Dolphin magic on Take a Break 

For the morning, we were going boogie-boarding at Cottage Beach, just outside the rainbow gate! We all cheered with excitement and got into a line from shortest to tallest and went to the courtyard where the staff sized us up in wetsuits. I had never worn a wetsuit before, so I was a little anxious to put it on, but the Cottage staff were quick to ease my nerves by going through the process step-by-step so we knew what to do.

We headed upstairs and got changed, then went out to the basketball court for “dye dodgeball”. It was just like regular dodgeball but instead of throwing a ball, we were throwing wet sponges that were in buckets with food dye and water! It was so much fun throwing the sponges – the staff all joined in, and we loved targeting our teacher!

We then did a safety briefing about boogie-boarding in the ocean and headed down to the beach behind Cottage. The staff set up the flags and before we knew it, we were out in the waves, splashing around and having fun.

While we were catching waves and taking turns on the boards, someone shouted “DOLPHINS!”. We all turned to see a small pod pass by, only about 50 metres away! We watched as their fins poked out of the water and they chased each other along the coastline towards Point Lonsdale. I had never seen anything like it before … back home in Rochester, the only water animals we see are yabbies and cod in the rivers!

Most of us agreed it was the best camp we’ve been on and some of my friends shared these reflections about our special week on the Take a Break program:

• “My time at Cottage by the Sea made me feel like I want to go outside more.”

• “I felt really happy and calm when hearing the ocean.”

• “My time on camp made me feel included and safe with the friendly staff.”

• “I felt good and brave on camp. It was outside my comfort zone – in a good way!”