Duke of Edinburgh Award – Central Australia Experience

17 intrepid adventurers from Year 10 and Year 11, accompanied by three teachers, flew to Central Australia to spend the week doing several walks that would qualify the girls for their silver or gold Duke of Edinburgh award.

We flew to Ayers Rock airport (yes, that is the name – it’s not Uluru Airport), met Damian and Elle, our guides for the week and drove to our first camp. A few of us were surprised at just how spartan our bush camp was; what we didn’t know was that we were starting at the most luxurious end of the three accommodation options!

We enjoyed the iconic Uluru sunset before heading back to camp for dinner and an early night, ready for the next day’s Uluru sunrise and base walk. This was followed the next day by the Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) Valley of the Winds walk, which was a little harder.

We then moved on to Watarrka (Kings Canyon), another step up in difficulty for some girls, but delighted that all the girls completed this walk.

Back to our new bush camp to light the fire so we could enjoy a hot shower (who knew an outside shower boiler to create hot water was called a donkey?!), before another great dinner and then retiring to the comfort of a screened enclosure and aircon… oh wait! Sorry, confused! We slept in our swags, staring at the stars while lying in the iconic red dirt of this area.

We moved on to our third and final bush camp in the West MacDonnell Ranges near Ormiston Gorge. From here we did our most challenging walk up Mt Sonder. We woke at 2.30am for a 3.30am start up the mountain to beat the flies and be at the top for sunrise. Thirteen very chuffed girls enjoyed 30 minutes rest and wrote in the summit book before making their way back down to drive to Ormiston Gorge for a well-deserved lazy day in and by the refreshing (bracing!) pools of water.

Let’s talk about the opportunities for cultural immersion, for witnessing Central Australia’s raw beauty, enjoying the satisfaction that comes with achieving something that’s difficult, getting to know different girls, learning some new meals to cook, as well as having a deeper understanding of self and one’s limits when stretched.

If you’re someone who derives satisfaction from achieving something difficult, are all right with some discomfort, don’t mind getting up before sunrise each day, enjoys walking with a backpack, wants to discover new things about this wide brown land and her people, then I’d encourage you to participate in Duke of Edinburgh and it’s amazing opportunities.

– John Clear
Director of e-Learning

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