn't always rely on the nannies.

The last major problem we had in our Wardli was stress and arguments. People became so paranoid about others not cleaning that arguments would occur and yet again the amount of cleaning would become lower. Others would then become stressed that not enough cleaning was completed making the household very stressed and unhappy. Our Wardli meeting that everyone had was very helpful and gave us a chance to express what we believe would help people from getting annoyed at each other. Making sure everyone cleaned up after themselves help the stress lower.

This experience living in a Wardli have greatly impacted on my thoughts of my role at home. I never realised how much effort and time mum and dad spend cleaning up the house including my mess. I found it very difficult to cook one meal let alone mum and dad cooking dinner every night. I have realised how lazy i have been at home and when i arrive home ill will try to cook and clean as often as i can.

Session 2-

Initiative- A functional house mate needs strong initiative. Instead of walking past a mess and thinking that its not their problem, they will complete it with out any arguing or nagging someone else to finish it. With a house mate thinking like this, people will respect him more and try to use their initiative more often too.

Respect- Respect is also required to become a functional house mate. With respect towards other house mates, they will appreciate more of what you have to say. Having respect for others can keep the Wardli a friendly environment.

Effort- Effort is definitely an important behaviour. Putting effort into cleaning up the house or cooking will always improve the detail done to the work and also the job will be complete in less time.

Not Complaining- A functional house mate will never complain. Without complaining your are able to reduce the amounts of arguments. As well as finishing a tasks straight away and not have to think about it later. The other house mates with also enjoy your company more often and they will most likely stop nagging you as often.

Cooperative- With a cooperative house mate, jobs and tasks are able to be completed with no one being upset or negative about how the task was set. They will also reduce the stress and arguments in the household and keep everyone happy.

Our most functional house mate is very successful with keeping the Wardli happy because he is very supportive of others, listens to what everyone has to say and always helps someone if they are struggling with a chore. He'll always clean up his mess straight away and will tidy parts of the house that are not set for him to clean. He will always have a fair amount of food instead of being greedy and eating more then everyone else or taking all the sweets. Because of our house mate, our chores are completed in very little time, and everyone completes their tasks without any arguing.

My approach towards maintaining a successful Wardli, is cleaning up after myself and using initiative. As well as having a relaxed and fun time to reduce the stress and arguments. Making sure that we are keeping to the roster will also prevent fights. If the roster was not properly used, people would start arguing about what they have done and what the others haven't.

Fitness Program

Part of the Wambana fitness curriculum is too wake up early every morning and run 3.4 or 5.5 kilometres. However some days we are set small fitness activity or larger runs such as the 9.2 kilometre or the horrendous 11 kilometre beach run.

Thursday 4th February-

3.4 kilometre run.
14:49 Minutes
The 3.4 kilometre run, begins at the Wambana Shed continues down the esplanade all the way to the road crossing and then back. The track is very difficult as there are many hills and tracks to run through. Thursday's was very tiring, since everyone was exhausted from the cycle expedition. My legs were stiff and i found it hard to keep a constant pace. I managed to keep next to Michael Zhao the whole way. The finish was such a relief, after the agonising first long run of the camp. But we weren't over yet, Dale forced us to complete 100 push ups and 100 sit ups just as we finished hydrating. We finally finished everything, put our mats back and ran off to our Wardlis for brekky. Something that I would improve for next time, would be getting a fastest start.


Friday 5th February-

5.5 kilometre run.
Injured.
Since we were not yet use to the large runs in the morning, everyone was yet again aching. Even worse was that Friday's run was a 5.5 kilometre. Hugh, Lachy, Michael and I ran together at a steady pace all the way to the Jetty up the road. On the way back however, a painful stitch occurred. I struggled to run, so i had walk back about 1km from the end. The stitch was horrible and even occurred when i was walking. Michael hung back with me to give me some company. When we arrived at the shed, Dale gave me a few tips on how to avoid getting stitches. Such as keeping a constant breathing pattern.

Saturday 6th February-

Fitness training-
Soccer/mini games.
After our large runs, Dale gave us a break and let us play a small match off soccer with a few rule changes. Such as making everyone have to cross the halfway mark depending on what side the ball is to keep everyone moving.

