ARTS ACADEMY 2019 GOLD COAST TOUR

Day 1

Hello All,

We have made it to our Accommodation after 4 hours at Movie World and a quick stop at SkyPoint Observation – Level 77 at the Q1 building  on the Gold Coast.

SkyPoint Observation Deck

Looking Nth

Looking Sth

 

Day 2

Today there were two performances at Southport State School and Robina State High School. An exhausting day, starting early with hair and makeup, but very rewarding. We are all very proud of the professional manner in which this group conduct themselves.

Back at the Hotel they all had a swim, which I might add was very refreshing.

They will sleep well tonight, and be ready for another early start tomorrow.

Day 3

We entertained the students of Merrimac State Primary school. Great performance by all especially considering the late change to the lineup. The primary kids were amazed at the talent of our students and very excited. As you can see in the last photo all of the 800 kids wanted to be on stage all at once.

 

We spent a few hours shopping at Pacific Fair before heading off to the Australian Outback Spectacular.

The behind the scenes tour gave the students a good look at how a big production is put together. They now realise that the same last minute changes that they have with their performances also occur with professional productions.

An amazing performance and a very insightful Australian story. The horses skills were amazing.

Day 4

We had a day in Brisbane with a river cruise, swim at the Southbank Lagoon, an extended ride on the Brisbane Wheel and a very quiet stroll through the Brisbane Art Gallery.

It has been amazing seeing some unusual food combinations, none better than the breakfasts created by Phoebe, as you can see here.

Day 5

Got to Sleep in today, that was the best. We are off to Sea World and Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. Here are a few of the locals. Sea World Photos to come.

Day 6

Another early start tomorrow in preparation for a performance at Cavill Mall followed by wet’n’wild and a flight back to Melbourne. Photos to be added during the day.

Space Race 2019

The Year 10’s joined the space race today. Look out NASA, China, SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic here comes Mt Erin.

Tasmania Trip 2019- Day 6 Salamanca Market & Mona

Our last day in Tasmania started at 7:30 with the breakfast buffet once again.

After packing our bags and saying goodbye to our the luxurious hotel that is Ibis, we headed down to the street of Salamanca where a market was being held. Here the students and teachers had the opportunity to shop around, expand their taste buds and take in everything that the market had to offer.

As the hours went by we headed back onto the bus and left for our last stop of Mona. Mona is the museum of new and old art. The exhibition includes a range of painting, photographs, sculptures and many other expressions of art exploring a whole concept of ideas.

After looking around at the whacky, weird but cool art we ended our time at Mona with a packed lunch in their courtyard.

Next we jumped back on the bus and headed off to the airport to come home after a long and amazing week! After lining up and checking in we finally boarded the plane for a short and sweet flight home.

Although the flight gave most of us blocked ears for a while, when we touched down in Melbourne majority of the group were glad to be home. We made our way out of the airport to collect our bags and jump on the last bus ride of our trip. Whilst doing so we passed YouTuber Scotty Sire and girlfriend Kristen McAtee which added to some of the students excitement to be home.

Tasmania provided us with many amazing views, activities, friends and memories which is safe to say that we will all remember for a long time.
All us students would just like to take the moment to say a massive thank you to Mr Baker, Mr Trickovic, Mrs Townsend and Mrs Beamish for giving up your time to provide us with such a wonderful trip. Without you Tasmania would not have been half as amazing, although the comedy could be improved Baker Thank you all again! We are all very grateful and appreciative for everything you did for us this trip!

Until next time! Thanks for reading!

(A final note) On behalf of the staff -Miss Beamish, Mr Baker, Mrs Townsend and Mr Trickovic we would like to thank all of the students for coming on the trip, their amazing attitudes (even when tired and sick) and behaviour which was impeccable. I’d also like to acknowledge the staff who came along for the trip, supporting the students and each other without you, trips like this are not possible- Miss B

Tasmania Trip 2019: Day 5 Mt Field National Park & Hobart

We woke up at the Ibis to an amazing hot and cold breakfast buffet, eating across from basketball stars.

Today we spent the majority of the day at Mount Field National Park where we walked 10 km, 12,500 steps and the equivalent of 44 flights of stairs. We were lucky enough to experience the most amazing waterfalls some of us have ever seen. We did a walk from the visitors centre to Russel Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Lady Baron Falls as well as the Tall trees walk. This was a surprisingly challenging but very rewarding day with many of us really enjoying the peace that the hike had to offer.

We even met a little friend who Olivia named Moss due to the amount of moss growing on almost every tree. Moss is an echidna who we believe to have close relations to our friend Zippy the echidna which one of the groups met zip lining.

