Snorkelling:
During the snorkelling unit, we where fortunate enough to go to Coogee beach and have an overnight camp at Rottnest Island. While snorkelling, we had to make sure we were safe, and that we were keeping the reef safe. To do this we used the guide SAFE SNORKEL.
- S – Safe (Stay safe)
- A – Accidents (Report all accidents even if its minor)
- F – First Aid (Make sure you have a first aid kit near in case of any injures)
- E – Emergencies (If you hear three loud whistles, get out of the water immediately)
- S – Sun (Use sunscreen, hats, and protective clothing)
- N – Nourishment (Make sure to eat and stay hydrated to keep warm)
- O – Ocean (Checking the tides, temperature and wind levels)
- R – Reef (No touching, taking or damaging the reef)
- K – Keep Together (Making sure we stay together as a group, and with our snorkelling partners)
- E – Environment (
- L – Leave No Trace
The 7 principles of Leave No Trace provide an easily understood framework for anyone to minimize their impact on the environment while doing outdoor activities. The 7 principles are;
- Plan Ahead and Prepare
- Travel & Camp on Durable Surfaces
- Dispose of Waste Properly
- Leave What You Find
- Minimize Campfire Impacts
- Respect Wildlife
- Be Considerate of Others
At Rottnest Island, we went to two different beaches to snorkel. Little Parakeet on the first day, and The Basin on the second day. Both snorkel trails where beautiful and filled with lots of different reefs, coral and fish. However, snorkelling came with some challenges. The main challenge was that the water was freezing, because of the temperature it made getting in and out of the water really difficult. However everyone was resilient and planed ahead, meaning that we all came with wetsuits to provide us with some more heat while we swam, although the water was still very cold we all managed to push through it and got an amazing opportunity to see the amazing reefs and wildlife, making sure that we respect and don’t touch or take anything from the reef.
Orienteering:
During the orienteering aspect of our unit, we where able to go to Jorgensen Park to do the many different orienteering courses. As the courses got harder, we needed to use more collaboration and communication to find the distance and bearings from each marker. This enabled us to find the markers more effectively and efficiently, which the gave us a lower time for each course while still being accurate with our scores.