Sunday 7th February-

3.4 kilometre run.
14:29 Minutes
Today's run i worked myself a lot harder trying to keep a steady lead at the start hoping it would lower my time. No one was beside me so i had to try and focus on something else. I tried to stay relaxed and look at the view of the sea. Dale's tip worked and keeping that constant breathing pattern helped myself also run a lot faster. Thankfully having yesterday free from long runs, i gained a lot of energy over the night helping myself proceed further. This run seemed far more easier than the others but it still needed a strong effort to complete. My goal for the next 3.4 km run is to lower my time under 14 minutes.

Monday 8th February-

5.5 kilometre run.
23:35 Minutes
Before we even started i could feel the stitch ready to pull me back. But by listening to Dale's tip yet again, the stitch never came. It also helped me push through to the end because i was too focused on the stitch coming that i didn't notice how tired i was. My time obviously improve seeing as i did not stop from a stitch. What i would like to improve for next time would be, being able to work at a faster pace up the hill after the jetty.

Tuesday 9th February-

Fitness training-
Soccer/mini games
Once again we had a break from the run and enjoyed another match of soccer. We first began with touch Gaelic Football but because no one was putting any effort into the game we had to switch back over to soccer. I enjoyed the soccer game very much until i scored a goal and pulled my back out. I was very annoyed about it but hopefully after a few days rest it should be ready for the long runs along the beach.

Thursday 10th February-

9.2 kilometre run.
54:10 minutes
After Wednesday's fitness break, everyone was ready for the agonising 9.2. A few people decided to take another run that was a little shorter, starting at the shed along the beach to Flaherty Beach and then back. For the others, including myself we headed along Savio Rd to complete the 9.2 kilometre. For the first 6 kilometres, Dale told us to stay as a group until we reach the beach. In a way this made it more enjoyable as we did not need to push ourselves to our maximum pace. We finally reach the beach with everyone together as a group. Myself and a few others continued along the beach towards the camp site while a few walked and took it easy. We later passed the shorter run group, and then headed off down the dirt path. This was the most difficult part. The sand was soft from the rain and the track was very hilly. I found it hard but i soon made it back to the shed.

Friday 12th February-

Fitness training-
Mini games-

After our excruciating 9.2 kilometre run, we enjoyed a break with a few fitness games with Bairdy. First off to warm up, we ran around the oval a couple of times in Indian File while the back person ran to the front and than the person behind him followed, with all of us continuing to the front until the original person was at the back. After a few laps of warming up, we got stuck into the mini games. First game was called crust and crumbs, where you stand on the middle line and when your group name is called you have to run passed another line a few metres behind without getting caught by your opponent. If you do you have to sit out until everyone has be caught. Our next game was called Chain Dodgeball. One wardli stands behind one another holding each others shoulders in a rectangular perimeter. While the other wardlis stand out side of the rectangle and try to hit the person on the back of the chain. Once everyone is hit your time stops. The wardli with the longest time wins. Everyone one enjoyed this game very much, so we continued to play it for a majority of the time. Our last game that finished very shortly after we started because of all the time playing Dodgeball was called Keep it Off. This was a very simple but fun game. There were two teams, and which ever team past it ten times got 1 point, unless they dropped the ball or it was intercepted. Then the other team would begin to try and score 1 point or more. It ended up being very one sided since one team just continued to run with the ball and pass it when no opponents were near them. Fitness time suddenly ended and we headed back to our wardlis.

Saturday 13th February-

3.4 kilometre run.

14.12 minutes

Yet again we got up at 6:30 ready for the 3.4 kilometre run. I felt very use to the long runs in the morning, that i didn't feel like i couldn't be bothered. After the 9.2 kilometre run, this run seemed to finish so quickly. I believe my time was slower because i was not focusing on keeping a constant breathing pattern. I never realised how much energy you could conserve by running with a good breathing technique. I finally arrived back at the shed and helped encourage those who were still running.

Sunday 14th February-

5.5 kilometre run.

22:40

Today's run, i felt i could work a little harder. For the first half Duthy, Michael and I stuck together all the way to the jetty, trying to keep a strong head start. The first half is always hard work since you are still not fully ready for the painful run. On the way back I found a steady rhythm and headed of down the road gaining distance. By the end of the run i felt really good about myself because i pushed my hardest to beat my old time.

