Our third group to head to Colo certainly had plenty to live up to thanks to the wonderful efforts of the first two groups to head there earlier in the term. Below is a report from the Colo staff which, I think you will agree, illustrates that they didn’t let us down!

It was a fantastic week at Colo. The weather was superb everyday and the boys were polite, enthusiastic and determined to do their best throughout the camp.  Everyone appeared to really enjoy the outdoor adventure activities and many boys pushed themselves well outside their comfort zone to master new skills.

Adventure Ropes Course:

It was a really pleasant day at the adventure ropes course.  The sky was clear, the sun was bright and the breeze was cool and gentle.  The boys tackled all of the elements with confidence and enthusiasm.  Christopher Diab (Hunters Hill), Lachlan Day (Wagga Wagga) and Angus Vivers (Gulgong) made easy work of the ‘Fidget Ladder’.  Joshua Bass (Marsfield), Tarkan Gursel (Henley) and Tristan Wyatt-Spratt (Linley Point) climbed the ‘Postman’s Walk’ quickly and with poise.  There were many ecstatic screams of joy from several boys as they leapt off the ‘Flying Fox’ platform.  Charles McCann (West Pymble) can be very proud of his effort in overcoming his fear of heights by climbing the Burma Bridge and riding the ‘Flying Fox’.  Overall, everyone worked extremely well together and there were lots of positive words of encouragement, which was very pleasing to hear.

Mountain Bike Riding:

All the boys worked up a sweat on a warm humid day. Tristan Wyatt-Sprat, Josh Bass and Fraser Edwards (Killara) attacked the burms and obstacles with enthusiasm. Lachlan Kimber (Marsfield) did well to ride up al the hills without getting off his bike. Julain De Costa (Lindfield), Joseph McCarthy (Fiji) and Patrick O’Farrell (Longueville) each showed tenacity to stick at it and make real progress with their skill development. Patrick O’Farrell managed the most number of falls for the day, but was outdone by Jack Voulgaris (Hunters Hill) for the most memorable – Jack fell onto a prickly bush and spent the next 10 minutes pulling out small thorns.

Orienteering:

It was a hot and humid afternoon, but the boys were not deterred in their quest to complete the orienteering course in record time. Set with the challenge of finding 15 markers in less than 45 minutes, they rushed out of the Dining Hall and zipped around the Colo property at a lightening pace.  For a few groups, the task was made more difficult because at some time during the activity, marker number two was temporarily broken/lost.  However, Lachlan Day and Tristan Wyatt-Spratt didn’t experience any problems in finding all of the markers in a record breaking time of 36 minutes.  Similarly, the teams of Patrick O’Farrell and Tarkan Gursel, Angus Vivers and Joshua Bass, Cameron Gould (Kensington) and Christopher Diab, and Ben Smith (Putney) and Charles McCann also found 15 markers.

Packing Up Tents:

Each week the Colo staff challenge the boys to see how quickly they can pack up their tents before going on the overnight expedition.  At the start of the week, the record stood at 3 minutes 28 seconds, which was considered to be an exceptionally fast time.  However, James Ashhurst (Hunters Hill), Lachlan Day and Angus Vivers smashed the old record by 59 seconds. They have set a new record in an awesome time of 2 minutes 29 seconds.

Campsite Competition:

All of the groups worked well on the overnight campout.  It was really pleasing to see the high level of cooperation and organisation within each of the camping groups.  However, the group of Charles McCann, Joseph McCarthy, Patrick O’Farrell, Ben Smith and Angus Vivers were eventual winners of the campsite competition.  As well as being well organised, they interacted with each other in a friendly way and everyone in the group completed a fair share of the campsite jobs such as collecting water and firewood, pitching tents, keeping the fire going and washing the dishes.

Thank You Note:

The Colo staff and Year 7 students would like to thank Gus Ramsay (a ‘gap student’ from Leeds, England).  He worked hard all week and constantly supported and encouraged the boys during the outdoor adventure activities as well as providing excellent supervision during the completion of set tasks and chores.  Gus was well liked by the boys for his fair and approachable nature. Gus (no relation to Gordon Ramsay) also took on the role of ‘Head Judge’ during the impromptu cooking competition, when the boys cooked Pasta Carbonara on camp fires.  It was like watching an episode of Iron Chef, Master Chef and Kitchen Nightmares all rolled into one.

Photo 1:  Spencer Fay (St Leonards) is followed by Tarkan Gursel on the bush-walk.

Photo 2:  Lachlan Day on the bike course.

Photo 3:  Josh Bass and Ben Smith clean up.

Photo 4:  Cameron Gould and Joe McCarthy prepare their fire.