CampMDA # 58

19th – 24th September, 2004
Lady Northcote, Bacchus Marsh

CAMPERS

CARERS

Stella Pentek
Karen Lockwood
Aaron Graham
Allison Lambell
Gail Shepherd
Coutney Agland
Rebecca Doneley
Lucky Renye
Tim Holland
Mark Johnstone
Boris M Struk
Steve Martin
Deb Harnett
Sue Donaldson
May Barber
Anne Arciuli
Sarah Leslie
Caroline Simpson
Kelly Hammond
Amie Meads
Ken Forbs
Ben Marshall
Erin Muller
Alicia Tavare
Frank Saliba
Mardi Keifer
Angela Blampied
Bianca Rinaldi
Lindsay Eames
Michael Bourke
David Spark
Alan Quaife
Rayleen Jones

OperationMD! SWAP

1. Ron Tremewen
2. Barry Martin
3. Stephanie Cassin
4. Tom Brown

CARER

Jenny Brown

OperationMD! ShortBreak

1. Mark Innes-Irons
2. Varun Behl
3. Kira-Lee Dixon

CARERS

Bianca Brasser
Robina Hancock
Leah Rotin

ACTIVITIES

Sunday 19^th September – We arrived at Lady Northcote with our Harley escorts around 1pm. The timing was impeccable as the sausages and hamburgers were ready as we all rolled in. After a bite to eat many of the new campers and carers enjoyed the chance to ride on the back of a Harley. Informal introductions were held, and then the group moved up to the lodges to unpack their belongings. Introductions were next which provided a great opportunity for the whole group to get to know each other as there were many few faces. After a healthy dinner of baked potatoes, we all settled down to watch the movie ‘Garfield’ which was enjoyed by all of the younger viewers. Once the youngsters were all in bed, the older campers watched ‘Dodgeball’ which provided many a laugh.

Monday 20^th September – After we were all rested and our belly’s full from pancakes, the group headed to the basketball court for a series of games. We had wheelchair races and a game I like to call basketball adventures. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with basketball and is not overly adventurous, but it sounds exciting. After lunch, the group split up with the adults going to St Anne’s Winery and the younger campers testing their orienteering skills by taking part in the question card hunt. Trivia was the evening event, which was organised and run by the FFYA program.

Tuesday 21^st September – In the morning the adults once again departed for the beautiful town of Bacchus Marsh for a coffee and a look around. The remainder of the group made and raced paper planes. James North-Coombes won the competition with a little assistance from his carer Amie. For the afternoon we did some outdoor activities but were interrupted when the model racing cars arrived. This was definitely the most popular activity on camp with all thoroughly enjoying the demonstration. It got even better though when the guys said that all campers could have a drive of the cars. The evening brought the long awaited return of the food Olympics which was run it its traditional style and erupted at the end when a food fight broke out.

Wednesday 22^nd September – With not a trace of chocolate pudding from the previous night, thanks to the cleaning efforts of the MDA staff, the group was extremely excited to have a visit from the ARMY bomb squad. We were able to see the robot that inspects a suspect package and even had a drive of it ourselves! Yabby’s were the order of the afternoon and the group pulled in a grand haul. The rain held off till the evening but unfortunately bucketed down on the one night that we had an outdoor activity planned. The group was disappointed but their spirits rose once again when we announced that we would be watching the movie ‘Shrek 2’.

Thursday 23^rd September – The excitement that was felt within the group was indescribable, the party and karaoke that was planned for the night overshadowed all the events during the day. Soon they knew their ears would be blessed by the angelic voice of the camp leader. The morning games consisted of guessing games, puzzle books and a scavenger hunt. In the afternoon it was time to start to pack up and decorate the hall for karaoke. Everyone got into their costumes after dinner and the hall was transformed into a grand ball with much singing, dancing and laughter. Mainly laughter though and often directed at David’s singing. Things wound up at about one am with all well and truly exhausted.

Friday 24^th September – Most of the campers had an extended sleep in so had to rush to get everything packed away. We were successful and quickly ate our final meal for the camp together. After brunch we all loaded into the bus and parted ways with Lady Northcote for another year. The camp was one of the best we have held here and look forward to returning again next year.

HIGHLIGHTS

The fantastic effort that everyone went to on the final night to get costumes together was the biggest highlight. Justin and Aaron Graham’s costumes definitely stood out earning them a prize each. Dressed as a pirate and Freddy Krueger respectively, they were a menacing sight to say the least. The food fight that broke out after the food Olympics was also unforgettable. I think some people will never want to see chocolate pudding ever again as a result of the night. Mitch Donaldson’s singing and dancing on the party night was well worthy of the two prizes he picked up.