A night under the stars

Participants from Northern NSW and the Gold Coast attend Queensland’s first Aruma Camp!

July 12, 2024

It’s a picturesque sight — a group of friends huddled around a campfire, toasting marshmallows while they laugh and share jokes. Aruma participants from across Northern NSW and the Gold Coast region came together for the first Aruma Queensland Camp.

With their tents and supplies ready, Toby, Liam and Dan headed down to Sharp River Bend Park Campsite by the creek for a night of adventure, friendship and skills-building. Their support staff, David Moore-Evan, Patrick Klein and Manager of Shared Living, Nathan Lawrie, were just as excited.

“The camp went brilliantly! Four participants stayed overnight, and one joined us for a barbecue dinner. For most of the guys, this was their first outdoor camping experience, a milestone we were thrilled to help them achieve. I think the best part was seeing the friendships that were forged and watching them all have a great time,” said Nathan.

“My favourite part of the camp was sitting around the campfire and having a beer and laugh. I had a really fun time” said one of the participants.

Day one was all about learning to set up the tents, inflating air mattresses, and, of course, manning the barbecue and chatting about footy when it was time for dinner. Then, after a night under the stars, the crew were up bright and early for a bushwalk.

“We headed down to a waterfall, and the guys did a great job traversing the wet and muddy conditions. They all felt very accomplished when we got down to the waterfall. Dan Chapman, an Aboriginal man from the Gold Coast, absolutely loved being amongst nature and returning to country. It was one of his NDIS goals that he’d been working towards for a while, and he was very proud to have achieved that” shared Nathan.

The camp had also been a long time coming and required intricate planning.

“There was a lot to be done from the risk management angle. Our Health Safety and Wellbeing Advisor for Queensland was a fantastic help in organising all of that. I’d say we worked on it gradually for two months,” said Nathan.

The team are already looking forward to the next camp and are planning to make it even more exciting and memorable. What a fantastic way to spend a weekend!