Monday 15th February-

Power fitness training-

Because of my unfortunate back injury i was incapable of sprinting in soft sand. Instead James who was also injured and I tried to complete 200 sit ups and 200 push ups. We both succeeded so while we waited we tried a few of our own work outs.

Thursday 18th February-

Bush run-

5.45 Moff made us get up at! It was still dark and everyone was half asleep. We dragged our bodies into the bus and set off down the road for our 7-9 kilometre bush run. By the time we reached our destination the suns light was starting to brighten the sky. Moff drove off a head down the bumpy dirt track to wait for us near the end. We later followed down the path in the freezing breeze. Steery, Duthy and I, raced off ahead trying to track down where Moff was waiting. Only ten minutes later, we noticed the bus a couple hundred metres down the road. Moff was unsure which track to turn down. He finally made up his mind and went right down the wider stretch. Mr Steer and I raced down the track hoping we took the right root. Around a sharp corner we ran straight into Moff looking very confused at his map. He had absolutely no idea where we were. We picked up all the students and followed the path we came from. We made it back to the start and suddenly Moff noticed another path 5 metres down the road. He seemed very embarrassed that he missed the track but we all laughed and headed back to Wambana for an early breakfast.

Friday 19th February-

Fitness Training-

Mini Games-

Yet again Mr Baird took as for sport. First off was a game where we had to carry our Wardli members to the line with out dropping them. First Wardli group to get everyone over one. Even though this game was quite simple, i enjoyed it. Next game was Keep it Off. This time though we played it so that you could only step once. This new rule made the game a lot faster, got everyone more involved and made the scoring a lot closer. After our close and intense match of Keep It Off, we tried a new game. There were two teams standing on each base line, and in the middle were 6 balls. Two basketballs, Two net balls and two soccer balls. The aim of the game was to get the ball past the opposite base line. Although with the basketballs you had to pass them, the net balls you had to tap them along the ground while with the soccer balls you had to kick them. Many people found this a bit confusing but we soon got the hang of it. Just to finish the day off with a bit of fun we played British Bulldogs! But instead injuring each other by tackling we played by lifting the runner off the ground for around three seconds. Everyone had a lot of fun so we insisted Bairdy to let us play it through Breakfast time.

Saturday 20th February-

5.5 Kilometre run

22.30

After a couple days without any major runs we were all eager to get back on the track and complete a 5.5 kilometre run. I tried to work my hardest today, seeing as I wasn't feeling as tired as usual. I began pushing myself up the hills instead of taking them easily. My legs didn't seem to hurt as much as usual so i began pushing even harder. On way back I tried keeping a constant speed which was a tad faster than what i used to run at. By the end of the run

I was glad it was over and glad I improved my time.

Sunday 21st February-

3.4 Kilometre run

13.40

After our first run for a while my legs were feeling a bit tired. But I tried to forget about it and focus on the run. I ran beside Michael for most of the way. We both worked our hardest all the way to the turn off and then on the way back still tried to keep a fast pace. By the end of the run I was absolutely stuffed. We finally finished our last long run before the dreadful 11 kilometre beach run.

Monday 22nd February-

Power Training / Surfing Pack

Today's fitness was mainly packing for Group 1's surfing trip. We moved everything out of shed so we could bring the trailer with the boards out ready for the big day ahead. After the surfing equipment was pack and ready we had a quite Power Training with Dale. First we went for a short jog up to the class room and back to warm up. After we were already for Power Training we grabbed a ball each. We began doing push ups with our toes sitting on the top of our ball. This made it a struggle to complete the push ups because it put a lot more weight on our arms and we also had to use our stomach muscle to keep our balance. After 50 push ups or so we moved onto some cone work. All we needed to do was weave within and out of the cones placed for 10 minutes. That ended very shortly and we headed back to our Wardlis for breakfast.

