What an incredible way to start the term! Congratulations to our QAHS students who have successfully completed their Qualifying Adventurous Journey for The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Queensland Silver Award.
We explored Woonoongoora (Lamington National Park)—three days of hiking through breathtaking Gondwana World Heritage rainforest. Day 1 began with the Tullawallal walk after setting up camp, followed by the challenging Mt Hobwee circuit on Day 2, and wrapping up with Dave's Creek Circuit on Day 3. A highlight was encountering pockets of forest with ancient Antarctic Beech trees—a living link to prehistoric times!
Crisp, sunny winter weather made for perfect hiking and camping conditions. Students demonstrated excellent campcraft, navigation, fitness and leadership skills, while showing curiosity and interest in environmental science, ecosystems, and First Nations cultural perspectives.
Every student met their qualifying requirements—a fantastic achievement! Huge thanks to the team from Numinbah Valley Environmental Education Centre for the preparation and support and leadership that helped make this journey a success.
Please see below reflections from Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award adventurers:
Year 10 Student Alexander Earwicker
The qualifying Duke of Edinburgh journey for our Silver Award was an enlightening and unique experience which allowed me to connect with nature in a deep and meaningful way. Given that this journey was only my second time camping, I really enjoyed being able to see the progression of my ability to manage aspects of my campsite, such as my tent. The food that my group cooked for each of our meals also developed significantly when compared to our practice journey. Despite all of these positive practical aspects of the journey, the best parts of my experience came from the hikes that we completed over the course of our three-day journey. We visited many different sections of Binna Burra National Park which were really interesting especially due to the huge diversity of flora within these areas – with some being hardy and existing in mountainous regions while others were more reliant on a humid environment. Our assessor for the journey, Kalindi, made sure that every team had a chance to take on different roles to assist in managing the overall group whilst hiking, which meant that we all spent time leading and staying at 'the back' which helped develop our individual lifelong leadership and teamwork skills. Overall, this Qualifying Duke of Edinburgh journey was an incredibly worthwhile experience which will have a long-term positive impact on us all as individuals and collectively as a group.
Year 10 Student Sienna Earwicker
Over the course of 3 days and 2 nights, we challenged ourselves to complete our Duke of Edinburgh Qualifying Adventurous Journey in the beautiful Lamington National Park. Building upon our skills from our recently completed practice journey, we collectively grew as a group, learning valuable lessons about leadership and collaboration in the classroom provided by our natural environment. During our three hikes we effectively managed radio communication to adjust the pace of our hiking as necessary to keep our group together whilst immersing ourselves in the beauty of the Park's ecosystems and natural environment. For me, camping was an entirely new experience, and with the guidance I was offered, I have certainly developed new life skills that I will be able to apply in the future. My team learnt the value of preparation with respect to our equipment and then also adaptability, as a cutlery set was forgotten! Our shared group reflections highlighted that, for most, the memorable moments of our journey were the beautiful views of the sunrises, sunsets, hinterland, and coastline which we experienced whilst camping and hiking together. Overall, this experience was highly rewarding, fostering collaboration, and personal growth that will benefit every one of us in our futures.
Alita Lee
Deputy Principal