KALGOORLIE CAMP

On Monday 27^th October, we had to get up bright and early to arrive at the East Perth train station by 6:30am to board the Prospector to leave at 7:00am. At 11:00am, we stopped at Merredin train station for 20 minutes to stretch our legs and get some much needed fresh air. After a few hours of watching movies, TV shows, and listening to music and laughter, we arrived in golden Kalgoorlie at approximately 2:00pm. We got our luggage on the buses which took us to Goldfields Camp School, where we learnt the rules of the week and headed to our dormitories; C.Y. O’Connor and Paddy Hannan for the girls, Bayley and Ford as well as Flanagan and Shea for the boys. Once we were settled in, we headed up to the Super Pit lookout where we got a breathtaking view of the largest open-cut mine in Australia. From approximately 600 metres above the base of the pit, we could only gasp at the enormity of its size. At the lookout, the huge Haul Packs (approximately 18 metres high) looked like tiny children’s toys. We then returned back to camp for a delicious dinner of shepherd’s pie and sticky date pudding, before watching Frozen, speciality of Ms Roberts. This was only day one.

Day 2:

5:30-6:00am – Wake Up and Shower (cranky teachers!)

6:00-7:30am – Free Time (Mr Petch’s atrocious hairdo!)

7:30-8:00am – Bush Breakfast (oh no, not Mr Petch cooking! -Jaffles)

8:00-9:00am – Get ready for the day and clean dorms (had to get a whole team to clean Mr Sherlock’s dorm)

9:00-4:00pm – Activities for the day (Quartz crushing/gold panning, Coolgardie tour [Jack Carins’ Humpy, Pioneer Cemetery and Warden Finnerty’s House])

4:00-5:30pm – Free Time (noisy basketballs)

5:30-6:15pm – Dinner (that one time of the day when we were well-behaved and orderly -Butter Chicken)

6:15-7:30pm – Showers and Free Time (Workout Session)

7:30-8:30pm – Night Time Activities (Quiz Night –Congratulations to Amos, Henry, Adam, Peng and Blake, Champion Team)

8:30-9:30pm – Preparing for Bed and Relaxing Free Time (Gambling Lollies)

9:30-9:45pm – Lights Out (dorm lights anyway)

9:45-10:00pm – Sleeping (at least when the teachers came in)

Day 3:

5:30-6:00am – Wake Up and Shower (cranky teachers!)

6:00-7:30am – Free Time (Mr Petch’s barbaric hairdo!)

7:30-8:00am –Breakfast (Snags, Cereal, Egg, Toast, Yoghurt, Fruit, Cheese & Bacon Party Pies)

8:00-9:00am – Get ready for the day and clean dorms (had to get a whole team to clean Mr Petch’s dorm)

9:00-4:00pm – Activities for the day (Loop Line Museum [Mr Sherlock, what’s a Pearl Jam?], Boulder Burt St Tour [Finishing at Boulder Town Hall], Hannan’s North Tourist Mine [Panning for Gold], KCGM Tour [sadly cancelled due to lightning… Petchy...!])

4:00-5:00pm – Super Pit Lookout (we rocked Mr Meachem’s bus! -literally)

5:00-5:45pm – Dinner (that one time of the day when we were well-behaved and orderly –Roast Beef, Gravy and Vegies)

5:45-6:30pm – Prepare for swimming (bathers, thongs, towels, etc.)

7:30-8:30pm – Night Time Activities (swimming at the Goldfield Oasis [not exactly swimming, but…])

8:30-9:30pm – Preparing for Bed and Relaxing Free Time (showers and Spooky Story Night [don’t scream tonight Mr Petch!)

9:30-9:45pm – Lights Out (dorm lights anyway)

9:45-10:00pm – Sleeping (when Mr Petch finally stops screaming…)

Day 4

5:30-6:00am – Wake Up and Shower (teachers learnt to have their coffee before we woke up)

6:00-7:30am – Free Time (Mr Petch decided to “fix” his hairdo before he came out)

7:30-8:00am – Breakfast (Bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast, cereal, fruit, yoghurt)

8:00-9:00am – Get ready for the day and clean dorms (the teachers’ dorms were FINALLY tidy… sort of…)

9:00-4:00pm – Activities for the day (Kalgoorlie tour [Hannan St to the Kalgoorlie town hall], West Aus. Museum [Mr Sherlock, what’s a Metallica?], RFDS, Bureau of Meteorology, shopping for snacks for the train ride back)

4:00-5:30pm – Free Time (parkour session)

5:30-6:15pm – Dinner (that one time of the day when we were well-behaved and orderly – Chicken Parmigiana)

6:15-7:30pm – Showers and Free Time (scaring Mr Sherlock with fake snakes and spooky stories)

7:30-8:30pm – Night Time Activities (Game Night – foosball, air hockey, Uno, spooky stories, table tennis, spoons, basketball)

8:30-9:30pm – Preparing for Bed and Relaxing Free Time (Spooky Story Night)

9:30-9:45pm – Lights Out (on time for once)

9:45-10:00pm – Sleeping (once Mr Sherlock stopped squealing like a girl – I’m sorry, young lady)

After we’d woken up and had a shower, we started packing ready for our lasting journey back home to Perth. We had a succulent breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, baked beans, cereal, fruit and yoghurt, before heading to Kalgoorlie’s infamous Two-Up ring, where we got to bet fake money on the outcome of the coins. We all started with $50, except for Mr Sherlock, who somehow managed to acquire thousands after the first match. In the end, there had to be only one winner. That winner was destined to be Tyler, who defeated Mr Petch in an epic battle of the pennies. Mr Petch was very upset about that, as we had to try to cheer him up on the bus ride to Hammond Park for lunch. After lunch we returned to the camp school to grab our luggage before heading to the train station. Soon after, we once again boarded the Prospector on our way back to Perth. We waved goodbye to glorious Kalgoorlie, and after a lengthy train journey of watching movies, TV shows, and listening to music. We arrived back home at approximately 9:50pm, where we said goodbye to our friends and headed home. Camp was too short.

                                                                                                                           - Adam and Blake