Tuesday 23rd February-

Fitness-

British Bulldogs-

Today was our last fitness before the 11 kilometre beach run. Instead of working our hardest to complete a 5.5, we took a break and enjoyed a game of British Bulldogs. The game started off very slowly with not one person getting it. But after a few rounds the amount of taggers started to build up. Time after time we ran through weaving around the taggers to the other side. Finally it was only Michael, Andy and I left. Yet again we ran through hoping not to get caught. Unfortunately Michael was caught and it was only Andy and I to run through. We both struggled to get through, pushing past the taggers and trying to make it to the other side. The game was nearly over. Andy had been caught and it was me against the class. I ran as fast as I could jumping over the taggers, and forcing my way to the other side. I some how made it! Although I then had to run back. I was soon grabbed by one of the taggers. I worked my way to the other side with many people trying to hold me back. They all finally got a strong grip and lifted me out of the air. Hugh's shirt was ripped during the game but luckily it was only his work T-shirt. After the Brutal game we headed back to our Wardlis to get ready for surfing.

Wednesday 24th February-

11 Kilometre Beach Run!!!

56:30

We were all up at 6 stretching and getting ready for the humongous run ahead. I was unsure that I would finish the whole run because I cut the top of my toe off during surfing the day before. It was very bruised and swollen but I tried to forget about it and focus on the run. We gradually hopped on the bus and set off towards Hardwicke Bay where the start of the race was. Before we started we had a few minutes to stretch. Myself and a few others challenged Dale. Who ever had the slower time had to sleep outside. This made me very determined to beat Dale and it also made me run faster. The run started! We all head towards Wambana, which you could see in the distance. We were allowed to cut across the shallow water to gain some distance, but most of the people who tried, failed and were at the back of the pack. I tried a small short cut through the rocky ground but I didn't seem to gained or lose any distance, so I decided just to keep to the sand. For the first kilometre I ran beside Hugh. I could feel the pain from my toe every step. It soon became numb and I continued down the beach. Hugh sped up quite a few metres in front. I thought about staying behind while he ran ahead but I tried my hardest and caught back up to him and ran ahead. 5 kilometres into the run I could feel a strong stitch occurring in my stomach. I tried to push through it and gain as much distance before having to stop. I sat down so that the stitch would go away. I waited till Hugh caught back up and then I continued down the beach. Unfortunately Hugh had the same problem and also stopped when he reach me. Another four hundred metres down that beach the stitch started to come again. This time I took a longer break hoping it would go away. Once Daniel made it to me I sped back up in front. He too got the painful stitch and pulled out. The stitch was still there so I walked for 100 metres till my enemy Dale who was now second caught up. I ran as far ahead of him as I could to make sure I wouldn't lose my bet. The stitch had gone and I could see Wambana getting closer. Even though you could see it, for some reason it seemed that we weren't gaining any distance. This made the run fill terribly long and hard. We finally reach the dreaded 'Sand Track'. It was the last stretch of the run and it was hilly, bumpy and very very soft. My steps suddenly became very slow and short. Dale said earlier that this was his worst part of the run, so I hoped that he didn't catch up. I had many earges to stop running and walk but I tried not too after coming all this way. Suddenly through the bushes I saw the shed. Finally it was nearly over! I yelled out in relief that the agonising 11 kilometre beach run was finally over. I felt glad that I completed the run on under 1 hour. Out of no where Duffy came in second beating runners including Dale on the Sand Track. We stood at the shed and watch Dale with a smile on our faces as he came in annoyed that we won the bet. Duffy and I ran all the way back to the last runners to help them finish. The run was over and none of us had to think about it anymore.

Statistics & Climate Change

Snorkelling

We packed our bathers, put our hats and sunblock on, ready to set off for snorkelling. Today was fantastic! The weather was perfect, and there was not one fly or a strong breeze. Before we headed off into the water, Dale first explained to us how to use the snorkel and showed a a few useful techniques. We finally headed into the water at the Point Turton swimming centre. I was amazed to see how many fish we swim with everyday. There was a huge range of fish. Some were very unusual colours, while a few were very plain but massive. While Hugh and I snorkeled around we notice a family of baby squid. We dive down to get a closer look. But accidentally got to close and made them ink everywhere. I also enjoyed the very large school of small fish being chased by large salmon. Suddenly Simon noticed a shark caught in the fish net. Dale untangled it and went to place it on the rocks. But first he had to scare Charlie. Dale swam up from behind Charlie holding the Shark in front of him. He sure did scare Charlie, making him swim as fast as he could towards the shore. After our fascinating snorkel, Dale organised a small game where we had to put

