The Goose Island Conservation Park lies to the north of Wardang Island in the Spencer Gulf, 13km from Port Victoria. Each class spends five days on the island. The physical activities include sailing, snorkelling, kayaking and visiting the interesting shipwrecks in the area. Through these activities it is hoped all students will gain a better appreciation of the natural environment in and around the island. Students are expected to be fully involved in all activities and maintenance routines whilst on Goose.Students have the opportunity to learn important marine safety skills and sailing skills.
Goose Island provides all who attend these camps with some significant challenges. It is an inshore island but the passage to the island is exposed to the weather. Students should prepare for glassy seas and hot weather through to rough, windy and cold. Such are the variations of the South Australian spring! The journey to the island is completed in two Austral 24s, a Yamaha Southwind 22 and the dive boat Achilles16. All students have been involved in a training program leading up to these camps. In this program the students have experienced the skills required for the successful completion of these camps.
Everyone camps in tents, while the hut has a kitchen, eating/recreation area and store room. Students are put into cooking/cleaning/activities teams which take turns doing the meal preparation for the entire camp group. Within 100 metres of the island, on White Rocks, there is a small colony of sea lions which students can visit by boat. Being a marine sanctuary, snorkellers will see lot of fish life around the island while dolphins are often seen in the area. The island is an important breeding site for many different types of sea birds, eg. crested terns, fairy terns, pacific gulls, seagulls and oyster catchers, providing a unique opportunity to observe and study these birds in their natural habitat. Of an evening, students come across fairy penguins waddling back to their burrows after fishing trips. The cacophany of sounds from the nearby nesting terns and penguins relentlesly carries on through the night.
Goose is a unique and special place for all students who visit it. It teaches the students not only marine skills, but teaches them about nature, providing them with an invaluable perspective of the natural environment. This puts them in good stead for the modern world, where environment and progress need to be constantly considered in relation to the decisions we make. Goose Island is another of the unique and excellent facilities available at Scotch College through the Outdoor Education department.
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