At the conclusion of an awesome day of exploring, adventure and learning; it is safe to say that we are absolutely exhausted!
After a seemingly endless bus trip, we arrived at Thornleigh McDonalds safe and sound (and right on schedule - 6am). With the smell of hotcakes lingering in the air, the students discovered a newfound level of energy as they staggered like tired zombies towards the counter. After filling our stomachs with delicious breakfast refreshments, we were off on the next phase of our journey.
The weather presented an initial issue for us. The rain looked like it was to dampen our plans of doing the Sydney Harbour Bridge walk. However, as we neared the city centre we were blessed with a break in the weather which allowed us to go ahead with our sightseeing walk.
The students were divided into their day groups and we started to walk across the breathtaking man-made marvel that is the Harbour Bridge (You only have to check some of our uploaded photos to truly comprehend the complexity and architectural beauty of this epic structure).
After venturing across the bridge we descended down towards the harbour and the ferry stations. Unfortunately due to the set times of our ferry departure we were unable to walk up close to the Opera House, but regardless of this, the students were able to admire it from the watery sidelines as we sailed across the harbour on the ferry - A travel experience that I'm sure the students won't forget anytime soon.
After our cruise around the harbour stations, we stepped off the ferry into the awesome scenery of Darling Harbour where we were quick to investigate a 'Welcome Wall' which displays the names of thousands of migrants who have voyaged to Australia to settle in our beautiful country.
Soon after scouting out some familiar last names from the welcome wall, we headed along the docks towards the Australian National Maritime Museum. Moored out the front of this museum were a pristine contrast of maritime history - a replica of the Endeavour (Captain Cook's vessel) and the HMAS Vampire (An Australian navy battleship).
Once we had been introduced to our tour guides we were divided back into our groups. On a rotating schedule the first groups entered the museum where they were presented with some of the most rare and unique pieces of maritime history (such as early celestial maps of the skies and deep water artefacts from sunken vessels). The other groups started their tour on the new Endeavour where they discovered just what it was like to be a sailor back in the days of early Australian settlement.
After both sets of groups had rotated and completed their tours, we were presented with the opportunity to do our own self-guided tour of the HMAS battleship 'Vampire' - needless to say it was nothing less than incredible.
To finish off a brilliant afternoon of Maritime marvels, the students were treated to a pizza lunch overlooking the harbour (what an experience!).
At around 2pm we re-boarded the bus and we continued on our way to Canberra. We arrived at the Greenhills camp conference centre (Just on the outskirts of Canberra) at approximately 6pm, where we were supplied with a delicious dinner of Spaghetti Bol and salad (not to mention a chocolate mousse dessert for all the students with a sweet tooth).
We finished our big day by moving our bags into rooms and then coming back together as a group to watch a movie before heading to bed for a much needed good night sleep.