The Year 11 Outdoor Education cohort travelled to Rottnest Island to complete their Snorkelling camps. Students were responsible for reading the weather and selecting an appropriate site to snorkel at based on wind and swell. They were then in charge of navigating to the spot and then completed a briefing on their specific site. Briefing points included entry and exits points, average depth, route taken, hazards, conditions and flora and fauna. One evening, students put on a fishing clinic off the Thomson Bay Jetty. They partook in night games and reflection activities.
Camp 1 experienced ideal conditions – there was a mix of winds that allowed the students to visit snorkelling sites on all different island sides. The students powered through the 10km ride over to West End in warm conditions on day two, which showed a lot of determination. The highlight had to be the experience at Fish Hook Bay, where the group snorkelled some of the most beautiful water Rottnest had to offer.
Camp 2 saw strong winds early on; however, some clever forecasting skills from the student collaboration allowed for beautiful conditions at every site chosen. An extremely diligent and hungry group highlighted their camp by being the first Ellenbrook Secondary College group to snorkel at the famous Eagle Bay on the island’s distant West Side. Thanakorn Vavilai, among many others, was a standout with some of his brave acrobatics off of Eagle Rock, along with some sound Crayfish hunting skills.
Camp 3 rounded out the trips in style, with some huge improvements in the students’ snorkelling skills. Manni Torreshiba impressively caught a 40cm King George Whiting on night 1, which provided some of the group with the freshest fish you can get. The stand out in the water was Jayden Noonan, attacking countless swim-throughs with flawless technique.
Year 11 student Jasmine Bray :
“Our snorkelling Rottnest trip was incredible. We hired out bikes and rode around the island, soaking up all the pretty views. We visited six snorkel sites, including Fays Bay, Little Parakeet Bay, and The Basin, all of which we could explore the marine life in the ocean. We had a thrilling experience swimming amongst the fish and coral. We were super lucky to have had such a successful fishing experience with Manni catching us a King George Whiting to cook up and eat. On our last night at camp, we spent some time on Pinky’s Beach playing a spin-off game of What’s The Time, Mr Wolf. We all had to disguise ourselves and not get caught, which provided a lot of laughs. We had lots of laughs and some crying from me when the students opened up about the bonds made on this camp. I cannot express how thankful I am to Mr Hatch, Mr Ricketts and Mr Nugent for giving us this amazing opportunity. Without them, this camp wouldn’t have run as smoothly. Future students able to have the opportunity to come over to Rotto with the Outdoor Ed teachers will be super lucky to experience this camp”
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