The camp at Salt Creek in the Coorong from 7 – 14 April 2016 was a great success.  The 26 C graders and 9 D graders were enraptured by the natural beauty and serenity of the Coorong National Park.  While mornings were cool and misty, the days soon warmed up to sunshine with some cloud and blue sky.  Accommodation was in holiday houses, cabins and camping, scattered around the Salt Creek Roadhouse.  There was also a Games hall where we held our meetings, happy hours and meals together on the first and final evenings.

The C and D walks mostly covered the same trails with the C’s venturing further, climbing over hills and sand dunes.  The walks were varied and made all the more interesting by information display boards along the way.  The Lakes Nature Trail followed the shore of salt lakes lined with red and green samphire.  Mallee trees created a natural sculpture gallery with trunks and branches woven into strange shapes.

On the Chinamans Well Trail we discovered the remains of stone quarries, wells and cook house foundations left by the Chinese who passed through the Coorong on their way to the gold fields in Victoria.  The Nukan Kungan trail led us to the 42 Mile Crossing track over sand dunes to the Southern Ocean, a dramatic scene with tumultuous breakers rolling in to the beach. 

The walk in Martin Washpool Conservation Park took us inland along Salt Creek to a wide expanse of salt lake.  The C walkers climbed up Morella hill and were rewarded with a magnificent panorama of the surrounding area.  Close to Salt Creek, the Ngrugie Ngoppun trail means “Good Walk” in Ngarrindjeri language.  This was a pleasant walk with black swans and ducks in the creek and colourful views of the Coorong lagoon.  On the Lay day, some people visited towns, such as Meningie and Kingston.  Others waded across the Coorong Lagoon and had fun climbing up and sliding down the sand dunes.

Thanks to organiser Judy, walk leaders, car drivers, staff of the Salt Creek Roadhouse and everyone who helped make the camp such a happy, convivial and successful event.