our snorkel gear on without putting our head above the water. Unfortunately the mouth piece on my snorkel fell off and i was unable to complete it. We all headed in to the shore after everyone had a fair go. The water was quite chilly so no one really minded. I picked up the shark and lifted it back to our spot to have a closer look at it. It weighed tonnes, and smelt like seaweed. Blood and salt water was spilling out of the gills which made it reek even more. After i placed it down, i started to develop two small rashes on my arms where the shark was laying against. I believe it was caused by its skin. Angus opened the shark mouth to have a look inside, and accidentally cut his finger open on one of its tooth hidden inside the gums. We are still unsure what kind of shark it was, but we think it may have been a Bronze Whaler. After a few photos, we changed our clothes and headed off to the bus.

History Tour 1

Friday, 12th February-

Today we set of on our first history with Moff starting from the tree outside Wambana through Point Turton and towards the Innes National Park. First stop was just across the road, at the famous Norfolk Island Tree. These trees were used along many coasts in South Australia for large ship masts. They are also great survivors for droughts and cold Winter days. This is because of their very thin leaves that fill every gap in the tree, making every branch take as much sunlight as possible. We then moved along the coast towards the hidden mine next to the jetty. Everyone was clueless about the mine and had no idea where it was until Moff pointed to the caravan park. Behind was a large cliff made of solid limestone, where miners used to work. The port was built for large ships to carry huge amounts of limestone across the sea. After our discovery of the hidden mine we set off down the dirt road to the Innes National Park. Our third stop was at an old farm. The farm had old ruins of an old house and and animal barns. We walked down the rocky track being very cautious of snakes. Moff explained to us how the old harvest machines work and where all the parts were. We set off down the road until we reached the large scrub lands where Moff stop the bus. He describe the features of two trees that were along the side of the road. One was the Malee tree, which is able to with stand the dangerous Australian fires and heat. It is nearly impossible to be destroyed by large fire. This is because its large trunk is under the ground with its roots. It also uses the fire to burn its branches and plant the seedlings to begin growing new trees. The other tree Moff described was the She Oak. She Oaks are also very fire resistant. They can with stand up to three heavy fires before slowly disintegrating. They also use Australian ants to pollinate their seedlings. After a couple of kilometres Moff turned off into a dirt road. We were shown the large holes in the limestone ground. The holes are caused by Carbon Dioxide which is brought down through the rain slowly dissolving the layers if limestone. Many people say that the holes are all joined together metres down. Many strange objects have been found in the holes such as indigenous bones with bullet marks in them, as well as old tools and valuable jewelry. We finally made it to the national park! We hopped off the bus and walked along the gravel paths. Along the path we saw the old tracks from the train that brought Gypson across the area for building houses. Our next unusual story from Moff, was an aboriginal dream time story about the Warrior and the Bird. The cliffs showed the face of the bird and the giant warrior was the two islands in the lake. The view from the cliffs were absolutely amazing. You could see every island in the distance including Kangaroo Island. After our incredible hike along the coast, Moff raced us back to the bus through a maze of paths. Some people were very tactical and followed moff till they could see the bus and head off in front, while others got a large head start but soon got lost. In the end everyone made it back before Moff. We stopped off at a light house for lunch and then soon headed back off on our history tour. We drove for a while and finally ended up at an old village. There were many old houses there, including the famous Bell Chalk shed. We stopped at a lake which 'apparently' was filled with fresh water. Moff told us to all have a sip on the count of three, while he got his camera out. It was horrible!!! Filled with salt, we all spat it out with a sour look on our face. Moff laughed his head off while he took many photos. After Moff's horrible joke we then started thinking about throwing him in the water. But unfortunately that never happened. Our last stop before heading back to Warooka, was the ship wreck of Edith and Ferret. Moff told us a very interesting story about the ship wrecks before heading down to see them ourselves. 200 steps later from the large stairs we made in onto the beach. A large ship wreck rose from above the sand towering over all over us. It looked like a huge whale skeleton! But the trip wasn't yet over. Moff told us to follow him around the rocky headland. We jump from rock to rock trying to avoid the large waves crashing against the cliff behind. We finally made it to a small beach that was just around the other side. The sand was flat with not one foot step marked into the untouched sand. We explored the little beach, bending down through caves and climbing steadily up the large rocks. We suddenly spotted an old ruined car that had been driven off the edge of the cliff. We ran back around the headland before the tide got to far in, and hopped in the bus for the long trip back. Moff let us stop at the local store before heading back. He told us to wait in the bus to see if we were all able to go in. 5 minutes later we got sick of waiting, so we headed in. We swung the door open to find Moff sitting down drinking a hot coffee while reading the paper! All he wanted was to have a coffee in quietness, not check to see if we were able to come in. We finally returned back to Warooka for a nice relaxing break.

