Term 2 2026 Vision Valley Residential Program Stories

Amber

Vision Valley was such a unique and enjoyable experience for me! I made lots of memories and bonded with my current friends as well as an unbelievable number of other peers. There were challenges, as expected, which didn’t fail to push me out of my comfort zone, specifically the activities with heights. The expeditions held their challenges too, but I can’t complain because it was always rewarding returning to the valley after long days of hiking to slide down the water slide and reunite with Southern Cross. In many moments I was unsure and even a bit scared but looking back I’m so glad I gave everything a go! I learnt a lot about myself and my values and I couldn’t be more grateful that I made the most of my time at Vision Valley from day 1. I’ve loved coming back to school and seeing friends and family but I’d take the opportunity to go back to Vision Valley in a heartbeat, even just for one more day.

Emma

I heard a lot about the Vision Valley Year 9 Residential Program even before I was in Year 9. I listened to stories about expeditions, the 24-hour solo, the activities and the food, and everyone came back saying that it was the best experience ever and that they wanted to go back. So, I had high expectations going into the program. It did not disappoint. 

I immensely enjoyed my time at Vision Valley. It was so different from anything I had experienced before, and I think that’s what made it such an amazing and interesting experience. A whole month away from family, phones, school and co-curriculars seemed a bit intimidating and even a bit annoying given how many things I was going to miss out on back at school, but I soon forgot about all of that and just immersed myself in the experience.

Every day was full of fun. Whether it be canoeing in the lake, hiking up seemingly never-ending hills with my kin group or just sitting around with my friends, I was enjoying myself. Even things I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy were made fun and interesting thanks to the instructors and my friends. I learnt a lot too, not just about first aid or mushrooms, but about teamwork, leadership, independence and people. I made new friends and grew closer to my pre-existing friends. I made tons of new memories, some of which I will cherish forever.

One of my favourite memories was the talent show we had near the end of the program. Everyone was gathered in the living room, singing, dancing, cheering and laughing along to all the performances. It really felt as if we were a community. The staff often told us that the 76 of us would share a unique bond and understand the 2026 Term 2 experience in a way nobody else would, and the talent show proved it to me.

I think that’s also what makes the residential program special. Everyone who goes there comes back with new stories, experiences and a new community with those that shared the month at the valley with them. I’m incredibly grateful that the school offers such a unique and life-changing program and that I got to experience it.

Athena – Journal Entry

8th of May, 2026

I think we got a massive sleep in and woke up at 7am today. Then we had an hour at the lodge to have breakfast, change and get ready for the day since it was offsite elective day. I’m doing whitewater rafting, which I’m super excited for. The other choices were mountain biking and rock climbing. I had my usual breakfast of 2 bowls of nutrigrain with honey, and two pieces of toast with butter and honey. After breakfast, we went to the firepit and split off into offsite groups.

We took a bus to Penrith Whitewater Stadium, and apparently they had Olympics there for water sports before which is really cool. Before recess we practiced strokes on kayaks on a normal lake, and the kayaks were built for slalom and whitewater so they were really sensitive to turning. I was in a yellow one because I thought it looked like a banana. We played red light green light, and these games with a volleyball on the water. Then for recess I had half my sandwich.

After recess we went to the start of the whitewater course and carried the big yellow boats down to the water. We got a very detailed safety briefing which included:

• Keep a hand on the grip at all times so it doesn’t smack anyone,
• Keep your feet up above the water if you fall in and point them down the stream so they don’t get caught in anything,
• Hands in a t shape when receiving the rescue rope if you need it,
• If people on the boat need to pull someone in, grab the life jacket straps and pull them into the sections of the boat between the pillows,
• Wedge your foot under the pillows a little bit so it’s easier to keep balance and not fall out.

I sat in the orange dot, and I think I had the best spot because I got splashed by almost all of the waves. We had the biggest raft with 10 people including the kids, a VV instructor (Caitlyn) and the whitewater instructor Wojtech in our raft. Wojtech has been doing water sports since he was 3!! Which is crazy so everyone trusted him and we all had lots of fun. We went three laps around the stadium, then we stopped in the middle of one of the laps, put our paddles down, and went to this spot and spun around in the waves. Our boat was filled with water and was almost vertical, and everyone was hanging on and it was so fun. Wojtech also explained that whitewater courses were ranked by difficulty in levels from 0-6 (and sometimes 7), and this course was in a controlled environment so it was a 3.

At the end of the 3 laps we got back out of the water, carried the boat back, and had hot showers (which is good because the water was quite cold). We had an hour until the bus got back to pick us up, so we baked in the sun and dried off, and chatted to some of the staff who told us the water pumps in the stadium pump out 14 tonnes of water per second so they fill the whole course and drain it really fast. By the time we finished showering, all the water in the course was gone which I found really cool. I mostly just slept on the bus because I was tired.

When we got back to VV, we fell back into the routine of grabbing afternoon tea which was sausage rolls (one of my favourites), then we went back to the lodge and had pasta bake for dinner which was one of the best dinners of the whole program.

At 7:15pm, we watched Coco on the lounges, and everyone got really emotional and started crying. We got popcorn and brought blankets and pillows to the couches and it was really fun. I forgot my GoPro holder today so I don’t have any photos or videos from the actual whitewater rafting which I regret, but it lives on in my memories which is good enough for me. Then I did my laundry and we got ready for bed and had little lights, which is right now, and in about 2 minutes we’ll have little lights off, so I’ll cut off here because I want to write to my friends and family.