A couple of Sundays ago, we farewelled the Year 10 students as they embarked on their 21-day journey to the Flinders Ranges. As I was standing there, listening to Father Theo bless the boots at 7.30am on a cold winter’s morning, I got flashbacks to when it was me heading off for my own Year 10 journey. Looking back, I can easily say that this journey was one of the most fun trips of my life so far. Although challenging, the friendships I made and the memories formed will easily last a lifetime.
My favourite part of the trip was sitting around the campfire after a long day of walking or cycling. Some days we would walk over 20km, in the beautiful setting of the Flinders Ranges, observing gorgeous landscapes, natural wildlife, and enjoying riveting conversation with the boys of Howard House, and our instructors, Tommo and Keenan. Once we had reached our campsite for the day, set up our hoochies and eaten dinner, we would sit around the campfire and talk. Sometimes we would play games but a lot of the time we would sit there and have a nice chat. No phones, no technology whatsoever, just pure human connection. I would give anything to be able to do that trip all over again.
Ryan and I are going to visit the Year 10s for a period of five days, and we will be sure to take lots of photos and videos. We’re both very excited to be able to experience this again.
James Hattingh and Ryan Fowler
School Captains