Time to be adventurous

Guess whose birthday it is today?

Year 9 students from Wagga Wagga Christian College have been coming to Tasmania for 19 years now! (Mrs Meyer has been on 16 of these trips! and while we are talking statistics, Eric-the-bus-driver has driven every one of those trips!!) Over the years the itinerary has been 'tweaked' regularly until now we have pretty much the same itinerary every year because it is so good and 'works' so well. However, every year we seem to do something a little different so that we can say "it is the first time we...." This year we were able to say "it is the first time we have brought two buses over" and after today, we are able to say "it is the first time we have gone to Launceston to see the monkeys and visit the Design centre. (Mr Crick.... I hope you are reading this and feeling very jealous....because you should be!) One of the mainstays of the Gallery is the furniture exhibition made from Tasmanian timbers, many of which were very innovative and creative in their design. This addition to the itinerary was a 'spontaneous' inclusion (thank you to Eric-the-tour-guide) as we had a spare hour to occupy on the way to our adventure activity. Of course, it made a lot of sense to visit the 'experts' for some tips before we spent the afternoon swinging through the trees ourselves!

Not sure which side of the glass the monkeys are?

An 'evolving' bench seat....

A 'rocking' lounge....

A 'rocking' chair....

Everyone (well....perhaps nearly everyone) had been looking forward to the Treetops adventure activity, and the time had finally come to 'belt up' and 'buckle in' for an experience of a lifetime. Those in the group who were a little apprehensive did really well at over coming their fears and managed to complete the loop....once you start there's no turning back! There are 7 'zip lines' of varying lengths, the longest being 400m that follows a beautiful mountain stream, and at the highest point we were 50m above the river, travelling up to 60km/hr! It was a very tired but satisfied bunch of kids (and teachers) that pulled back into Poatina for dinner after 6pm. 

Each evening after dinner we have been looking at anxiety and how this affects each of us; what are we afraid of and what these fears tell us about what is important to us. It is a time of reflecting and sharing as we look to the bible for wisdom and encouragement. Afterwards we get to enjoy reading out all the comments that have been posted on the blog each day before supper. Tonights supper was a special occasion as we celebrated a birthday......!