Arcadia Australia

The Grampians Excursion was a successful and fun introduction to the Australian bush for the Arcadia students studying at the University of Melbourne. This excursion gave them the opportunity to engage in a range of activities, such as hiking, abseiling and rock-climbing, as well as receive a valuable education of the geographic and indigenous history of the area.

The excursion began early on Saturday, with a 6 am pick-up of the students from their accommodation! After a few hours driving, we arrived in Hall’s Gap, the town at the foot of the Grampians, where the students were given the opportunity to learn about the indigenous culture and history of the park at the Brambuk Cultural Centre. It began with a boomerang-throwing workshop, where everyone learned the technique and got to have a few throws. Afterwards, they were taken to a video presentation of the Grampians, told from the perspective of the local Aboriginal population. The students learned the Dreamtime story of Gariwerd (the Grampians), the fascinating geographical history of how the mountains were formed millions of years prior, as well as European colonisation of Victoria in the 1830s. The students weren’t able to learn how to play a digeridoo due to a scheduling conflict but were treated to an array of Australian bush tucker instead.

After a quick break to escape the heat of midday, we drove up into the beautiful Boroka lookout, which provides a 180-degree view of the surrounding landscape. After spending some time with some amusing Australian locals visiting the lookout, we continued on to the famed Mackenzie Falls, an epic waterfall surrounded by gorgeous treks. We hiked down into the valley where the waterfall pools, where the students spent half an hour enjoying the cool mist from the Falls, before hiking back up for dinner at one of the local authentic restaurants. The area around Halls Gap and Pomonal is famed for its enormous population of kangaroos, emus and other wildlife; after the meal, the students visited the large field behind the restaurant to watch dozens of wild kangaroos as the sun set.

The next morning also began with an early rise, and with another lovely meal at a local café, followed by a drive to meet our two famed rock climbing guides from Grampians Mountain Adventure Company. The students were all given the opportunity to learn how to climb progressively challenging rock walls, as well as how to belay. Rock-climbing proved to be an excellent teamwork exercise, motivating the students to bond, trust each other and work together. The students were then led to the top of a 25-metre rock wall and conquered their fears by abseiling down. Every student managed to abseil without needing belay-assistance and enjoyed their rappel immensely. The abseil was the final activity, before returning home, arriving in the late afternoon.

All in all, despite the extreme heat experienced over the weekend, the Grampians excursion was a great retreat into the Australian bush, giving everyone the time to get to know each other and explore a beautiful area of the country they wouldn’t otherwise discover.

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