What a place to have a school camp!
The Rolleston School camp students were so excited to hit Lake Poona after a long hot walk
What happens when you get 17 country kids and bring them to the beach for a school camp? They have an absolute blast!
Grades five and six from Rolleston State School were delighted to come to Rainbow Beach for their school camp this year.
It was organised when Camps Australia Wide owners, Michelle and Heatley Gilmore, visited one of their teachers, Kristy Gibson, as part of their outback trip this year.
Kristy said their annual excursion was uncertain due to Covid and the dryness of Western Queensland.
Heatley suggested the Rainbow Beach Surf Club, but due to Covid this wasn’t an option so they stayed Covid safe at Rainbow Getaway and with the help of locals they had a fantastic time.
Thanks to Don Reid and Nigel Worthington from the Surf Club for helping out with a Nippers activity morning for them, Tony Stewart generously gave a donation for their dinner at the Surf Club, they also had a fish and chip dinner from Sandy at Ocean Breeze, pizzas from Sean at Rainbow Beach Pizza and a BBQ dinner at the resort.
Michelle said: “Our region has so much to offer for outdoor classroom learning and fun. They had so much fun visiting Fraser Island, feeding the dolphins, seeing Lake Poona, Searys Creek, Carlo Sandblow, plus lots of beach swims, souvenir buying and when I asked what their favourite thing was – each one said everything! They couldn’t choose.”
This is a camp report written by Kristy Gibson of Rolleston to say thank you for the fantastic holiday camp.
“Wow! What an adventure. The grade five and six students of Rolleston State School were given an amazing opportunity to have our school camp at Rainbow Beach. During the camp we experienced beautiful landscapes, sandy beaches, team building and yummy food.
Some of the most beautiful landscapes we witnessed were on Fraser Island, they included Lake Mckenzie and Eli Creek. Lake Mckenzie was so clear that we could take selfies underwater. Pile Valley had amazing natural, ancient trees. The Maheno shipwreck was great to visit, but Eli Creek was a wonderful way to cool off and finish an adventurous day.
We were fortunate to have surf club members, who donated their time to teach us how to be a Nipper for a day. Don led the children through some challenging team work activities, while Heatley and Nigel introduced the children to beach flags, which allowed us to eat some sand and look like crumbed sausages! Most importantly, we learned the safety signals and things to do if caught in a rip.
Lake Poona turned into more of an adventure then we anticipated with our hired bus breaking down on the road into the picnic area. Fortunately, our group was able to wander to Lake Poona and have a swim while the remaining adults organised the Rainbow Beach Sports Club mini-bus to rescue us.
The Rainbow Beach State School students were welcoming and included us in a game of netball and touch for the afternoon, before exchanging lifestyle differences.
Finally, we would like to give a big thank you to all of the Rainbow Beach businesses that helped us throughout the week, especially the Rainbow Beach Drought Runners, for donating $500 towards a special dinner at the surf club. The meal was thoroughly enjoyed, and devoured by the children. In all, the children and staff had a wonderful experience at Rainbow Beach. Thank you!
