Once everyone was ready and had repacked, and waterproofed their packs, we made our way 100m further into the campsite where we met the other group, Jesse, Anna and Mark, as well as Tristan and Bret who would be acting as back-up support during the two paddling days.
The first step of the day was for the canoes and staff kayaks to be offloaded from the trailer and lined up. Next each of the boys collected and put on a helmet and PFD (personal floatation device), and retrieved the same sized paddle they had used on the first day of camp.
Mark grouped the 23 boys together for a briefing on paddling, whilst also demonstrating how they fit their two packs into their canoes. The each of the pairs of boys had to carry their canoes down to the river for the start of the paddling.
Today we would paddle around 7km, with about 3 rapids along the way. As we set off, the boys paired in canoes and the staff in kayaks for easier mobility, the sun was just beginning to rise and with it so was the temperature. At about 100m into the trip, on still water, the canoe I was in struck a log sticking up from under the water. This unfortunately lead to our canoe capsizing and myself and the boy I was canoeing with, along with his bag, taking an early morning swim. Needless to say, this was not the start I had anticipated. Fortunately staff bags, and mine, were being transported to the next campsite by car and so my bag was not in my canoe at this time.
Remaining unshaken by the experience, and helped a lot by Mark, we were soon back in the canoe and enjoying the rest of our paddle. That was until we arrived at the first rapid of the day, 'Tom's Crossing'. Here a similar experience ensued as we lost control of our canoe, hit a rock and swam down the rapid to Mark who had secured our canoe to the back of his kayak and pulled it upstream to us.
After this time, being a little more cold and shaken, we had more determination with regards to actually staying inside our canoe. I'm sure this is what they mean when they refer to Experiential Learning'! For the rest of the day, be it kinder water, patience or beginner's luck, we fortunately remained afloat and inside our canoe.
After a few hours on the water we pulled in at Baden Powell, where the canoes and kayaks were dragged ashore and the group enjoyed a morning tea of biscuits, whilst the instructors contemplated attempting the rapid there, which the rest of us would be carrying our canoes around. Deciding the water level wasn't in their favour, the instructors joined the rest of in carrying their kayaks around the rapid and reentering the river at a later point, several meters after the rapids end.
The rest of the day only contained a couple of rapids, all of which were around a grade two. The weather was fine and warm and I very much enjoyed the flat water parts, talking to my canoeing partner about his experiences of camp and what he hoped to do with himself once he left school. This was also a great time to take in the scenery from a different perspective to that of the trek during the previous three days. It was beautiful, peaceful and serene and I regret that I could not capture it in photographs, with my camera being stashed away safely in my pack.
We arrived at our campsite for the night, 'Big Rock' at around 3 pm. The two groups would be separating again for the evening, with the other group several meters upstream at 'Mud Pile. After we conducted our, now usual, campsite ritual of setting up tents, preparing clothes for the morning and lighting tangies for a hot Milo, we all sat out on the rocks, looked out into the water and watched the hot sun disappear behind the trees, casting us into twilight and signaling the time to start cooking dinner.
The night stayed warmer than those we had experienced the previous three nights, a thick cloud base having moved in and threatening rain. Fortunately the rain stayed at bay and we enjoyed an almost balmy night sitting around the campfire whilst the boys updated their journals. Tonight, in addition to the day's experiences, the boys were also asked to write about their Diamond; something you are proud of achieving/doing on camp, Heart; a thank you to someone on camp, Club; something you did on camp which was stupid or your regret, Spade; a confession of something you did on camp which you shouldn't have. As will all the previous additions to the boy's journals, this gave me a great insight into what the boys had experienced during their expedition. Many of the boys discussed their Diamond as completing the 18km trek and staying upright during today's canoeing. For their Heart, the boys thanked other members of the group for helping them pack, whilst I was thanked by my canoeing partner and another boy to whom I had lent my gloves. Discussions on their Club brought up many situations, including not bring enough clothes, bringing too much, forgetting eating implements (myself included) and not bringing a head torch. For the Spade, most boys admitted to bringing sweets on camp, despite the ban enforced by Korringal, whilst a few boys admitted to chucking rubbish, mainly apple cores and muesli, into the bush instead of disposing of it in the manner requested by Kate and Paddy.
After these discussions the boys were once again invited to retreat to bed or stay up for a few games. This evening around 7 boys made the decision to stay up. During this time, Bret, who was joining our group for the evening, treated us all to some bush poetry - fantastic and in such a suitable setting. After this treat we played a game called 'Movies' with the boys until around 8 pm, after which we all made our way to our tents in preparation for an early second day on the water.
