Our first Colo group headed away in Week 4 and having the privilege of being the first boys in their form to experience this wonderful opportunity. There is no doubt that as the boys boarded the bus on the Monday morning they were excited to say the least. So what happened from that point onwards? Well, here is the report from our Colo staff:

Adventure Ropes Course:

Most boys appeared to be very confident at the adventure ropes course.  They approached all of the elements with enthusiasm.  The Flying Fox was the most popular high ropes element – nearly all of the boys jumped off the platform without hesitation and there were many triumphant screams as they hurtled along the zip wire. Once again, the Fidget Ladder proved to be a very challenging low ropes element; however, Jack Mahony, Adam Tse, Will Neilson, Jason Wiradharma and Liam Ryan did very well to reach the top.

Mountain Bike Riding:

The afternoon session on the mountain bikes was great fun and it was fantastic to watch the confidence and skills of the boys improve during the three hours of activity. There was a huge amount of enthusiasm amongst the group, in particular Liam Fogarty and Justin Young showed great determination as they mastered the see-saws and other obstacles at the skills park.  Jack Mahony was unstoppable and did countless laps of the course. Other standout performances came from Luuk Jonkman, Daniel Copping and Luke Schiliro as they demonstrated their natural abilities on two wheels, tackling the ‘burms’ and other exciting challenges that lay along the single tracks.

Orienteering:

A magnificent effort was made by all of the boys during the orienteering session with more than half of the teams finding the fifteen markers that are located on the course.  Mathew McEnallay and Justin Young set the fastest time for the group, which was 47 minutes and 40 seconds. Other outstanding efforts were made by Ethan Wilks and Jasper Hooper, Jason Wiradharma and Adam Tse, William Neilson and Tomas Brennan, Alastair Dunstan and Finn McMahon, as well as Luuk Jonkman and Jack Mahony.  These teams all managed to find 15 markers within the allotted time.

Campsite Competition:

The winners of the campsite competition were Luke Schiliro, Henry Murphy, Liam Ryan William Neilson and Tony Xu.  They did a great job in setting up their tents quickly, collecting firewood, digging the fire pit, cooking dinner, demonstrating a good understanding of minimal impact camping, being well organised, behaving safely and getting along with each other.

And as a final touch on the week, the boys in our first Colo group put together the following little poem:

Colo, Colo is so much fun

There is something here for everyone

If you’re trekking, hiking or mountain biking

Colo is for your liking

Photo 1: Tom Brennan (Drummoyne), Will Rhodes (Drummoyne) and Jack Mahony (Mascot) at the camp site.

Photo 2: Tony Xu (Burwood) and Henry Murphy (Botany) find a marker in the orienteering.

Photo 3: What an amazing lookout! Luke Scilliro (Hunters Hill), Finn McMahon (Hunters Hill), Jasper Hooper (Turramurra), Liam Fogarty (Wahroonga), Cooper Wilks (Crows Nest), Jack Mahony (Mascot), Jason Wiradharma (Hunters Hill) and Adam Tse (PNG) take in the amazing view of our Colo Outdoor Education Centre.