by Clare Rayner

A great job was achieved by our Silver crew over the last few days. To get up and hike for an overnight hike is one thing, but to get up and hike again on a third morning continuously is exceptional; and to do this with no complaining is a credit to the students walking 35km with a 15kg pack on their backs. Navigation was a highlight, seeing the students display confidence when looking at the maps to decide their location and which tracks they needed to turn on to.

This group coped with a range of weather conditions; 27 degrees yesterday in the sun focusing on preventing dehydration and today coping with nonstop heavy rain, with flash flooding around us. In these conditions we were still able to embrace the natural environments; we saw a range of healthy wildlife; snakes, wild deer, kangaroos, Wallabies, leeches, frogs, echidnas, and wombats in throughout night. A brilliant camp embracing resilience, determination and that nonstop effort to get to the end of each day, before we tackled card games, problems and puzzles. Well done to our silver crew – looking forwards to your assessed Silver hike from summit to summit, from Mt Buller to Mt Stirling! Rest up and build those hill legs even more!