> Blog: Happy Australia Day!

Happy Australia Day!

Australia Day is the official National Day of Australia, and celebrates the landing of the First Fleet - 11 British ships led by Captain James Cook - at Port Jackson in late January 1788.

In 2014, PGL's own 'First Fleet' arrived in Australia to open two new adventure camps in Victoria - PGL Campaspe Downs and PGL Camp Rumbug. It was an exciting time for the PGL team as they set off from the UK with the goal of bringing the PGL adventure experience to Australian shores.

Two years later, PGL's Australian adventure camps now welcome over 18,000 children a year, including over 200 school groups who are able to experience an inspiring mix of adventure activities led by a dedicated team of UK and Australian staff.

Dan Grewcock, Centre Manager at PGL Campaspe Downs in Victoria was part of the first team to arrive in Australia. Previously Centre Operations Manager at PGL Liddington near Swindon, Dan made the life-changing decision to move to Australia with his young family in 2014 and will be celebrating his second Australia Day down under this year. 

Dan tells us ten things he's learnt about life in Australia and some of the differences between PGL's Australian camps and our UK centres:

1. Winter is summer and summer is winter - I still can't get used to cooking Christmas dinner on a BBQ!

2. As well as children on site, we often have visiting wildlife, like kangaroos!

3. The language is the same and different - children need bathers, thongs and swimmies, and activities take place in the morning and the 'arvo'.

4. Australia is a very big country and the variety of natural landscapes for children to learn in is amazing - rainforest, bush, sea, mountains and more.

5. Whilst in the UK we build shelters to protect guests from the rain when they are doing activities; here it is the sun that can cause the problems!

6. For school groups, the long school summer holidays are in December and the new academic year starts in January.

7. In the state of Victoria (where Campaspe Downs is located) there are four school terms not three.

8. Schools vary in size enormously, from very small in rural areas (less than 10 children) to secondary schools of over 3500 students in Melbourne.

9. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, students still get all the same benefits from a PGL course.

10. The Aussies are really welcoming and coming out here is one of the best career moves with PGL ever!

How will the Australia team be celebrating Australia Day?

As it's a public holiday, many of the staff will have the day off and will make the most of it by heading to the beach! We'll be celebrating with a BBQ in the sun.

by Dan Grewcock.

Left-hand photo: Dan Grewcock (front, centre, right, with cap) and the team at PGL Campaspe Downs
Right-hand photo: The team at PGL Camp Rumbug

Whether it's a school trip, group residential, family holiday or summer camp, a PGL experience will often be the start of an amazing new journey for young people in the UK and Australia.

More information on PGL Adventure Camps in Australia can be found at www.pgladventurecamps.com.au