As organisers, we selected Canoe the Riverland’s camp for its flexible activity schedule and budget.  We deliberately chose the self-catering option so that our students learned to manage their own meal planning, budgeting and food preparation. As a bonus, our staff were able to relax in the wide open spaces where there were no concerns about disturbing other people or neighbours.

Our students thoroughly enjoyed the novelty of camping, the night walk and the range of activities. We wholly recommend the Orchard Tour which demonstrated the complex packing processes and the Riverland’s reliance on irrigation. A highlight was seeing the emus swimming across the creek during one of our kayak sessions, but what the students most loved was the use of on-water games which developed their kayaking skill.

– Coomandook Area School

I would highly recommend Canoe the Riverland as a destination for school camps after being lucky enough to take my middle and upper primary class from Geranium Primary School on a three day camp in Term 1 this year. Everything about this camp pushed my students slightly out of their comfort zone and taught them so many new things, from having to erect their own tents to, for many, going kayaking for the first time.

The kayaking was a definite highlight for all of us, beginning with Ruth’s excellent, clear instruction session that was well delivered for the age and skill level of my students on how to paddle and control the kayaks safely, before hitting the water. The students loved testing these skills out while having a lot of fun playing the on-water games. During our creek exploration paddle Jim was an excellent guide, pointing out wildlife, explaining the ecology of the backwaters and answering endless questions. Being able to stop and have a swim in the sheltered waters was also highly popular with the kids!

Our tour of the neighbouring orchard was extremely well-organised and enjoyed by the students, allowing them to see the whole “paddock to plate” process for several different fruits, almonds and wine grapes, tying in well with the Technologies curriculum strand on Food and Fibre Production. We also enjoyed Jim’s introduction to orienteering activity, brushing up on our compass skills, and a torch-light night walk. On our final morning the students were totally engaged and excited by the waterbug survey, with Ruth having this really well set up to allow every student to participate in finding and identifying living creatures in the water samples she’d collected. We were even lucky enough to see two quite newly hatched turtles making their way across the campsite!

– Kathryn, Year 4-7 Teacher, Geranium Primary School