CURRAWONG CAMP - Adventure and bush skills camp for High-Schoolers…how life should be!

• CAMP FULL! Autumn Camp 2024 – Sat 13th April - Fri. 19th April* - Please contact us to go on the waiting list or book now for our Spring Camp.

• Spring Camp 2024 – Sat 28th Sept - Fri 4th Oct

Currawong camp is our school holiday program just for high-school aged students that recognises their zest for individuality, their quest for self-expression and nurtures their adventurous spirit! They will spend almost a week at Wangat, creating their own experiences and community, under the passionate guidance of our professional Wangat mentors. The results will be life changing!

Currawong Camp - the ‘Why’.

Our motivation is to create an experience that improves teen mental health and self acceptance. Designed by Youth worker, bush adventure therapist and outdoor educator, Dan Lyons, it meets young peoples’ needs and challenges them to create and live authentic, values-based lives.

Dan says, “It has to meet their needs, or there is no point. If they don’t feel socially engaged, and that there are healthy risks and dynamic learning opportunities, then they wont engage and certainly wont come back! If they want to be here, then we can work our mentoring magic! We don’t just want to blah blah blah, about screens, goals, risky behaviours etc, so, we allow them to experience it for themselves. Almost every single young person who has done our camp, when asked about their experience of 6 days without their phone (and other screens), has almost unanimously echoed the same sentiment - ‘it felt like a massive relief, reduction in anxiety, and allowed me to engage [with others and their surrounds] in ways I never would have thought about.’”

The philosophy is not anti-device (we understand they are part of the world we live in), BUT seeks to balance the ledger! When a young person experiences 6 days of exuberant and interesting socialising mixed with novel challenges and a sense of independance WITHOUT a screen in sight, they embody this experience and will have this awareness for life.

Packed with adventure, bush-camping and activities which develop life skills. Participants will spend 3 nights on our property in the Lodge and undertake a very special 2-night hike in the World Heritage Barrington Tops National Park, sleeping in tents. The group will be under the guidance of 4 incredible Wangat staff-mentors, plus owners Dan and Verity. Find out more about our crew here.

The program understands teenagehood - the dynamic and incredibly formative stage of life,  recognising how critical it is that teens have opportunities for “rites of passage” and “coming of age” under the safety, guidance and role modelling of “others in the village”, i.e. not just their parents. Wangat staff have the expertise and passion to play this role to help empower teens to become more resilient and confident.

Our purpose – Why we do what we do.

Biology dictates that teenagehood is when humans develop a natural desire for autonomy, independence from their parents, peer connection and a sense of belonging to a “culture”. At Currawang Camp we build a community of like-minded teens with a culture of connecting with nature, exploration, embracing diversity, and skills for living on the land. During the camp we encourage respectful and empathetic communication, build skills that foster self-care and discovery, and promote custodianship of a diverse environment and society.

Who is Currawang camp for?

Young people, who are in high school, who are ready for a truly unique and enriching life experience in their school holidays. We believe our Wangat teen camps will become a home away from home where teens can form lasting friendships. Our camps will be offered twice a year - every Autumn and Spring school holidays - so they can return often to continue discovering “their place, connections and community”.

How do we handle the age differences? We see incredible value in having different high school aged young people working and experiencing side by side. We create an environment where the older kids are expected to show kindness and generosity to the younger kids and this inter-young person mentoring, built into our camp, is incredibly empowering for both the older and younger kids. It is the model we want young people who attend our camps to take back with them into their broader lives.

We also recognise the value in like-aged young people having seperate time to bond more deeply. This is why the middle of the camp - nights 3 & 4 - see a split into two groups - Year 7 & 8s and the Years 9 and above. The Y7,8s go for a one night hike seperately and return for an extra day and night of Lodge based activities. The Y9s+ go for a challenging but unbelievably bonding and rewarding two night hike. On the last night, the two groups share a huge banquet roast dinner and exchange stories of their two different experiences - giving another opportunity for cross-age mentoring and inspiration.

Dan says, “A lot of people ask why we combine such a broad age of young people on one camp, but it is in that where I have seen the most beautiful teen behaviour. They get so much out of it, and it teaches them that even within the teen journey they have roles to play amongst each other. There are too many silos in our world, so we guide and mentor them to support each other, and when given the opportunity and a safe and supportive space, they are expert ‘youth workers’ for each other. You should see the way the older kids kindly and patiently explain things to the younger ones and the way the younger kids look up to the older ones - this is genuinely good for their mental health.”

For the above to work safely, Our experienced staff will role model exceptional values and respectful, honest communication. We are open and experienced in talking to teens about drugs and alcohol, party culture, consent and sex education, mental health and anything else they may want or need to talk about.  Discussing these topics helps to enable teens to lead healthy lives and make informed and safe decisions. 

* Wangat Lodge owner Dan Lyons is a qualified youth worker and bush adventure therapist with over 20 years working in the youth sector in schools, youth services and universities. Our guides have a diverse range of qualifications and life experience and have been carefully selected as exceptional mentors. Our teen camps are not “therapy”, rather they provide experiential learning and mentoring, but have the capacity and a safe environment for producing exceptional therapeutic benefits to young people. For more information about our staff please visit our Meet the crew! page.

What will your teen do?

Day to day – the real stuff!
Teens will be part of Wangat day to day life -helping to collect and safely chop firewood, cooking meals, baking bread, planting vegetables and managing the waste we produce. This involvement in the day to day running of the camp teaches life skills and helps develop a sense of purpose, responsibility and confidence in our teens. 

