American Style ‘Summer Camps’ in Australia
Fri 16 Dec 2016 | Summer Camps
Australia culture is flooded with influences from the United States, and while some of these might not be deemed unanimously positive… they’re definitely on to something with Summer Camps!
At Cave Hill Creek, we have been successfully running camps at our accredited family owned and operated facility in Beaufort for nearly 30 years with popularity increasing every year amongst Victorian families.
What is a Summer Camp?
Famously featured in countless American movies, the Summer Camp is an organised group accommodating get-away during the extended school holidays, generally associated with nature, adventure, and ‘the Great Outdoors.’
At Cave Hill Creek, our Summer Camp is a 4 night residential camp for 8 – 14 year olds, fully catered, and run by qualified and experienced staff.
Our Summer Camps consist of the traditional outdoor adventure activities such as archery, canoeing, ropes courses, bushwalking, mountain biking and abseiling… with the added bonuses of learning survival skills with raft and hut building, as well as relaxing in our picturesque natural surroundings, and learning about local indigenous traditions and the history of our land.
BENEFITS OF SUMMER CAMP
Gets kids off the couch – rather than your kids staying inside and watching Netflix all holidays… or playing X-box Live… why not get them out and about, being active and social, stimulating their minds and bodies throughout the school break? Many Summer Camps, like ours, pride themselves on being a ‘tech free zone’, and opening up our visitor’s eyes to the world beyond their phone screens.
Exposure to diversity – Summer Camp is a great opportunity for children to connect with others outside of their immediate geographical, cultural or socio-economic groups… making new friends, and importantly opening their minds to the diverse multicultural Australian landscape.
Build self-confidence and esteem – When children are forced to exit their comfort zone and cooperate with others in group activities with highly rewarding outcomes, it helps build self-confidence, team-working and leadership skills… and shows kids what they’re capable of achieving when they set their minds to a task.
In fact, the American Camp Association (the biggest Summer Camp organisation in the world) states that over 90% of kids who attend camp say that the people at camp helped them feel good about themselves.
Get in touch with nature – Having an understanding and respect for our land is an important part of Australian culture. At Cave Hill Creek, our expert guides point out unique fascinations in the local fauna and flora, and if you’re lucky, help you spot wild platypus in the lake… one of the best opportunities in the country to see this!
Occupy the summer break – Whilst the Christmas/Summer break is a wonderful time to spend with family, unfortunately most parents only receive a couple of weeks off at best… leaving a serious overlap between work and school holidays. Summer Camp provides a positive and valuable option for kids whose parents might need to work before school’s back.
These are just some of the benefits associated with Summer Camps that Australian kids and parents are becoming more and more aware of. For further information or enquiries on Cave Hill Creek Summer Camp, check out our information online, or feel free to contact us today!