Year 5 went back to colonial life last week on their first camp to Bathurst. We were fully immersed into the everyday life of a gold miner, a blacksmith, a wife and child. We started our trip with a stop at the three sisters where we quickly learnt that a beanie and gloves was going to be essential this trip. Brrrr.

Next stop was the Bathurst goldfields. It was here where we got to design and paint our own boomerangs and then have a go at throwing one ourselves. Learning to throw a boomerang gave us a lot more appreciation of the skill the indigenous people perform so effortlessly.
Next was off to learn about colonial Australia with our crazy and intelligent tour guides. We were given a hands-on experience where we looked at tools people used for photography, cooking, cleaning and washing. We can’t believe how people used to wash their clothes!
We then went on a treasure hunt through what used to be a jail, but now is a beautiful park.
We ended our day with some time in our cabins then a trivia contest at night.
Day two was jam packed with experiences. We moved through activities such as making damper, making mud bricks, learning about gold, going through a gold mine and lots more.
Next we finally got to pan for gold! Lots of us were lucky enough to find some gold and it was amazing to see how everyone persevered through the cold water and stones.
With cold toes and a little exhaustion, we stepped back on the bus for our journey home.
What amazing opportunities we were able to experience. It was all thanks to not only our super splendid tour guides but our incredible teachers, Mr Brierley, Mrs Edwards, Miss Hollingsworth, Mrs Luscombe, Mr DeVilliers and Miss Blake.