After an early wake up call, students and teachers met at the Rottnest Ferry dock in Fremantle ready with snorkels and fins in hand on Wednesday 22 February 2023 for our Year 12 General Outdoor Education Rottnest trip. The purpose of the camp was to assess snorkelling skills learnt after a few weeks of snorkelling theory and excursions at the pool and Mettams in North Beach. The weather was perfect with highs of 27 degrees and good visibility under the water.
We picked our bikes up from the ferry and rode straight to our first snorkel spot Little Armstrong Bay. We had perfect conditions and very little public to share the beach with so early in the morning. We practiced skills that we’d learnt such as clearing our masks, duck diving, surface snorkelling and reading hand signals with our buddies.
Over the next few days we biked and snorkelled on the Northern side at Parakeet Bay, Longreach Bay and the more popular Basin. We found swim-throughs that most of the students successfully swam through and lots of marine life. After all the riding and swimming, a stop at the bakery in town re-fueled us for the next leg back to camp. The students pitched in and made dinners that we shared both nights.
Due to the South winds we stayed to the north of the island snorkeling on the Northern side of the Island at bays such as Little Armstrong Bay, Parakeet Bay and more popular The Basin. We stayed in houses at Governors Circle, eastern side of Rottnest Island. Students helped to cook dinners and we shared meals together in the evenings.
On our last day we rode to the beautiful Bathurst Lighthouse and had our final swim at Pinkies Bay. Students and teachers arrived home Friday tired and grateful for a fantastic few days away.
Mrs Jessica McPhail
Teacher