Year 6 Outback Tour to Longreach

Written by Year 6 students Maddison, Bridget and Lucy.

Longreach is a beautiful place with plains that go for kilometres full of grass, animals, and occasional trees. But Longreach was not the only place we went on camp, with places like Emerald, Rubyvale, Barcaldine and Winton on the list of wonderful places we visited. Rubyvale, one of the stops for an activity. We learnt how the main mine at Miner’s Heritage Walk in Mine and the history behind.

After going through the maze of the mine we went fossicking for sapphires. Once everyone had finished the experience we departed for Longreach!

Once in Longreach we checked into our accommodation at Longreach Pastoral College and readied our rooms. After dinner bus 1 & 2 went to QUANTAS Founders Museum light show. The light show educated all of those who watched about the 4 founders, the planes and the beginning of QLD & NT Areal Services or QUANTAS. The next morning we visited Longreach School of Distance Education, seeing what learning from a distance was like. The Camden Park Station, being educated what life of an Australian stockman was like. Following on with the stockman theme Australian Stockman Hall of Fame was next Learning through audio of an iPod. We learnt life as an Australian stockman in the past. Then learning further at Kinnon & Co: Bush Fire at Night at Nogo Station under the moonlight, having the experience which any stockman would,(with a bunch of Year 6 students that is) having beef stew, mash potato, rice pudding and billy tea.

The next day off to Winton we went! Waltzing Matilda Centre was the first stop, before entering though we all got a horse drawn carriage ride around the area. Then we all headed for the sights of
the displays and artefacts. Next stop was Australian Age of the Dinosaurs museum! With footsteps and fossils of Australia’s dinosaurs, we learnt of Australia’s many dinosaurs. With the night activity at Australian’s Stockman‘s Hall of Fame : outback show. Full of whip cracking and stockman fun. After a good sleep ending our time at longreach with QUANTAS Founders museum, visiting the 747 and Super Constellation, we left Longreach after a spectacular time. On the way home we visited Barcaldine’s Tree of Knowledge Memorial, where the Labour Party was founded. Learning about Iningai culture.

Next morning we woke up on the bus near home. Couple hours left and no more time on those buses. Then we were there that Friday morning we were at school with most of us heading to Macca’s for breakfast. The end of the best camp ever!