Finally we spent the afternoon wandering the city of Hobart and doing some shopping.

Dinner was at the Duke restaurant where we dug into some butter chicken and chocolate cake.

Afterwards we headed back to the hotel where we had free time to relax, however by about 9 o’clock we were all ready to head to bed!

Tasmania Trip 2019: Day 4- Port Arthur to Hobart

Another big day of sightseeing and history occurred today.

We headed back to the beautiful site of Port Arthur to experience what the historic site looked like during the day. We saw what was left of the ruins of the old church, the seperate prison and the penitentiary where we could admire what was left of the old buildings rather than being fearful in the night.

We then got to experience a harbour cruise around the Isle of the Dead where approximately 1100 convicts, military, soldiers, woman and children were buried during the historic times of Port Arthur.

On the way back, we stopped via the Port Arthur memorial. This memorial has been built to remember those who were killed in the Port Arthur Massacre. “May we who come to this Garden, cherish life for the sake of those who died” was one of the quotes which we have taken to heart and has made us realise how grateful we are to live this life.

After taking in the rest of the beautiful surroundings of Port Arthur we stayed for a packed lunch then jumped back on the bus and headed to the tessellated pavements located at Eaglehawk neck. A tessellated pavement dries out at low tides allowing salt crystals to develop which causes the surface to erode and create joins within the rock. Cudos to our professional photographer Josh Donohue for the amazing panoramic photos!

We stopped at the historical town of Richmond, where we enjoyed an old school lolly shop and took pictures of the oldest bridge in Australia which cars can still drive over.

The next stop was Mount Wellington which rises 1271 metres above sea level. We got to see amazing views of Hobart city and were also frozen to the core while playing with snow.

We had dinner down at Mures Seafood restaurant at Constitution Dock in Hobart. Followed by a huge variety of ice cream for dessert.

Accomodation for the next two nights is the Ibis styles in Hobart. Students have quoted that they love the beds, the showers, the swimming pool as well as the general feel of the hotel.

To add to the excitement of staying at the Ibis, multiple NBL basketball teams are staying here such as: Illawarra Hawks, Perth wildcats, Melbourne United and the NZ warriors.

It was safe to say the accomodation topped the day for us all and we are excited to see what tomorrow has to offer

By Alannah & Miss B

Port ArthurPort Arthur Port ArthurIsle of the dead Port Arthur Memorial Mr Trickovic enjoying lunch

Tessellated Pavement, Eagle Hawk NeckRichmond Bridge

The gals on Mount Wellington

Is that you Dakota? Hair gone wild on Mount Wellington

Jade and LaMelo Ball- NBL Star Illawarra Hawks

Tasmania Trip 2019: Day 3 Launceston to Port Arthur

Day 3 Wednesday 18/9/19

-Cataract gorge, Tasman Arch, Devils Kitchen, Blowhole, -Road trip to Port Arthur & Port Arthur ghost tour

Today started with a breakfast call of 7.30am, a full hot and cold breakfast buffet for students to have anything and everything they wanted! From toast, bacon, eggs, croissants, cereal, hash browns and more!

We left our amazing accomodation behind at Tamar Valley and headed for a morning of walking and beautiful sights of Cataract Gorge. This special piece of Launceston is like experiencing wilderness in the heart of a city.
We walked along the cliff walls of the gorge stopping for a group photo!
Along the way peacocks can be seen walking along with their bright blue and green feathers. We walked along the suspension bridge originally constructed in 1940. We walked a little further, turning right instead of left to expend some more energy!
We finished at the gorge basin pool and park area where students got a drink, played at

the park, more photos of peacocks and a few choosing to experience the single span chairlift across the basin of the Gorge, believed to be the longest single chairlift in the world.

We jumped on the bus to head off to Port Arthur, this will be a bit of a drive with a lunch stop on the way! On the way to the accomodation, we made two brief stops: one to a blowhole and another to devils kitchen as well as the Tasman arch. These stops allowed us to take in the true beauty that Tasmania has to offer.

After checking into our cabins at White Beach Tourist Park we made our way back onto the bus and headed to the main area of Port Arthur. Port Arthur is a village and historic site in southern Tasmania. It was a 19th century penal settlement and is now an open air museum acknowledge by the United Nations as a sacred site and heritage listed. Some of the ruins there included a huge penitentiary, the remaining shell of the convict church and the solitary confinement cells in the seperate prison building which were used to inflict mental punishment in the place of floggings.

