Blog

Yesterday saw the return of the groups from expedition 2. This was a big step up from the first expedition both in length (5 days) and difficulty. Each group planned their own route around the trails and campsites of the Conondale National Park which borders the Kenilworth homestead. The students set off from the homestead, with the guidance of their facilitators, after packing all the essentials they would need for the trip into their backpacks. Each day the responsibilities were divided between group members, with responsibilities including leader, navigation, motivation food preparation, chef and clean up. Hikes of up to 13km were completed each day over some beautiful but hilly landscapes. The groups were self sufficient from the time they left the homestead, only relying on water and food drops (along with a birthday cake each for Tilly and Felix) at their respective camp sites each evening. The groups returned in great spirits although understandably tired and looking forward to a shower and a comfortable bed after 4 nights in a tent.

It was great to hear the stories from the students of their adventures along with the reports from the facilitators of how the groups are learning to work together as a team to achieve the objectives of any given day. We did a strengths spotting activity during DEAR time yesterday evening and here are a few of the examples some students shared of the strengths they observed in themselves and others of their time on expedition:

Teamwork – I was able to get things done which no-one wanted to do but had to be done.

Self-regulation – one of our group was good at knowing their own pace and knowing that they had to start a bit earlier on the hike so the group could run smoothly.

Resilience – Even though they weren’t the fittest person they still did their best and kept walking.

Teamwork – Throughout the walks/hikes and even at the campsite we were all working as a team to achieve everything!

Judgement – Our navigators worked well together and with the map to find out the correct path to take at confusing junctions.

Leadership – Throughout the whole expedition I believe everyone showed leadership attributes in their efforts to encourage and direct the team.

Perseverance – A lot of people in our group struggled with the mental and physical challenges of the hike but pushed through to the end.

Zest – one of my group was always able to look on the bright side of any situation.

Hinka Booma finishing off their breakfast and tidying up at the first campsite.

Bonyi all ready to depart the campsite on day 2 of expedition.

Numabulla having their breakfast in a sunny spot on morning 2 of expedition.

The groups settling in to a day of hiking in the Conondale National Park.

Working together to safely cross the Mary River on the way out of Kenilworth homestead.

Almost home… the students change out of their water shoes on the return to the homestead.

Back at the homestead after 5 days adventuring out in the wilderness.

Students unpacking and sorting out the equipment on their return.

Prince celebrating his birthday the day before his group departed for expedition.

Today is a rest day and the students will be writing letters home where I’m sure they will enjoy sharing their experiences for expedition 2 with you.

Week two of limitless saw the groups depart on their first expedition. Here is on outline written by the students:

Expedition one:

Day 1: We carried our backpacks that we had prepared with our belonging as we made our way on the bus to our first Limitless expedition. We were split into 3 teams, the cooking team, the hygiene team and the leadership team.

We arrived at a town called Boreen Point by a lake called Coolola. The leadership team planned the path that would take us to our destination, Enlanda point. It was around 3 kilometres away but with the wind blowing in a certain direction a group plan was made to curve slightly in the wind. Estimates were made that it would take around 1 hour 15 minutes, but in reality it took around 1 hour.

During the canoe section of the expedition we learned a lot about the ‘Rudder Paddle’ which enable is to turn the boat in a different direction. When we arrived at Elanda point we were greeted by kangaroos that promptly hopped off into the forest. We soon found a patch of land to set up our tents that was not to close to other campers. It was quite late when we arrived and we had dinner and played games.

Day 2: We made our oatmeal breakfast and prepare our lunch for the day before heading out to the information centre on a place a called Kinaba island. We explored the island and then had a lunch that we had carefully prepared earlier in the morning. We explored some of the creeks around the island learning about the local plants and animals. We headed back to the campsite, prepared and cooked our dinner, which was pasta and bolognese. We finished of the day cleaning our dishes and had some time to watch the stars and tell stories.

Day 3: Our final day saw us hiking to Mill Point. As a group we walked to Mill Point and had a final reflection of our experience whilst looking out onto Lake Cootharaba. We were surrounded by lots of green countryside and some very nice views.

Some thoughts from the students:

The canoeing was very adventurous and something that the majority had never done before and it was a shared group experience. The rough waves and changing weather patterns put us through a truly challenge experience and gave us all a very accomplished feeling. After canoeing we felt like we had learned many more skills, and our knowledge of the lake was broadened due the depth of information from both our facilitators and the information centre staff. – Max

This was new experience for all of us and in a new environment. We all worked together as a team to work through our struggles and use the challenge by choice principle to truly push ourselves to  our stretch zone. The environment and views were really something. Our group, Numabulla, visited fig tree point as the facilitators were excited to show us. It was really stunning, the plants and the trees were far beyond we could have imagined. – Noah

Our group really enjoyed the cooking experience, using the stove was fun apart from the fact that we put too much water in the rice which made it a little soggy, so we tried to add other ingredients to make it less soggy. We found using the camp equipment a little challenging to work out as there were many components to the cooking stove. This is something that I would like to master by expedition 3. – Erica

On return from expedition one we move on to phase two of Limitless. Groups continue to develop mountain bike skills as well as learn about the local environment through studying invasive species. The first community service experience saw us head out to Noosa North beach for a beach clean up for the Australian Marine Debris Initiative.  We contributed our findings to a large data base to help address the issue of plastics and other debris in the oceans and beaches.

Students busy writing their first letter home on their rest day.

We celebrated 2 birthday’s this week, Andrew and Damian. They got a card and a cake to share with their group.

Preparing for expedition one. Groups will be out for three days so they need to ensure they have everything they need.

Students taking a break during a canoe leg of expedition one.

Students are continuing to practice their mountain bike skills around the homestead. They will use these skills on a day of mountain biking on the Noosa trail network in phase 3 of Limitless.

Students here at Noosa North beach doing a beach clean up for the Australian Marine Debris Initiative. Each group will categorise their findings and add it to the database to help local authorities identify sources of litter in the beaches.

Back at Kenilworth categorising findings. 

Card games are popular during down time.

We have a rest day tomorrow where the students will write their second letter home. This will be followed by the preparation and departure of expedition two. This is a five day expedition that will see the students hiking and camping in the Conondale national park.

The next post will follow the return from expedition two in just over a weeks time.

Welcome everyone to the Limitless Blog. Please check back as we will be making entries as the Limitless adventure progresses.