Hardwicke Bay Community Project

After our exciting morning of snorkelling we began work at the Hardwicke Bay Community Centre. But before we helped out with the gardening, we enjoyed a fresh lunch made by the Hardwicke Bay volunteers. We were then introduced to the feral plants and how they effect Australian plants and habitats. Many of those plants that were mentioned are found practically everywhere you walk. And half of the plants, i never realised were feral. We then began work, mainly moving large amounts of dirt to different spots to even it out. This was a tiring job but was soon over in a little amount of time. Hopefully by the end of the year, this Australian garden we were working on should be finished.

Community Service - Leisure Options

A volunteer to me is someone that helps out people who are in need with out expecting something in return. Volunteers should be people who enjoy what they do, not just do it to fill in time because they are retired. Many people believe people with disabilities need 24 hour supervision and believe they are incapable of nearly everything. However spending one day with them made me realise that they are all special in a different way and can still contribute to world. They also were very capable of looking after themselves, they were only lacking a few academic skills. I believe that volunteers can help disabled peoples futures and give them a chance of getting a job of their own. Overall i enjoyed the opportunity to get to know the disabled members and understand what they have to go through each day. Giving them a chance to go shopping made me realise how unsure they are of everyday life. Many of the disabled members had only been to a store a couple of times in their life. I would have enjoyed the experience a lot more if we spent more time with the members and went outside for a more engaging experience with them.

Community Service - Aleppo Pine Removal

The Aleppo pine is native to the Mediterranean region. It was planting in South Australia for recognition of the soldiers who battled in Gallipoli. Gallipoli was full of Aleppo pines, so that is why they chose the plant without even studying its features. Only recently we found out that the Aleppo pine is a great danger to the Australian bush. It soaks up the water from other plants and is no habitat to any Australian birds. Another problem with the Aleppo pine is that it can spread rapidly and take over smaller plants. Before when no one realised the danger of having Aleppo pines, they even started to plant them because many people believed the Australian bush was to dull and boring. With this happening throughout South Australia it made the Aleppo pines not just grow in one spot but several spots. The Southern Yorke Pininsula Land care Group are trying to remove this feral plant obviously by chopping them down. The only problem though is making sure you cut from the very bottom because and tiny branch could turn the stump back into a tree and yet again continue to spread. The reason for these people to volunteer is to help the Australian Bush and keep it healthy. Not only are plants being saved, Australian birds are definitely being help too by the removal of the waste less Aleppo Pines. Many people care about the environment but never take any action. However I thoroughly enjoyed removing the Aleppo pines. It was great fitness, and a lot of fun climbing to the top of the tree to help it full. Helping the removal to the plants also gave me a good feeling inside because i knew i was helping the environment in a small way.

