You got a friend in me

Our Stories

Each year, Bethany reaches out to provide its services to more than 6000 individuals and families experiencing hardship within their lives and each year both Bethany and Cottage by the Sea work together to provide short-term relief to the children involved within their services through providing and running week-long camps for them, held by the seaside at the Cottage.

Recently 6 young boys and 2 young girls were selected from Bethany to participate in a four-day camp in our Riptide Cottage. On Monday afternoon our small group of troopers set off to chase the sunshine and the sea critters rock pooling around the Barwon Heads Bluff, before running a muck at the Pirate Park! Whilst Tuesday involved a simple yet delightful stroll around Point Lonsdale, visiting the old and famous lighthouse, exploring William Buckley’s cave and watching the fishermen try their luck on the pier.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Cottage Camp without taking a dip in the water at least once or twice throughout the week! So luckily enough our friends at the Bellarine Aquatic and Sports Centre helped us out one freezing afternoon, by letting our children play in their heated pools! The 8 children had the best time, splashing about in their swimmers! The very next day however, this group of kids braved the cold frosty winter air, whilst learning to boogie-board for the first time at Ocean Grove Surf Beach, rugged up in their wetsuits and having all the fun in the world!

To finish off our fantastic week together, the 8 young kids spent their last morning inside the Marine Discover Centre at Queenscliff, where they all learnt some cool, new, fun facts to share with one another. This was followed by a visit to Portarlington, where we all played on the park and posted our letters that we had written earlier in the week.

Cottage by the Sea is so thankful to assist in partnership with wonderful organisations like Bethany, making a difference by working together and of course we are even more thankful to meet the bubbly young children who make our weeks at the Cottage all worth while!