Cape York 2024 Student Immersion
We continue to share the personal reflections and photos from the students who were on last year’s Immersion to Traditional Homelands in Cape York. This week we hope you enjoy the reflection from Elspeth Herbert (Year 10) and Sage Galafassi (Year 11).
For the previous week’s reflections see here.
Carol Bloomfield
Red Earth Cape York Immersion Reflection by Elspeth Herbert (Year 10)
The nine days that I spent on immersion were incredibly interesting, educational, and fun. My understanding of Indigenous Australia and Australia in general has been completely changed from the experience. From the first day to the last everyone was excited and openminded, trying to learn everything they could and getting the most out of the experience. I think this reflects exactly how amazing this experience was for everyone. For me, the knowledge I gained was immense and I found it came continuously throughout the immersion from the traditional owners, the land and even the time we spent out on the Great Barrier Reef.
After a long day of travelling we arrived at our first homeland, Kalkajaka where Ian welcomed us to his land using a verbal welcome to country. Our time at Kalkajaka under the shadow of the stunning black mountain was amazing, some highlights of this time was spending time with Ian and our sunrise walk to Black Mountain. To get to black mountain we walked from a grassland type biome, through a rainforest with crystal clear water to the mountain, it was amazing to see how much the environment could change in a 5-minute walk. While at Kalkajaka we went on a bush tucker walk and learnt about the delicious food which surrounded us. The highlight was the green ants, which were tangy and tasted like citrus. Throughout the time at Kalkajaka we all built connections with Ian, who was extremely easy to connect with and chat to. On the final day a group of us woke up early to walk to Black Mountain and see the sunrise, this was one of my favourite times during the immersion. It was incredibly peaceful and the hour and half we spent here went so fast it felt like a minute. At this sacred place I could finally understand the importance of country to Indigenous people. After a sad goodbye to Ian and a promise from him to meet us at our next homeland we left Kalkajaka and headed towards Panamuunji.
During our journey we stopped at the beautiful and refreshing Isabella Falls as well as the town of Hopevale. While there we went to the Lutheran church and learnt about the sad history of the town where, during World War II the population were forced to move and over a quarter of the population died. After a quick stop in Hopevale, we had a short journey to Panamuunji where Tim welcomed us with a smoking ceremony. Throughout our time at Pananmuunji he gave us a wealth of knowledge about Indigenous people and local customs. He also liked to say how around him he could find, a supermarket, pharmacy and library all in the bush or caves. This stuck with me as I found this was a time when I saw how thousands of years of knowledge has been passed down through generations so the people living in Hopevale today have the knowledge of all the generations before them.
After a sad goodbye to Panamuunji we travelled out to the Great Barrier Reef. After meeting up with the other group we spent a fantastic day on the reef, we saw bright coral and interesting animals. We also learnt about more Indigenous customs for example many different instruments, from the organisation that ran the boat. This day wrapped up a fantastic experience which I am so grateful I got to participate in.
Red Earth Cape York Immersion Reflection by Sage Galafassi (Year 11)
In the 2024 October holidays, I got the amazing opportunity of attending the 2024 Cape York immersion. Going into this immersion I did not fully understand the multitude of experiences and knowledge that I would have by the time it ended. Seeing the way First Nations people live, grow and maintain their land is one thing that absolutely amazed me, as well as with the experiences that the Traditional Landowners have and continue to live along side. Their welcoming nature will always be something that I look up too and carry for the remainder of my life.
When arriving on Wurrey Homeland after a long day of travel, I know that I, along with most of the Yellow Group were exhausted and feeling slightly daunted by the enormous trip ahead. However, Auntie Sheryl and Uncle Bernie immediately made us feel at home and comfortable on the land, which for me at least eased any of the nerves I was experiencing. We had only been on the plane so far and none of the year groups had had a chance to get to know each other. At this point a lot of us were strangers but this was soon to change. The moment we began setting up tents I knew that our group was going to get along. We spent the rest of that day collaborating on tents, dinner and then had a yarn with Auntie and Uncle under the tarp before going to bed. The first night I remember laying on my stretcher buzzing with excitement for another day on Country.
The rest of the time spent on Wurrey Homeland was filled with laughter, learning and cooking adventures with Auntie Sheryl. We had time each day to go down to the creek where we would chat, play some extremely competitive games of hot potato which often ended in someone getting the ball pelted at them and deep chats about what was happening in each other’s year groups. We went on bush walks with Uncle Bernie where we would learn about bush tucker and how you can eat/heal with various plants they can find in their back yard as well as try a green ant or two. We also took part in an (again) very competitive spear throwing competition. Our time in Wurrey ended with a reflection around the fire led by Uncle Bernie which gave us insight into our sperate experiences on this Homeland.