History Tour 2

Today was our turn to go on the interesting and engaging history tour 2 with Moff. Our first destination was the small local museum of Warooka. It may have been a small house, but there were thousands of many interested facts and objects that were used back when Warooka was first established. Moff went from telling us his unusual stories about an albino murderer killing innocent people, to how the phone lines work. There were guns, swords, books, old gas masks and every ones favourite the old telephone! It sounds weird that everyone enjoyed fiddling with an old telephone. But not when you were able to give someone an electric shock with it. Someone would hold both of the wires while the other person would wined the telephone and press the button to zap them. It was very hilarious to see how the person reacted when they were zapped. We continued through the small museum listening to Moffs interesting stories. We reached the backyard where there were large farm machines and an old out house for prisoners. Moff as a joke locked Duthy and I inside to make us feel like the prisoners. No light could get in apart from the small hole in the door that was used to pass the prisoners food through. We reached the back shed where we were all aloud to explore the large, old machines. I learnt many strange ways people lived back then just by walking through the house. Such as what they wore, how they kept there food cold and stored. Even how tall they were by looking at the size of the doors.
After our vigorous look through the interesting museum, we left to me some people who were 'dying' to see us, according to Moff. We arrived in the middle of nowhere. No one could see a house where the people were waiting and everyone seemed very confused. Then it occurred to everyone that there was a cemetery a few metres down a path. We all looked at Moff as he walked down the path grinning about his lame joke. We were then able to meet the people who were waiting for us. They didn't seem to reply to us and seemed to all be hiding under a tombstone..... After our pointless talk to the dead people in their graves, we went around the cemetery reading the tombstones. Moff yet again told us a few stories, and mentioned the small grave the was about 2o metres away from the other and was perpendicular to the rest. Apparently you would become cursed if you walked near it. But knowing Charlie, he walked over to the grave. Moff then blamed Charlie for the rest of the day whenever something bad happened.
On the way to our next destination, we quickly stopped of at a large mulberry tree. The berries were amazing! We all scoffed down as many mulberries as we could before having to leave. The berries were very juicy and stained nearly everyone's clothes. We jumped back on the bus with mulberry stains on our hands and mouth making us look like vampires that just ate someone.
We continued down the road and noticed a large, dangerous bull in one of the paddocks. Duthy and I jumped of the bus to get a closer look. Moff sped off 300 metres or so down the road, yet again to tease. Unfortunately Duthy and I were both wearing bright red shirts. The bull noticed us and started to move quickly towards the fence. It was by far the largest and scariest bull we both had ever seen. In soon came to close that we had to run to the bus for safety.
We finally stopped of at an old farm where a lady was murdered by the albino that Moff was talking about. We saw Annie's grave and many unusual tools. It was quite creepy but interesting. We had a look through all the rooms, where they lived as well as the animal barns. There were many old carts that quite a few of us were interested in. After we had all had a detailed look at everything, Moff took us past the house where the albino lived and then we headed off back to Warooka.

Sea Kayaking

Today the weather was horrible. the only day of the camp that had rain. We set up the kayaks onto the trailer and set off to the jetty. The rain was starting to build up and storm clouds were moving towards us. We grabbed our gear and place the kayaks into the water. The instructors taught us how to get in and out of the kayaks without getting wet. Unfortunately after all the effort of getting the kayaks ready, the weather forecast showed a large thunder storm reaching Point Turton any second. It was to dangerous to head out on the expedition so we loaded the trailer and drove back to Wambana to go on with our blogs. We were all quite devastated that we were unable to sea kayak but at least we were safe from the powerful storm.

Surfing

15th Monday: Day 1-

We set off for our three day surfing expedition bright and early. We packed the night before so we were all organised. We arrived at our camp site at Gleesons Landing around lunch time. We set up our tents, took our gear out of the trailer and had a quick lunch before heading off to North Berry Bay hoping to fit in as much surfing as possible. All of us run out of the bus desperate to get in the water. The weather was fantastic! No flies, no wind and very hot. The only problem was, the waves looked like ripples in a lake. We met the three instructors named Mark, Longy and Shane. They gave us a quick briefing before and sprinted down to the water for a surf. We placed our boards down beside the rocks and ran along the beach for a quick warm up with Shane. We stretch our legs to make sure we wouldn't get and painful cramps. Longy then demonstrated how to paddle for a wave and stand up on the foam boards. We finally got into the water. At first it was freezing but the wet suits soon warm up the water. The waves were unfortunately very small but as the day moved on they slowly grew. Our first day everyone was quite rusty. But we were all improving and hopefully by the end of the camp all of us would be capable of standing.

