On Thursday 23 June, 13 students and 3 staff members departed the College at 7am to embark on the Cairns Cultural Immersion Tour. For the next 6 days, we would be touring rainforests, exploring the environment, and testing our fears through obstacle courses, power jumps and the occasional croc-sighting.
The students on the trip were magnificent in their behaviour and willingness to give things a go. A huge thankyou must be given to the College, Ms Linda Bracco (Cultural Immersion Leader), Mr Anthony Zammit (Tour-Leader), Ms Georgia Seymour (Deputy Tour-Leader) and Ms Allison Caruana (Deputy Tour-Leader), as this trip would not have been made possible without them. Another thank you must be awarded to the wonderful students, who embraced the trip with all their might.
A few students on the tour have written up a reflection that details each of our days whilst in Cairns:
Joaquin Santos (10BA)
Day Two: On Day Two of the trip, after waking up early for breakfast, we made our way to the Daintree rainforest. During the time there, we went to the Daintree Discovery Centre, learning about the fauna and flora of the rainforest and the greater Cairns area, followed by a visit to the Daintree Ice Cream Company, enjoying a 4-flavour taster cup, the flavours being coconut, passionfruit, jackfruit, and wattle-seed (my favourite of the 4). Although both places were great, I feel like the best parts were the unplanned memories, including seeing baby cassowaries in the wild, learning of the existence of the demon duck of doom and the exciting, albeit loud, game of uno with the boys.
Julian Cachia (10LI)
Day Three: On day three of the Cairns tour, we had the opportunity to participate in the zoom and wildlife dome, an indoor wildlife park with many zip lines and obstacle courses. This also included a zip line that hung over a 4-metre crocodile. The adrenaline rush was awesome, despite me not liking heights, that didn't stop me going through the course and having a laugh with peers and watching the teachers going through the course as well. On that day we also spent a couple of hours at Palm Cove swimming at the beach and spending time in the nice Cairns sun which was a great way to end off the day.
Alex Podolczak (10WO)
Day Four: Today we arrived at Hartley’s crocodile adventures where we were infested by Crocs. During our adventure here, we began our day helping the environment by putting on gloves and planting trees. After taking time walking around the park to see animals and feed cassowaries, we were treated to an entertaining crocodile feeding show. Following Hartley’s Park, our group experienced the tropical rainforest from a totally unique perspective aboard an amphibious World War II army duck vehicle. As darkness settled, we found ourselves in the Cairns night market, where we were given free time to explore small shops and find a place to have dinner. A long day called for a frozen yogurt to end the night!
Olivia Scire (10MK)
Day Five: Although every place left a remarkable memory, Fitzroy Island had to be my favourite. The boat journey across to Fitzroy was quick with some beautiful scenery. The crew where super friendly and organised. Once we arrived on the island, we went for a few beautiful walks and were treated to a Glass Bottom Boat Tour of some of the coral in the Great Barrier Reef. I had been excited all day to go snorkelling and couldn’t wait to see all the beautiful fish and coral. Once we went snorkelling, the water was beautiful and warm. Whether you're after excitement and adventure or just wanting to relax and soak up the sun on a tropical beach, Fitzroy Island is worth a visit.
Vincent Hosny (9CO)
Day Six: One of the many highlights of the Cairn's trip was the Skyrail & Cairns Aquarium. Firstly, the Cairns Aquarium. I got to take a walk through the deep dark depths of the ocean surrounding North Queensland and some of the rivers that run through it. I also got to look at the history of the aquarium and how it was built. The Cairns Skyrail departed a place called Smithfield in Cairns and was headed up the massive mountains to Kuranda. As we left the station, I felt a bit scared but most of all extremely excited to see the wonderful view of Cairns. I saw beautiful mountains and lots of trees, we also went over some cool lakes and a pretty waterfall. It was a relaxing time that gave me the opportunity to think about my time at Cairns and how fun it all was as this was our last day together in this beautiful State. This was honestly one of the best trips I've ever been on and I'm so grateful that I got to take part in this wonderful experience.
