Oodnadatta Trek

On Sunday 19 June, 36 very excited students (and 4 very excited staff) embarked on the Oodnadatta Trek. Unfortunately, for the second year running, road conditions to Oodnadatta were impassable, so the itinerary was changed and we were now travelling via Coober Pedy.

After 3 days travelling and stopping in country towns including Renmark, Peterborough, Port Augusta, and Woomera, we made it to the world famous town of Coober Pedy. The students learned about the opal mining history of the area in the local museum and stayed in underground accommodation. The students also went on a tour of the town which included visiting an underground church and an underground house.

We then drove to Alice Springs where we stayed for two nights. We visited the School of the Air headquarters and learned how hundreds of students on properties throughout the outback receive education. We discovered the vital role that the Royal Flying Doctors Service play in outback Australia in providing a huge range or medical support to remote communities, and enjoyed a memorable trip to the Reptile Centre.

The highlight of our Alice Springs stay was the opportunity to visit an indigenous community. Here we separated into two groups – girls and boys. Local Aboriginal women took the girls off to educate them on what women do in their culture, whilst the boys went with some Aboriginal men and got to do some ‘men’s business’, including learning how to make spears, hunt and discover how an aboriginal boy is initiated into becoming a man.
After this we all got back together and painted some dot paintings.

Our visit to the indigenous community was different to what I expected. It was interesting to get an insight into the traditions of an Aboriginal community. Joel

Our next destination was Yulara. Here we set up camp and stayed for two nights. We witnessed the serenity of an Uluru sunset, marvelled at the size and formation of Uluru during a base walk and observed the intriguing beauty of Kata Tjuta (the Olgas).

Uluru blew me away! It is enormous! The sunset viewing was amazing! Every time you would look at the rock the colour would change. It was also interesting to learn what Uluru means to the Aboriginal People.  Riley

Kata Tjuta is quite interesting! Everyone talks about Uluru, and then you turn around and there is Kata Tjuta. It is amazing. Catherine

You don’t appreciate how big Uluru is! You can clearly see it from 60km away, and to be up next to it was surreal!  Grace

On behalf of Mrs Somers, Miss Iudica and Miss Mason, I congratulate all the students who participated in the Trek for their excellent attitude and behaviour on the trip.

Mr Andrew Lardner
BGS Year 9 Coordinator