News & Articles
Overcoming fear
Attending school Principal Sue had given our camp team a briefing at the start of the camp on all of the children. In particular, she pointed out the youngest of the group “Deccy”. “Deccy struggles to focus on tasks and tends to break down in tears when he is out of his comfort zone”. Snorkelling […]
First time in the sea
Newest camp team member Will had a beach-filled day on the middle day of this week’s camp. Will spent both the morning and afternoon with two different groups splashing around and swimming at our favourite beach. Will loves the ocean, he is always the first one in and last one out of the water and […]
Revenge of the teachers!
Dye dodge ball – one of our Cottage favourite games. We fill up buckets full of water and coloured dye and then soak sponges to throw at each other. This week the teachers, who had accompanied the children on camp, was super keen and excited to play this game. We think they may have wanted […]
Birthday Cheer!
Here at Cottage by the Sea we love celebrating birthdays on camp. We make the day as special as we can for the child who is away from home for their birthday. This week we had a young boy Prayas who celebrated his 10th birthday on the first day of camp. Marc whipped up one […]
Riding High
This post was written by one of our Mentor participants. When we first arrived, we were all paired with a horse with a wide range of names. Each horse with their own personality that matched closely with that of their rider. We started our 4-hour horse ride to the campsite which involved many steep uphills […]
Squid-ing Around
It was definitely worth the drive all the way from the Victorian High Country to be a part of the REEF Program for this young participant.
Following the Great Ocean Road Trail
Winding roads, picturesque ocean views and iconic landmarks graced our Mentors as they explored the Great Ocean Road for a day journey. Maddie was overawed at the beautiful clear blue water and rocky cliff faces on the bus ride from Cottage to Aireys Inlet. The road took a turn inland along the river and amongst […]
Developing young leaders
Camp Leaders Chook and Sean had set the REEFies a task of navigating their own way around the hiking trail, using the map and their leadership skills. With no technology, no phones, no watches and no access to the time, REEFies were in control of rest stops, lunch and water breaks. Sally was fast to […]
A stinging good time!
The Weather was fantastic! The sun was booming and we were heading down to the Queenscliff Marina for the morning. We got our walking shoes and hats on, ate some fruit cups and were ready to go! As soon as we got off the cottage bus we saw the big 360Q tower and were amazed […]
Boogey Boarders Dream
Sunny, 28 degrees and not a single breathe of wind. What a perfect day at the beach boogey boarding. We had both groups scheduled in for a boogey board session. The morning group lucked out on the best part of the day with nice clean waves rolling through all morning. It was hard to keep […]
The full Cottage by the SEA experience
WOW what a week! The children at Bruthen Primary School had the full seaside experience. Being from a small country town, the children don’t often get to the beach so we decided to jam pack the week in with water activities. Right from the first morning the girls were off on the Gone Fishing charter […]
2021 Giving Day: HELP US HELP MORE KIDS
On Tuesday 2 March 2021, Cottage by the Sea is having a Giving Day to HELP US HELP MORE KIDS. On this day, each donation will be doubled. Every donation will be matched, dollar for dollar, by our generous supporters including @apco_foundation and other anonymous donors. On this day, we will increase your impact. $25 […]
Water REEFies
The sun was out, the sky blue, only a whisper of wind and all you could hear were the REEFies* thrilling. After nearly a year long wait between camps, it was time to get our second year REEFies back in the water. Our water REEFies hit the waves for surfing, spilling, chilling and riding to […]
Sammy the Seal putting on a show!
Usually when we head down to the Queenscliff harbour and walk along the marina we are keeping our eyes peeled for a stingray or two. The stingrays glide along the marina under the boats looking for fish scraps thrown out by the fisherman. Today we had an unexpected guest Sammy the Seal. Usually Sammy is […]
Familiar face joins the team
Recently we welcomed a very familiar face to join our camp team as a junior camp leader. It was Ebony, a Mentor who has been through our REEF and Mentor program since she was in Grade 6 at Tate Street Primary School. Throughout her seven years in the program at Cottage by the Sea Ebony […]
Here comes Santa
We had a special guest arriving for an early stop on Tuesday night! It was SANTA! He rolled in on a big red fire truck with all sirens blaring. The children didn’t know what was happening. One camper thought it was an emergency evacuation and started to gather her things. The smile on the children’s […]
Respite by the Sea
In June 2020, during Victoria’s COVID-19 second wave, Cottage by the Sea put particular focus on opening up our Riptide facility to host families in need of a break from their everyday lives. The first two of many families booked to benefit from this service were referred to us by Justice Connect; an organisation who […]
Dolphins! I See dolphins!
Young camper Bryce yelled at the top of his lungs, Dolphins! I see dolphins! As we were walking along the Queenscliff pier the young boy spotted the dolphins about 10 metres off the end of the pier, all of the anglers looked in distress as they saw the dolphins swim past their lines, they all […]
