TOP MOMENTS

1. We kicked off the camp with body boarding followed by night Olympics to help everyone get to know each other.
2. During the peer mentor training sessions, our peer mentors learned how to be an effective peer mentor. They also practised using adrenaline injectors and had some fantastic group discussions.
3. We participated in a range of fun team building activities including a mud pit challenge, high ropes, flying fox and catapults!
4. Our allergy dietitians and the camp catering staff delivered a delicious menu. We managed 40 different food allergies plus other special dietaries over the weekend.

WHAT WE GOT UP TO

Friday afternoon and evening

The young adults, volunteers and staff arrived ready for a fun weekend at Apex Camps Sunshine Coast, Queensland. We were super excited to be running our third Allergy 250K young adult camp! Everyone enjoyed the sun, surf and sand during the first activity, which was body boarding. Under the guidance of professional surfing instructors, campers were taught how to catch waves and to control and steer their boards.

Dinner was a delicious bolognaise pasta with salad. Dessert was Greek style coconut creamed rice pudding with apple and cinnamon compote. We then participated in some fun night Olympics challenges to help everyone get to know each other.

Saturday morning

We started each day with a hearty cooked breakfast of bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, hash browns, cereals and fruit.

Our campers did a high ropes course and experienced an exhilarating ride on a flying fox, leaving our adrenaline levels on a high! The army inspired mud pit challenge course was a highlight. Campers worked through various challenges including rope swings, cargo nets and tyres, and a fabulous, giant mud trench. These great teamwork activities tested our muscles, balance and endurance and we communicated with our team-mates along the way. Vietnamese rice paper rolls and San choy bow were popular at lunch time.

Saturday afternoon and evening

During the peer mentor training sessions, we practised using both EpiPen® and Anapen® adrenaline injector devices under the guidance of our volunteer health professionals. We also learned about how to be an effective peer mentor. This included some great group discussions about how to progress and expand the peer mentor program. We are excited for our five new peer mentors to practice their peer mentor skills and knowledge at our upcoming Allergy 250K Teens Fun Day and Camp.

For dinner we had Thai green chicken curry with lentil and spinach dahl. Lots of campers went back for seconds of the dessert which was homemade sticky date pudding with caramel sauce and vanilla, coconut ice cream. After the busy day of adventure activities, everyone was happy to relax and watch a movie, play card games or just chat.

Sunday morning

We did some leadership development games and catapults. During the leadership development session, team activities allowed groups to have fun and work cohesively together. Campers formed teams for the catapults and were taught basic knot tying skills and design so we could build our own team catapult. We then tested our catapults and aim by trying to hit a target placed in the field. This was followed by a baseball-style game using the catapults which was a great twist on a classic game. Lunch was oven baked loaded sweet potatoes with chilli con carne or vegan chilli, wok tossed greens and roasted vegetable salad.

Everyone had so much fun on this camp! A huge thank you to our allergy dietitians and the camp catering staff for designing such a creative menu while also managing 40 different food allergies plus other special dietary requirements and kept us all well fed over the weekend.