Last weekend, some of our hard working Lajamanu students were rewarded with a weekend away in Katherine and Mataranka. The lucky students left Lajamanu on the Friday and took a pit stop at the Top Springs Hotel where they enjoyed burgers for dinner. They were so excited, not a lot of sleep was had and a lot of laughing and chatting was heard from their rooms.
On Saturday, they left early for Katherine and made their own healthy lunches to take to the ‘Katherine Outback Experience’. This famous show ‘celebrates life in the Outback, through real horse-starting and working dog demonstrations, entwined with live music and humorous bush tales’. The students enjoyed a demonstration on how to train a working dog for a cattle station (they couldn’t believe how well behaved the dogs were!) and then they took turns to ride the horses around the arena. They were nervous to start, but once up in the saddle their smiles said it all. 
On Saturday night, they enjoyed a BBQ by the arena and then a night’s camping under the stars. Up early on Sunday and they were off to Bitter Springs and Rainbow Springs at Mataranka. They swam in the clear, warm water and jumped off rocks into the deep water. They challenged each other to some fun and games and had the best day. Check out the awesome under water video below….

Needless to say, they were all a bit tired and were very happy to sit back and enjoy a relaxing dinner and show by famous entertainer, Nathan Whippy Griggs.
On Monday morning, they packed up their things and drove back to Lajamanu with our Academy Director. Thank you to Simon for giving the kids an amazing trip away filled with some very special experiences. The best part is, after such a big weekend – they all turned up to school the next day!