This site is where we participated in a ghost tour. Previous recordings showed that 10,000 paranormal experiences have occurred within this area. Our tour guides Michelle and Meade confirmed these statistics with some of their own personal stories about feeling touches, hearing noises and seeing figures roam around the old buildings. After continuously looking over our shoulders for 90 minutes, we headed to the upstairs area of the Port Arthur historic site where we enjoyed Shepardʼs pie or fish and chips, with fruit crumble and ice cream for dessert.

After a day full of exploration and amazing sites we headed back to White Beach Tourist Park to rest up and get ready for the day to come.

We also made a friend who Miss B named “Kingston” the Kookaburra (see photos), Connor was brave enough to get up-close!

By Alannah and Olivia.

Cataract Gorge

Group Shot- Devils Kitchen

Group Shot- Cataract Gorge

Peacock at Cataract Gorge

Devils Kitchen

Group Shot at the Blow Hole

Making new friends

Mr Baker and Kingston

Connor and Kingston

Kingston…

Port Arthur

Port Arthur

 

Tasmania Trip 2019: Day 2 Launceston

Day 2 Tuesday -Launceston
– Hollybanks Tree Top adventures
– Tamar Valley Resort and Spa

It was an early start straight from the ship to Hollybanks Tree Adventures. We spent the day climbing and flying through trees.

Students were pushed to their limits and experienced the longest and fastest zip line in the Southern Hemisphere of 400m and up to 70km/hr. Lunch was hot pies and pasties sitting down to eat between our zip line and high ropes sessions.

We then got to harness up again to head out and experience the high ropes course. These courses where set at a variety of abilities and heights starting from green(easy), blue, red and black (highest and most difficult). Students quoted the best part was getting stuck on the high ropes , laughing at friends and the horse saddle zip line! We played with a cute doggo named Bundy who loved sticks (see attached).

It was a massive, exhausting and challenging day for staff and

students! At one point Mr Baker was stuck on the black run wondering if he would ever make it to the end with very sore arms, All was well when his feet were on the ground!

Following a very long day we headed off to Tamar Valley Resort and Spa. Our Accomodation was modelled after an Alpine Swiss village (see photos). We got our cabins and headed to dinner where we had chicken parmaʼs, beef and veggie burgers. Desert was cheesecake and chocolate mud cake with ice cream.
A pool and spa were available for those who wanted to take a dip or lounge in the spa, whilst Mr Baker and Ms Beamish supervised talking about the amazing day we just had!

Staff went round to remind students of lights out to find most have put themselves to bed long before curfew! Must have been out as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

Hollybanks Tree Top Obstacle Course

Bundy

Mr Trickovic ready for zip lining

Tamar Valley Accommodation channelling Swiss vibes

Hollybanks Tree Tops Obstacle Course

Hollybanks Tree Tops Obstacle Course

Tasmania Staff 2019- Alex Trickovic, Matt Baker, Sarah Beamish & Janice Townsend

Tasmania Trip 2019: Day 1, Melbourne to Devonport

Day 1: Monday 16th September

Overnight trip Melbourne to Devonport – via Spirit of Tasmania.

39 students and 4 staff met at school ready to head off on Tassie trip 2019.
The coach met us and we transferred to Station Pier where The Spirit of Tasmania awaited.

We went through customs, checked our bags and boarded the ship.
It was a nice, steady trip out of the bay whilst we ate a buffet dinner, played x box and enjoyed sights of Melbourne City lights at night time.

When entering the heads the ride got a little rougher being met by treacherous seas. After a night in our bunks, a few sick bellies and tired heads we arrived in Launceston bright and early.

We met Laurie our bus driver! A man of many words, stories and facts about Tasmania.

 

 

Indonesia Tour 2018: Day 10 – Sustainable tourism, our homeward journey and trip reflections

Today we visited the turtle hatchery again. I got to release my own turtle, it’s name is dude. The turtles were really cute and we had to release them one metre from the ocean. We also learned about sustainable tourism from a man we met called Chris Brown. He talked about how he gets local people to work for him so that he knows they will stay instead of people from far away who might leave after a few years of working there. He talked a lot about how if people find turtle eggs or a turtle on the beach they contact him instead of selling them because if you contact them you will get a bigger reward. This is good because some people don’t have a lot of money so they will find turtles or turtles eggs and sell them for money. The turtles we released were leather back turtles, they were so small and cute I didn’t want to let my turtle go. After releasing them you get a certificate with your name, your turtles name and the date you released them. It’s super fun watching them being released because if you are releasing more than one turtle you could race them. You also had to be careful with them because they could get stressed out and not go into the water.

