Information for the Adults What is Camp? Camping Adventures is a five day residential school holiday camping program. It is a program designed to enable young people to get active, have fun and make friends in a safe and supportive environment. Camp is for all young people aged between 8-16 years of age regardless of ability. 1. Safe The YMCA is committed to keeping your child/children safe throughout their stay on camp. This ranges from your eight year old getting their favourite story read to them at night to making sure that everyone is wearing sunscreen and protective clothing out in the sun. We have exceptional camp leaders, who are fully qualified and trained in accordance with all state and federal laws and legislation to provide the best care for your children. YMCA Victoria is the largest Child Safe Organisation in Australia. These leaders provide around the clock care, support and supervision for your children throughout the week and are all very experienced, many of whom are teachers themselves. We have staff qualified in first aid and CPR to ensure that your children are safe. At our campsites, we have state of the art facilities in all rooms, including fully climate controlled rooms. Our ratios are also low, being 1:4 leader to campers, making sure that your child is getting the support and attention they need to flourish on camp. 2. Active Our programmers are always being creative with their programs. Getting kids up and about and engaged is our goal. We have consistent programs, with strong structure and the flexibility to read energy levels and respond to the needs of our campers.
Challenge by Choice is our philosophy at YMCA Camping Adventures. We provide every opportunity for young people to push themselves and to try new things in a safe and supported environment, however we realise that comfort levels differ for every young person. Your child will be positively encouraged to participate in all activities while away with us, however if something is really challenging them, they can opt to sit it out or find another more comfortable way to be involved. 3. Screen free We believe that there are better things to do than sit at a screen all day. Camp is a chance to switch off the screens, put down the controls and connect to the great outdoors and the people around you. We strongly encourage our young people to leave their electronics at home so they can get more involved with their peers and surroundings on camp. 4. Integrated program YMCA Victoria believes that every child should be able to come to camp, regardless of background or physical ability. By providing dedicated, skilled and fully trained Buddies to support and engage those campers who require extra support, Camping Adventures ensures that your child will make new friends from all walks of life. Camp is a fantastic opportunity not only for your child to have fun, but to learn and practice leadership skills while they re at it. For each age group on camp we provide different and varied levels of leadership framework to guide our young people to gain confidence and skills in what it means to be a leader. Focusing on passive leadership and positive role modelling for our younger campers and developing skills such at communication and teamwork for our older campers, we have something for everyone. Each Camp, we tailor our program around a specific theme. That way we create tangible outcomes for our activities. Some of our previous themes have been History, Around the World, Pirates and Under the Sea.
Juniors (grades 3-5) You can expect your juniors-aged camper to experience: Introduction to the concept of camp and its boundaries and expectations Unique, fun experiences through camp activities Opportunity to develop new friendships and self confidence Positive, supportive and experienced cabin and program leaders (one for every four campers) Intermediates (grade 6 and year 7) You can expect your intermediate-aged camper to experience: Developing positive identities, values, boundaries and expectations Positive role-modelling and development of self confidence Activities that encourage group support and development of leadership skills Seniors (years 8-10) You can expect your seniors-aged camper to experience: Focus on leadership, personal growth and challenging yourself Development of leadership skills and initiative Equipping senior campers with the tools and skills to become camp leaders
Here is an example of our program: Breakfast Invisible Maze Hour of Power Morning Tea Swimming Scavenger Hunt Lunch Campsite Activity Craft Afternoon Tea Messy Wreck Cabin Time Dinner Trivia Campfire/Damper Making Choice of continental or hot breakfasts, which can include bacon and eggs, baked beans, pancakes etc. Campers navigate their way through a particular path working as a team with their friends. This is an activity great for building initiative and teamwork This activity promotes working in a team and leadership abilities through the completion of as many tasks from a list as possible in an hour. To us, healthy eating is a huge priority, so we make fruit platters for each morning tea. Campers get the chance to swim in the bay with fully trained YMCA staff keeping a close watch. Teams hunt for the different objects hidden around campsite. These items will have significance to the overall theme of camp, for example a time travel scavenger hunt will ultimately end in us creating our own time machine. Variety abounds throughout the week with options such as barbeques, wraps, rolls and even burgers! Campers get the chance to really push themselves in a safe environment through adventure activities such as the giant swing, canoeing and Craft choices range from bracelet making, painting and drawing to pirate flag A selection from biscuits, muffins and cakes, all cooked and prepared on site by the amazing campsite staff. Campers get the chance to get active with slime, goo and water balloons, getting messy with other campers. Building relationships in small groups of 8, campers deciding on what they would like to do from a variety of options, such as sports, craft and mind games. Campsite staff prepare an abundance of food for camp. Dinner options include fish and chips, schnitzels, roasts or pasta) Every camp we have a midweek trivia night. Campers get the chance to experience true blue outdoor activities during the night-time. Whether that be bush cooking or night walks.
