The troopy won’t start. A somewhat familiar experience after a few years in the desert, but on one of the worst possible days – the morning of the girls trip to Melbourne. I was about to head interstate with 8 high school girls and 3 other staff for a reward trip to Melbourne. These 8 girls had shown great commitment in coming to school and demonstrating good behaviour, and this was a chance to celebrate their investment in their education. After a long time of waiting and fiddling around with things, I managed to jump-start the car and get on the road. The girls were all packed and ready to go, enabling a quick departure!
But that wasn’t the last of our transport troubles. I received text messages and emails informing me that our flight out of Alice Springs had been delayed, and we were going to have to spend a night in Adelaide (rather than an hour or two) on our way to Melbourne. The girls are a very resilient bunch and took it in their stride – if anything, most of them were excited to stay in Adelaide for a night! For some of the girls it was their first time flying, and first time heading to a city bigger than Alice Springs, so for them to continue on smoothly despite all the uncertainties and changes of plan was a great feat.
Despite the bumpy start we had a ripper week in Melbourne. Highlights included the Melbourne Skydeck, a basketball match at John Cain Arena, Melbourne Zoo, Luna Park, and surfing at Phillip Island. The girls (some of them) braved the cold to go into the chilly Victorian Ocean for a surf on a cool, windy afternoon, but were rewarded with the joys of falling off a surfboard into the salty waves. Another highlight was having a dinner in Melbourne with some current and former staff. For some of the girls it had been years since they’d seen some of the teachers they’d had in the past, and they were very excited to reconnect, especially given how much they’d grown! And being able to share some of their experiences with some of their current teachers, after a few days into the big trip, was a nice touch of familiarity for the girls.
It was a fantastic time to be in Melbourne with the city decorated for Christmas – we spent a few evenings wandering along the Yarra River, checking out the bright lights, busy footpaths and sweet treats as Melbourne was getting into the swing of the summer festive season.
Despite it being summer in Melbourne, the girls got more than their fair share of penguins (which they were excited about)! We saw penguins at the aquarium, penguins at Melbourne Zoo and penguins at Phillip Island – 3 days in a row!
It was a lot of new, exciting experiences the girls will keep with them for a long time – along with the Utopia branded hoodies and backpacks that we made for the trip.
A big thank you to Jennifer, Dianna and Penelope for their role in running the trip.
Written by Zac Murfet, Director Wanta Arlparra Academy
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