2022 Operation Flinders was attended by Year 9 & 10 students from 14-21 June at Yankaninna station, located in Adnyamathanha country in the northern Flinders Ranges.
Each day, students trekked the beautiful country with their personal rucksack containing their entire belongings for the week. Some of the daily activities involved an inclusive high ropes course, navigation, basic camping skills, and radio use. On one day, the group had lunch in front of petrified rocks, containing 10,000-year-old Aboriginal rock carvings!
The daily destination was a campsite, each one different to the day before, where upon arrival students would commence work on their assigned jobs for the day. Such jobs included setting up the campsite, creating a campfire, cooking dinner, and cleaning dishes. There was also a daily Team Leader who was the group’s spokesperson whenever senior staff from Operation Flinders came to visit!
This was both a challenging and highly rewarding experience for the students. It enlightened them on a simpler way to live their lives, allowing engagement with the land in a manner previously unbeknown, developing greater connections with themselves and with one another.