Where is camp? Camp Manyung Sunnyside Rd, Mount Eliza VIC 3930 Camp Manyung is in excellent location, situated along and with access to Port Phillip Bay. In the bay, campers can access beach activities as snorkelling, raft building and fishing. Snorkelling is great in the summer at Camp Manyung! See a ray, spot a banjo shark or even swim with a school of fish, all the while knowing your child has the support of community surf trained staff (with your child s safety priority number one)! Camp Manyung is also a leader in all access activities such as their treetop walk and their all abilities bike riding. With a huge grassed area, tennis court, basketball court and poly pong, your children will be having fun all week, whilst also keeping fit and healthy. If sports aren t your child s thing, but they love the outdoors, there is plenty of nature walks for them too! Exploring rock pools and the native trails around the campsite can also be a new experiential learning environment for your child! At Manyung we also take advantage of their incredible facilities. Each cabin can sleep seven, with every one temperature controlled and with accessible bathrooms and showers. Anglesea Recreation Camp Inverlochy St, Anglesea VIC 3230 At Anglesea Recreation Camp, your child can experience the wondrous natural habitat surrounding the campsite. Wake up early in the morning and have breakfast with a Kangaroo! Campers will be challenged with an array of campsite activities such as the Vertical challenge, the giant swing and even rock climbing. Anglesea Recreation has a wide array of activities and well trained staff to enable your child to succeed in their endeavours. Does your child like getting active? Anglesea has just redeveloped their very own on campsite skate park. Campers can get in touch with their outdoorsy side too! With facilities like an outdoor camp kitchen and a bush garden, your child can be like a regular bushy! At Anglesea Rec, leadership and team skills can be built through intuitive initiative courses run by insightful and trained staff. Abilities like these your child will use to succeed in life! Anglesea provides opportunities often forgotten that are both fun and engaging, activities such as fishing, yabbying and bike riding provide great active activities in the outdoors. There is also a brand new skate park with skateboarding lessons throughout the week! This particular camp also boasts incredible facilities. Campers get treated to modern accommodation with central heating, bunk bed style cabins and centrally located amenities.
Who we are: YMCA Victoria has been running Camping Adventures programs for nearly 20 years. YMCA Camping Adventures is run by a team of exceptional volunteer leaders from a large array of backgrounds including students, teachers and youth workers. These volunteers are headed up by the very qualified program coordinator, who works out of the Youth Services unit of the YMCA. Operating at a ratio of 1:6 (well below government standards) our leaders are passionate about giving campers an unforgettable week in a safe and supportive environment. The safety of your children is of the upmost importance to us, and as such all YMCA Volunteers meet three levels of compliance in working with children and young people: Victorian Working with Children Check National Criminal Record Check Completion of and certification in Australian Childhood Foundation s on Safeguarding Children and Young People training All Camping Adventures program leadership teams include leaders with training in First Aid, CPR and Lifeguarding (where appropriate). We are volunteers. Incredibly qualified volunteers. Each volunteer must have a Working with Children s Check, a police check and must complete Safeguarding Children and Young People Policy. With these checks, along with our own internal training at the YMCA, you can be sure that your child is in good hands for the week. We do this so you and your child are safe in the knowledge that will be looked after during camp. We promote a happy, healthy and nurturing environment during camp. Your kids will be relaxed in the knowledge they can make friends, be supported