The Sun, The Sand and a Very Happy Halloween

Our Stories

On Monday afternoon, Cottage staff took the short drive to Geelong Train Station to meet 14 eager faces – four kids from Ultima Primary School and 10 kids from Lake Charm Primary School, along with three of their teachers. The small group had been travelling for over four hours to reach us, and so the 30-minute drive back to Cottage by the Sea took no time!

When we reached the Cottage it was time to get straight into some ‘getting-to-know-you’ games to all familiarise ourselves with one another. That night we shared a delicious variety of pizzas cooked by our chef Marc, followed by some death by chocolate brownie – this everyone was definitely happy about! Being Halloween the following day, we got stuck into some arts and crafts, making paper plate Halloween masks that gave all of the camp leaders a fright. We topped off the great day with a short beach walk before getting read for a bed and a big day of fun.

The next morning after a big breakfast, it was time to jump in our wetsuits and head down to the Cottage beach for a swim – one of the all time favourite activities at the Cottage! Living in aa area that is not close to any beaches, this was an absolute treat for the kids who had to be dragged out of he ocean they were having so much fun. After lunch it was time to jump on the bus and head to Barwon Heads for a spot of rock pool rambling. The kids had a great time finding crabs, sea stars and the odd golf ball amongst the rocks. That night we decided to put our scary Halloween masks on and go for a group walk through Queenscliff, giving a few locals a fright!

Wednesday morning was filled with some great local activities, such as a walk around the Queenscliff Marina and climbing the 360Q, though the afternoon was what everyone was looking forward to. That afternoon we put the wetsuits back on, put a surfboard under our arms and got stuck into a surfing lesson at Ocean Grove. For their first time surfing, the kids were naturals! We surfed the afternoon away until we could surf no more. Needless to say everyone, staff included was very tired that evening.

On the last day of camp, we decided to give the kids a little sleep in before waking up and packing for the long journey home in the afternoon.  We spent the morning at the Marine Discovery Centre learning lots of fun facts and had one last bit of beach play before before jumping on the bus to drop the group back at Geelong Train Station to start their journey home.

We loved having the children and staff stay and we can’t wait to see everyone again soon!