Camp activities – the fun stuff!
We will teach survival skills like “making fire from friction”, shelter building and raft making. The teens will have input on the things they want to build - if they want to build a flying fox, or a cubby house, they can! There will be adventurous games, like a massive “capture the flag” over the entire 50 acre property. We will be tree climbing, swimming and jumping into swimming holes (yes, even in winter - the famous Wangat “cold water challenge”). There will also be plenty of time to hang out and chill on the comfy lounges and around the fire.

2-night hike – the adventure stuff!
The highlight of Currawang camp will be our hiking adventure, spending 2 nights in the forest, embracing what hike camping is all about - time with friends exploring, swimming, making things, laughing and cooking on the coals! Your teen(s) will learn to prepare for the trip, navigate with map and compass and all the skills needed to survive and thrive on their mountain adventure. The effect of being in a beautiful and remote camp site only accessible by foot is immeasurable on the human spirit and the human connections you make with your fellow hikers is incomparable. 

Conservation –
Teen’s will participate in meaningful projects around the property that will create rewarding opportunities for teamwork, satisfaction and pride in their work. This winter, we will be making habitat boxes and installing them for native animals. We have identified that our young forest lacks tree hollows that are critical for many species to dwell here. After learning to make the boxes, using hand tools in the Wangat Workshop, they will then be involved in learning to climb trees, using ropes and harnesses, and mount the boxes in place. We will monitor the boxes over the years reporting back as birds and marsupials find their home!

We love the concept of “learning by doing”. Our staff are experts at not just teaching the task, but teaching it and mentoring in a way that the young person will learn about themselves, challenge limiting self-beliefs and build confidence. 

This is a values-led program –
Everything we plan and do during the teen camp must meet our values tick sheet. These are:

• Respect and inclusivity of human diversity in all aspects

• Collaboration not competition

• Unconditional positive regard

• Kindness

Health and Safety – the nitty-gritty stuff!

Yes, it will be challenging at times. Are there risks? Absolutely. Taking risks in nature is practice and experience for the rest of life and is proven to improve risk assessment ability and resilience. These types of risks are what we want and need our teens to be taking, learning from actions and consequences in the bush. Unpredictable weather, hills to summit, and meals to prepare on nothing but a campfire are the types of challenges that help us grow. Our experienced staff are more than comfortable in wild environments - they thrive in it! - and will be there at every step offering support and guidance, making sure it’s a positive experience.

Cost and other Information

– $1,495* for 7 days/6 nights. Includes facilitation, accommodation, specialised camping and hiking gear, experienced and proffessional guides with remote area first aid, all meals (high quality, wholefood and home cooked), transport to and from Dungog Train Station for those who arrive/leave by train and a lingering sense of awesomeness!

REFUND POLICY:

Payments are transferable ONCE to a future program when over 30 days notice is given. Refunds are given in full for cancellations more than 30 days before camp (less $100 admin fee). When less than 30 days notice is given, your fee is non-refundable unless we can find a direct replacement (we often have a waiting list for those who missed out, but with less than 30 days notice, families have often made other plans) in which we will issue a full refund less $150 admin fee. Verifiable (PCR test only, not RAT) covid related cancellations bring a full refund.

The real value for your teen is Wangat’s Owner Dan Lyons and his team -

Wangat Lodge owner Dan Lyons is a qualified youth worker and bush adventure therapist with over 20 years working in the youth sector in schools, youth services and universities. More importantly he admires and empathises deeply with the teen stage of life. He has an ability to allow teens to drop their social pretence and guard and genuinely be themselves. He has developed the Currawong Camp to fully engage teens at their true worth and ability, and offer a social setting that allows their creativity to thrive. The forest is the setting and Dan and his team of mentors provide supportive, kind, strong guidance.

“The result is teens leave our camp with not just improved mental health, but with chins up and noticible joy in their eyes. They have had an experience of 5 nights with no screens, that is profoundly engaging and positive. It is hard to overstate how transformative this experience is for ANY person in this era.” - Dan

Our guides, mostly amazing young adults in their twenties or early thirties have a diverse range of qualifications and life experience and have been carefully selected as exceptional mentors. Our teen camps are not “therapy”, rather they provide experiential learning and mentoring, but have the capacity and a safe environment for producing exceptional therapeutic benefits to young people. For more information about our staff please visit our Meet the crew! page.

- There is a limit of 26 places for this camp so it remains a close-knit experience allowing participants to form closer connections and friendships and so that all young people are individually recognised by and connected to our mentors.

* Payment plan option: We are happy to arrange a payment plan with 40% up-front payment then installments over the following 6 months. Please reach out if you have any questions about this.
** Support a teen to do this camp. If you believe in what we do and want to help make this more accessible, Please get in touch if you’d like to make a donation and help sponsor a teen!

Getting to Wangat
Wangat Lodge is a 3 hour drive from Sydney and 1.5 hour drive from Newcastle. We have plenty of teens who opt to catch the train to Dungog Station where our mentors shuttle them to The Lodge. We’ve heard the return train trip home as a group has been a special way for participants to reflect and cement their new friendships.

Other info
All participants will be sent relevant camp info in due course which will include a medical request form and comprehensive ‘what to bring’ list.
n.b. Participants will be required to supply their own clothing fit for the experience. Wangat Lodge will be able to provide all specialist equipment, including tents, sleeping mats, rain gear, hiking packs, etc (Included in the price). 

All our programs are…
– Fully risk-assessed
– Facilitated by professional, experienced and specialist guides who are trained in First Aid and have current WWCC
– Operated with a small student to guide ratio integral to a more focused and rewarding experience