The two day work week / Camping at Dunn's Swamp - Dave posting

Monday morning I arrived at work ready to complete the 3rd last week of school here in NSW. At 8 am, the administrative head teacher popped his head in and asked me 'Do you want to go camping from Wednesday to Friday this week with a group of year 8 students? You have 10 minutes to give me an answer.'. After a quick phone call to my supportive wife, I was in. I quickly put together three days worth of supply teacher work and packed a bag & an esky of water and essentials. 

We arrived on Wednesday morning and set up camp right by the water.  I was greeted by this view just beyond my tent. We spent much of the afternoon out on the water and I even got a good kayak in Thursday morning with a group of kids. 

The PDHPE (phys ed) staff had put together a great line up of activities for our three days - including a series of challenges for the groups to complete. Here are some of the kids working on the 'iron chef' challenge where they have to incorporate minced beef, peas and pumpkin (squash) into a meal in 30 minutes. The Shepherd's pie turned out to be the only edible / enjoyable option. 

On Thursday I lead a group in making damper - which I had never made before - which is made from a mixture of self-rising flour, skim milk powder and water which is roasted on a stick. It's no Beavertail, but it actually turned out not half bad.

The wildlife checked us out, but mostly stayed hidden during the daytime. We had a wallaby stop by once, a red-bellied black snake slither between one girl's feet as she headed for the beach, a few spiders and a kookaburra that was constantly in search of food at mealtimes. The possums made sure to come out at night and go through any food that was left unsecured.

We spent heaps of time in the water to stay cool in the high 30 degree temperatures and there were countless games of cricket that sprung up (I bowled poorly, but was able to hit a '6' in my only turn at bat - akin to a home run in baseball!). We wrapped up the camp on Friday with a long bushwalk along the water's edge. Here are a few of the kids that had a great sense of humour - including the poor girl on the right who wore her Leaf's jersey at the camp. Turns out she was born just outside Toronto. The mocking was endless on my part.

All-in-all it was a great three days 'at work' and linked me up with the one year group that I didn't get to know yet this year. After 3 days of no running water and no showers, I was certainly glad to be back in civilization and the welcoming arms of my wonderful family.