Thirty one excited students braved the Canberra cold in Week 1 of the July holidays to embark on Kolbe’s first post pandemic College Tour.
Perisher welcomed us with sparkling white snow covered slopes on our first day. For many, this was a new experience, and they capitalised on the amazing weather by tobogganing down the slopes, building snowmen, creating snow angels and bombarding each other with snowballs.
After the fun of being in the snow, it was down to business in Canberra. A packed schedule saw us visit the political centre of Australia with stops at the National Museum of Australia, Museum of Australian Democracy, Parliament House, Government House, the Electoral Education Centre, Royal Australian Mint and the magnificent Australian War Memorial. In addition to our political itinerary in Canberra, we also made time to solve a smuggling case at the CSIRO Forensics Lab, view the stars at Mt Stromlo, wander down Embassy Drive and a cheeky game or two of Laser Tag.
After a guided tour of the Australian Institute of Sport, it was off to Sydney to check out the city and its many sights. With our accommodation beautifully placed in The Rocks, we had views of the Sydney Harbour, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. Many students took advantage of a different view of the Harbour when they climbed to the summit of the Harbour Bridge, and again when we were strapped into the ThunderThrill Jet Boats and spent 30 minutes racing around Sydney Harbour.
A highlight of the Tour was our visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum, where we had the opportunity to listen to, and chat with Mark Spigelman, a Polish man who survived the Holocaust. His message to us was very clear; Love must be your only goal – there is no room for hate. His words resonated with us all.
Finally, after seven action packed days, our Tour finished with a competitive team vs team Scavenger Hunt, followed by a VR Escape Room experience and a series of Kart races around the HyperKart Circuit.
Thank you to the Australian Government, who recognise the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government contributed funding of $510.00 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.
