Author: Charlotte Furness
Surfing up a storm
It was clear on Sunday that Summer was unfortunately no longer with us when we arrived at Ocean Grove main beach, we were met with grey storm clouds, light rain and blustering winds but that wasn’t going to stop this group of Mentors! These Mentors were no strangers to surfing and in their previous years […]
Best week ever
We woke up bright and early and met at school where the bus was coming to get us for long trip down to the coast to spend a week at Cottage by the Sea. As we arrived at the Cottage, all the staff and their huge smiles greeted us ready for an awesome week at […]
An Awesome Time at the Beach
Being from small country towns, the children of the ‘Top Paddock’ region don’t often get to the beach. The closest beach is over 4 hours away! Our number one goal this week was to make sure we spent as much time at the beach as possible. Before every beach activity, we have a discussion on […]
Beginners luck
It always seems to be the children that have never fished before that catch the first or the biggest fish. This week it was young girl Sarah who was a little worried that she had never fished before and everyone else on the charter had, and were quite confident fishermen and women. With a short […]
“Teamwork”
The definition of TEAMWORK IS ” the combined action of a group, especially when effective and efficient.” When we welcomed our New Mentors back on site, it was time for them to work together and achieve more. It started from the moment they walked, helping getting the bags off the trailer, setting up beds and […]
Stingray!!!
One of our favourite things on camp is seeing the reactions of the children when they spot the first giant stingray at the marina. This week it was no different, the water was crystal clear, so we knew it would only be a matter of time until one glided past. Our first stingray spotted was […]
One epic party wave
On Thursday morning, the waves were pumping at Ocean Grove Main Beach, perfect for our surf session! Sam our Cottage surfing guru ran through the basics of how to catch a wave. After a few practise runs on the sand we were ready to tackle the ocean. At first, many of the campers found it […]
Meet our new patron, Rebecca Maddern
Media personality Rebecca Maddern has been announced as the new Patron of children’s charity Cottage by the Sea. She replaces Frank Costa AO, who was Patron from 2014 until his passing in May 2021. Cottage by the Sea CEO Adam Wake said Rebecca Maddern was an obvious choice for the role and that we are […]
HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS
We had the most windy day in the world! Thursday morning we woke to the winds whistling through the camp, but it was not until we stepped outside for some playtime that we realised just how windy it was. Even though it was cloudy and windy the camp leaders still told us to wear sunscreen […]
Snorkelling for the first time
We introduced our REEF2 group to snorkelling for the first time this camp. Only a handful knew what snorkelling was, one of the REEFies “thought you snorkelled in the snow?” Our first snorkel session was held on day one, starting with the snorkelling gear we demonstrated how to use the equipment before our snorkel safety […]
Trusting surfing ninjas to the rescue
Elbows bent, hands up like you’re giving a high 10, feet shoulder width apart, one foot in front of the other and knees bent. That’s a surfing ninja. On Thursday at the Cottage we had a Low Ropes Course full of surfing ninjas offering support, guidance and encouragement to their peers. Peter was unsure of […]
BOUTIQUE HOMES CHARITY AUCTION RAISES $1.68 MILLION
Leading Victorian builder, Boutique Homes, in partnership with Moremac Property Group, sold one of its premium ‘family homes in Point Lonsdale for an incredible $1.68 million, with net proceeds from the sale being donated to Cottage by the Sea. Built in just six and a half months with the help of over 45 supporting partners, […]
Fun times to end the year
Our final camp of the year meant it was time to see our mentors for one last time for 2021. The lucky mentors had a choice between spending time at the cottage or sitting on a yacht in the Gippsland lakes. Tuesday morning came and all three buses went out to pick up the excited […]
The wind in our sails
The Gippsland Lakes is a perfect destination to spend time on the water, it is known for being one of the largest inland waterways in the southern hemisphere, and it may even be one of Australia’s best spot for recreational boating. How lucky are we to have experienced this? In the four days, we were able […]
Dolphins!
It’s not often we have the chance to yell out dolphins on camp. They are usually very hard to spot in the bay but this weekend they were being kind to us. The REEFies arrived on Friday afternoon and one of the first things we spotted from the top story was dolphins! We quickly grabbed […]
Wish come true
It’s not very often we welcome back the same children to Cottage by the Sea on our Take a Break programs with exception from only a few agencies who join us every year. This week we welcomed children from The Mirabel Foundation who provide support for children who no longer live with their biological parents. […]
Stormy morning
What a way to wake up, flashing lightning and loud thunder woke the cottage on Thursday morning of camp. We knew there were storms forecasted for the day but were not expecting them to be so loud and ferocious. The first hour of the day we spent playing some indoor games and waited for the […]
A Buchan good week!
Another amazing group of children from the regions impacted by bushfire in the summer 2019/20. The town of Buchan, located inland East Gippsland, is very small with just over 20 students at the local primary school. On the long journey from Buchan to Queenscliff the children were bursting with excitement and enthusiasm. They had plenty […]
