Country Retreat - 74. OEC Camp Great Success

“We are heading for Two Rocks, where an ambulance will take him to Joondalup Health Campus, and at top speed, we will arrive there in just over half an hour,” I said to the skipper. “Oh good, it will take us a few hours to get to Two Rocks Marina, where we will stop until we know how our bosun is going,” the skipper replied as the patient was carefully carried up onto the yacht’s deck and over onto the vessel, and inside. This is my card, let me know when he has been transferred to the ambulance,” the skipper said, as someone else handed me a backpack, “Just some of his personal stuff that he may need,” the crew member said before disappearing down below again.

Once the patient was settled into one of the cabins, Marcus was at the helm and we were soon racing down the coast, with me also on the bridge, making a call to the ambulance service, to let them know of our pending arrival at Two Rocks Marina in about half an hour. When we did arrive, the ambulance was waiting at the main wharf, and Marcus went directly to that location.

Once the handover had taken place, as Lincoln knew the ambulance officers who would be transporting the patient, Marcus moved the vessel to the assigned pen at the end of the last row of boat pens. Meanwhile, I had already contacted Gran, who was sending Gramps to come and collect us and we only had to wait fifteen minutes to get to us, and by then we had packed up all the food and drinks that had not been consumed as well as collecting all the rubbish that needed disposing, and giving the vessel a quick clean.

Back at home in Yanchep, I briefed my grandparents about the emergency that we had to deal with, and that is why we had extra staff onboard for the return trip down the coast. After some afternoon tea, which Gran insisted that we have before leaving, we climbed into my vehicle and headed north again towards the property, which is a 45-minute drive from Yanchep.

With the first group of school guests arriving on Sunday evening, we were busy all weekend, making sure that everything was perfect and ready for them, When 6.30 pm on Sunday arrived, Rebecca and I headed to the front gate, while Giles, Hunter, Jamison and Lincoln, headed down to the OEC making sure the gates were unlocked and open, and that the outdoor lights were all on for the guests, and Jamison finalised preparations for some supper for them. As the coach came to a stop outside the main building, with us leading the way in my vehicle, the staff and I stood nearby as we watched adults and students step off the bus and collect their luggage from the trailer.

“Good Evening, I am Oscar Kingston, the facility director,” I said when two adults approached us. “Good evening to you and your staff, we are really looking forward to this camp, we have heard good things about it,” one of the adults replied. “This is my main Outdoor Education Centre team, Jamison is our chef, Rebecca assists in the kitchen and is also our Nurse Practitioner / Duty Paramedic, Hunter is the Sports & Activity Director, and Lincoln is our other Duty Paramedic and Lifeguard.

In addition, we have other staff that you may or may not see, who work on the farm or other projects on the property, we ask that you remain within this fenced-off paddock or on the beach and remain off the rest of the property, were there is farm machinery regularly in use,” I said to the senior teacher, “Understood, where to now?” the senior teacher replied. “Please follow my staff into the recreation hall, where we will have a briefing, before supper and getting everyone settled in for the night.

After the twenty-minute briefing, which included some rules of the property, mainly no students are to be on the beach, in the water, on the floating platform or the ropers courses without adult supervision, and the farmland behind the centre is strictly off limits. With a total of 38 students and 8 adults, I handed out the plans of the complex to the adults to let them sort out the accommodations and get them settled for the night. I would remain on site until midnight, before heading up to the main complex and bed, and there were no issues while I was patrolling in the buggy, mainly down on the western boundary.

The adults already knew what the timetable for this camp was going to be, which Hunter and I had put together, with the students being split into two groups for the whole week, where they would do several sports and recreational activities, as well as attending one science & environment lecture a day for the first four days, as well as day and night orienteering, kayaking, swimming and the ropes course. On their second night at the OEC, Rebecca was on patrol duty on the buggy, and she caught a group of senior students attempting to get through the locked northern pedestrian gate, and contacted the head teacher, before rounding up the students and sending them back to camp, where the teachers disciplined them by assigning them pots and pans cleaning duties.

On the last day – Friday, the final lunch had been completed, and I even pitched in with the cleaning up of the kitchen since I had a slow afternoon on my timetable. At 4 pm with the last activity completed, the adults and students gathered in the recreation hall for the final time, where the catering team had put together some afternoon tea as I thanked our guests for staying at the Outdoor Education Centre and hoped that they would return soon, while the head teacher thanked us for being great hosts and presented me with a School Pennant as a thank you gift.

After packing up, the guests had an hour of recreational time before dinner was ready, and once that was over, our guests gathered their luggage, which was loaded into the trailer, and they boarded the bus. Hunter and Rebecca had gone ahead and opened the gates so that the bus could pass through without stopping, and with it being dark when they left the property, just as it was when they arrived, it would be difficult for our guests to know exactly where they have been for the past five days.

On Saturday morning, straight after breakfast, it was all hands on deck to give the OEC a thorough clean, so it is ready for our next guest. Stopping for some morning tea and a rest break, we chatted about how well the camp went with our first guest, and all the staff were happy with how well the teenagers all behaved… well apart from on the second night, with the senior students attempting to get to the beach for a night swim. I was very happy with the outcome of the first camp, and I could see this as a successful venture for all of us in the future.

In regards to the former venture of looking after protected people, that was permanently terminated, and I informed Jarrad, Koen and Hugh of this decision, which they relayed to their superiors in the NCB / Interpol. I heard back from them a few days later, that their superiors were not happy with the decision, as they thought it was a very valuable programme that would save many lives, but I was determined not to put my home at risk ever again, although there was still a small group of protected people on the property, so we remained vigilant, just in case.