Today was a full day of surfing at Baby Lizards. Hopefully the waves were a lot larger today. We all woke up out of our tents, packed our lunch and headed off down the road in our sandy wetsuits. We arrived at our destination nice and early. Yet again the weather was fantastic however the waves only seemed to have grown by a few millimeters. It was a long walk to the beach from the car park. By the time we had walked only 100 metres my arms were already killing from holding the board. Finally we arrived onto the beach. We placed our bags and lunch under the cliff and walked a couple hundred metres down where the waves were breaking better. The wetsuits gave me very painful rash but with a bit of Vaseline it stop the wetsuit rubbing against it. We quickly did a warm up exercise before heading straight into the water. It was a boiling day and the sun was burning our skin. However the water was clear and extremely refreshing. Many people were starting to catch quite a few waves. Duthy and I started to muck around and try a couple of hand stands on the boards. It was very fun and entertaining although large amounts of water seemed to go up your nose when you fell off. After everyone caught a few waves, Mark called us in to play a few games. First was a board rescue, which was an event in surf life saving. First we got in pairs and chose a person to swim and someone to board paddle. I chose to paddle while Duthy swam. The swimmers had to swim out to Dale and then call for help by raising one arm. When the board paddlers got the signal we had to run out with the boards and then paddle all the way out. Once we arrived at our partners, we then both had to paddle back in to the shore. Everyone enjoyed this game, so we played a couple more before heading back to the cliffs for lunch. We were all terribly hungry from the surfing. We were given an hour for lunch so when we finished a few of us went up in the dunes to explore. The dunes were high, very steep and great to do flips off. Our lunch seemed to be more tiring than the surfing. We all soon became bored so we all went off down the beach to finish the day with some more surfing. Over the lunch break the waves seemed to have become a lot larger. Suddenly out of nowhere a group of large dolphins came swimming over towards us. At first I thought they were sharks and I nearly had a heart attack but they soon started jumping out of the water and catching waves with us all the wave to the shore. They were very intelligent and acted like humans. They soon became bored of us and carried on down the beach. The day quickly ended. We packed up our gear and hiked all the way back up the cliffs to the bus ready for a large dinner.

The last day of the surf camp everyone seemed to have very sore arm and leg muscles. But that still didn't stop us. We quickly put on our soaking wetsuits that weren't properly rinsed out and got on the bus hoping to finish the camp with a great surf. We headed back down to North Berry, where we went on the first day. today the wind was very powerful, which made the waves quite choppy and not break very well. None of us really minded so we grabbed the boards and walked down the humongous stair case. Like always we did a quick warm up before heading straight into the water. Today's surf was quite short but we still had enough time to catch some great right-handers. Nearly everyone was catching blue waves not the small crumbly white wash. It showed how quickly we all improved and what everyone is capable of. We finished up near lunch time, since we had to get back to Wambana. We thanked the instructors for their advice and enthusiasm towards our surfing experience and then sat back down on on the bus for a long trip back to Point Turton.

Photography

Affirmations

1. Positive, great person to be around.
2. Is very nice to all, no matter who you are.
3. Great encouragement as well as athlete.
4. Very positive and funny.
5. Is always there helping and encouraging.
6. Great leader who supports anyone anytime they need it.
7. Very helpful and encouraging.
8. Great runner and great encourager. Generally a great bloke.
9. Great leadership, encouragement and nice stories of him and Davo.
10. Great athlete. Great leader. Hard worker.
    
11. Good work Henry, your cheerful approach is a pleasure to see.
12. Marathon man, great effort always willing to help.
13. I really wanted to beat you in the 11km Beach Run. Well done. A real talent!
14. Top effort in the runs - sore toe and all, and coming back to encourage.
15. Great encouragement especially on the runs.
16. Top of the class effort, wise and certainly has lots to contribute.
17. Great runner, good leader and nice guy - Well Done.
18. Runs at an amazing pace, always willing to lend a hand, responsible, smart.
19. Puts in 100% all of the time and knows how to lead.
20. Always puts in effort, great leader, great surfer.
21. Love the optimism, great, funny and encouraging guy.
22. Baz, your a living running legend.
23. Legend, great bloke, good to talk to, funny.
24. A bit absent minded but very friendly and great runner.
25. A total legend! very respectful.
26. Always a good mate to talk to and always giving it his 100%.
27. Awesome bloke, good to talk to.