Surfing Thrills and Cooking Skills

Surfing Thrills and Cooking Skills

The most beautiful autumn weather provided the perfect start to another exciting camp at Cottage by the Sea.  We welcomed a very excited bunch of children from Woodville Primary School.

They arrived ready for fun on Wednesday at lunchtime. After eagerly taking their bags to their rooms and having a quick tour of upstairs, it was down into the dining room for a delicious lunch of garlic chicken, roast vegies and corn on the cob prepared by our talented chef Marc.  A vibrant fresh fruit platter was on offer afterwards!

After lunch, the children and attending teachers were given a tour of the rest of Cottage’s facilities. We then headed to the art room to complete the camp agreement; a set of rules the children and staff agree to at the beginning of each camp to make everything runs smoothly.  There were many questions to ask and plenty of happy smiles all around.

It was then time to put on hats and sunscreen and head out into the sunshine for a brief tour of our outside facilities.  Everyone was itching to go out, stretch their legs, and try out our fabulous play park.  The games hut was extremely popular; air hockey, foosball and table tennis are always favourites with the children. The treasure hunters in the group were also very lucky – two treasure boxes were discovered in our sandpit!

Time was ticking away and before we knew it, it was time to dive into our afternoon activity of a refreshing whole group swim.  After being fitted up with wetsuits and a safety brief, we had time for a quick game of our Cottage favourite, Dye Dodge Ball! Donning white t-shirts over their wetsuits, the children loaded sponges into tubs of different coloured dye.  Two teams were pitted against each other and it was all on war – laughter rang out and colours flew everywhere!

Down to the beach we headed for a swim in the beautiful sunshine; everyone had a ball! After swimming, we washed out our wetsuits and hung them up ready for another action packed day tomorrow! Five o’clock arrived and it was time for another yummy dinner.  It was also time for the children’s teachers to take over and The Cottage By The Sea staff to head home after a very fun day!

Day 2 and the sun was shining again.  We split into two groups and started our morning activities of surfing and rock pooling.  The children were beyond excited to try surfing and marched to the buses with radiant, expectant smiles!

Group 1 was off to surf first at Ocean Grove and group 2 headed off to Barwon Heads to do some rock-pool rambling, a beach walk and play at the park.  Stopping only for an energising mid-morning tea, the groups swapped activities.

Surfing was definitely the highlight with many thrills and spills, and some very proud faces to be seen – a very rewarding morning for all!

We headed back to The Cottage for a well-earned lunch of salad rolls and fruit platters. There was a pause for free-time before we jumped into groups to start our afternoon activities, which consisted of:

–        Conquering the ropes course

–        A visit to the Pt Lonsdale lighthouse and the pier

Both activities were thoroughly enjoyed by everyone and another rewarding and super fun day came to a close.

The sun shone brightly on the last day of camp and at 7am, it was time for seven lucky children to head off on a fishing charter at Queenscliff. They arrived back to the Cottage with a very happy and successful catch of calamari and flathead which was cooked in our kitchen. Yum – there’s nothing like freshly caught fish! Safe to say there was none left.

The other group enjoyed a great morning at the Queenscliff Marina, visiting local sights and taking in the spectacular views of Queenscliff at the 360 tower!

After lunch, it was time for Woodville Primary School to depart CBTS.  All in all, it was a very rewarding, confidence building and fantastic few days with many special memories made.

There were some sleepy heads on the way home!