By Libby

Today marks the last day of our Indonesian journey and what an eye opener it has been! From the heat and humidity shock we all weren’t used to back in Melbourne to the overwhelming joy from the children at our sister school receiving the precious gifts. Reflecting back on the trip, I am truly thankful for this opportunity to not only experience the world but another culture. One that I’m sure none of us will ever forget. Visiting the temples and monuments made us all feel immersed in the amazing culture and feel so small next to the grand scaled, global icons we had only heard about. Seeing these monumental temples really put into perspective how important it is to have traditions and learn the ways in which other people live. Experiencing both the city life of Jogjakarta and the rural village of Pemuteran was significantly diverse and helped us understand how lucky we all really are. We spent seven days in Jogjakarta and experienced a city where something was always happening and food was always available. Spending time in Jogjakarta to visit Mount Merapi along with Borobudur and Taman Sari showcased many cultural differences, and it taught us to embrace differences and further broaden both our horizons and our knowledge of or neighbouring country. Pemuteran was much more relaxed and we could all take it down a few notches. Releasing turtles and learning about a sustainable world was both a wake up call and an experience to never forget! Waking up to the waves each morning gave a sense of ease to the final few days of the trip. I know I have never been more relaxed than at Pemuteran! Overall I appreciate all the effort and planning taken into account to allow us to experience this country and see the sights along with other lifestyles. Special thank you’s to Mrs Lee, Miss Love and Mr Wenger for taking us to a whole different country and guiding us to build more confidence within ourselves and each other.
Thank you!
Sampai Jumpa

By Chantelle

It feels like just yesterday that we were leaving Australia for Denpasar and our stay in Indonesia had felt like a blur. These last ten days will be fine memories for years to come. Perhaps the best experience on the trip was our journey to Mt Merapi. During our ride up we learnt about the devastation of the 2010 eruption. It was a fascinating place and opened my eyes to the struggles that people go through that we don’t know about in Australia. The trip also encouraged me to interact with and make friends with people that I normally wouldn’t talk to. I will remember this trip for the rest of my life because of how much fun I had and the unforgettable memories forged during this trip.

By Justin

The past ten days have been an unforgettable time for all involved. We began in Yogyakarta, an extremely cultured place. The locals in Yogyakarta are not used to tourists so we all felt like celebrities when people asked us for photos and called us ‘cantik’. The original seven days were very enlightening because we were able to experience true Indonesian culture. This trip was jam packed with visiting many cultural sites. The Jeep tour was definitely a fan favourite. It was so much fun sliding around in the Jeep and looking at Mt Merapi. Seeing the differences in culture between Bali and Yogyakarta was truly interesting. The sites will be not be the only things we will remember forever, because people from all different year levels have become friends. This trip has been life changing for all.

By Steph

The Mount Erin Indonesian tour was an overall unforgettable and unique experience that provided all attending students with the opportunity to experience a new culture first hand. Our activities included releasing turtles at the Reef Seen Turtle hatchery, exploring traditional markets and taking Indonesian classes at Alam Bahasa. I particularly enjoyed the Jeep tour at Mt Merapi. The information provided was insightful and the picturesque views were one of a kind. My favourite day included our visit to the sister school located in Pemuteran, Bali. The children were incredibly kind and the amount of English they spoke was impressive. I truly loved this adventure and can’t wait to come back to these beautiful destinations some time in the future.

By Matilda

Indonesia Tour 2018: Day 9 – Sister school visit and Legong Dance

Visiting our sister school in Pemuteran was a highlight of our Indonesian tour, as well as an eye opening experience. We were greeted with flowers and dancers by the students when we first arrived, and later enjoyed a lesson in traditional basket making. The baskets we made are made by the locals three times per day to present various offerings to the gods. We also watched an Indonesian flag raising ceremony. The students taught us an Indonesian game which was a lot of fun, and then we engaged in games such as elevens to help the students learn English, and we presented the gifts that we bought from our school. It was exciting to see the students receive the gifts we brought and hold onto them. Through this experience students were able to gain an understanding of the many privileges we have at home. We finished off our visit with more games and photos with the children.

By Tijana

At night, we enjoyed a meal at one of the hotel restaurants whilst enjoying five different dance performances where the dancers wore traditional clothing and bright makeup. Each one performing to the background of a full gamelan orchestra. We really enjoyed the performances and we even got to participate in the final dance. We leave tomorrow morning (Saturday) to start our trip home. We all have enjoyed our time in Indonesia, and are hoping to return here soon!

By Paige