Stage III Autumn

Stage III Contact Us Autumn 2010 www.wollangarra.org ‘Wollangarra’ [email protected] Stage III on Facebook Licola 3858 ‘Mountain Work Parties’ (03) 5148 0492

Stage III Committee The Committee has been busy We’re still looking for some once again finalising the calendar for the year and general members for the committee, so if you’d like planning the Annual Stage III Trivia Night! You to get more involved in Stage III then this is defi- should all have received the Stage III calendar with nitely something you should do. It’s not a big com- all the events for 2010 on it (otherwise check out mitment, but it is a big lot of fun!! If you’re inter- Stage III on the website). It is filled with exciting ested then just speak to one of the current committee events and there is also some room for you guys to members or contact Lisa. plan your own expeditions or work parties. You may We hope to see you all up at woll in the near future!! also notice that there Ella Barry are four main expedi- tions and these are Events. named after the four seasons of the year, if your wondering which I am really excited to events you should be a part of stage III come along to, then this year! Young peo- these are definitely ple taking initiative ones you should get and responsibility, up to Woll for! using the skills that they have learnt We’ve already had through stage I and II some fantastic events and becoming moti- this year, including vated and capable the Harrietville to Mit- Stage IIIers. It’s a fan- tagundi Hike and Bur- tastic journey. goyne’s hut work party, where they Some cool stage III’s waiting to be ‘inducted’! ‘raised the roof’, which you’ll hear more about fur- Stage III this year is all about getting up into the ther into the newsletter. We also had heaps of stage mountains that we love and doing some great pro- IIIers up at Woll for Fruit Bottling which was great jects. I can’t wait to see you all there. to see. Coming up we have the Autumn Stage III Ex- Being based in Melbourne has been great to be closer pedition to Millers Hut. to the committee. They are a wonderful bunch, as We hope to see you all there for some good times! Ella said we are looking for a couple more people to get involved—it’s heaps of fun. Lisa

Stage III Induction . Winter Stage III July 2nd to 5th Track work on the Crinoline and Learn all about how you can become playing in the snow — h o p e f u l l y ! a stage III. July 5th to 10th

Stage III is a dynamic and strong community of young people and their supporters, who actively under- take purposeful and practical environmental work in the mountains and at home. Stage III is open to any keen young person who wants the opportunity to make a real difference.

P AGE 2 W OLLANGARRA S TAGE III

Adventures & Events

December Mt Howitt Hike Our December hike was perfect except we left the cheese in the fridge at Woll. Hamish Macrae, Keith Edwards, Louise King, Angus Woodward, Gemma Ross McGlynn (with Maddie and Conrad, as our lead- ers) we all headed our to Mount Howitt for a week long hike. We hiked into Gantner Hut/Mac Springs and spent a chilly night looking out over the Terrible Hollow and the Devils Staircase. We spent the next week walking over the rugged Crosscut, around to the formidable Viking, down into the Wonnangatta valley and back up to Mt.Howitt. It’s hard to express in words how beautiful it was up in the mountains, how much fun we had together and how close we became as a small group. The highlights were Angus’ amazing cheese-less pita pizzas, the sunset at Mac Springs, spontaneous songs from Louise, large amounts of chocolate, lack of complaining, positive attitudes and reading ‘Oh the Places You’ll Go’ on top of the Viking. It was a real treat to go on a decent length hike through some of the most spectacular country around with such a tight-knit group. We all can’t wait to do it again next year and this time we won’t forget the cheese! - Hamish and Louise

Stage III induction - December 2009 “Be the change you want to see in Stage III” A bunch of adventurous Stage II’s took the plunge in December 2009 to start their Wollangarra journey of being a Stage III. The weekend involved lots of fun, memorable experiences and inspirational speeches. We were provided with more knowledge of the workings of Wollangarra and how to be more independent around the flat. We also took a stroll to Box Flat where we spent time talking and ‘D&Ming’ about Wollangarra and what we need to think about before we go out on hike as Stage III’s. Thanks for the help from Dan Abikhair, Penny Bates, Alex Pon- tonio and Simmo who shared their knowledge of Wollangarra and the behind the scenes details of what goes on at Woll that we didn’t already know as Stage IIs. We also had to undergo the Stage III induction race, which involved apple bobbing, a ‘rain storm’ and a mys- terious milkshake that was drunk by a member of each team. Overall the weekend was a wonderful success with each new Stage III leaving with great memories and new skills for the future. - Mal, Al, James and Adam.

Above: Stage IIIs wait for their team mates during the “induction race”; Right: Simmo, Gary, Gowie, Ollie, Justin and Al are the very cool sweeping crew.

A UTUMN NEWSLETTER 2009 P AGE 3

Adventures and Events Harrietville to Mittagundi hike Harrietville to Mittagundi, where to start? Well to break it down it was 9 young people, 2 leaders and a whole week to hike through some of the highest parts of the . As we all headed off from Southern Cross station it was weird to know that we were going on a Wollangarra Hike but not actually going to Wollangarra at all. We were headed towards the land of Ian Stapleton and the famous Mittagundi. And once we arrived in this region we soon realised that we were up for a monster of a week, 40 degrees plus was predicted for the guts of our hike and we were not feeling as confident as before. A change of plan was in order due to fire hazards and we were spend- ing 2 days swimming in anything and everything we could find, as well as hanging out with Ian, the man himself, and other friends of Wollan- garra before heading up the 1986 metre . To say that some of us were a bit rusty on the hiking part would be correct but we got to the top of Bogong in one piece. The old calf burn feeling was defiantly having a field day as we hiked up the staircase telling all sorts of pointless stories to keep us going. Three days of hiking seemed to wear us all out, with… waterfall swims, extreme water runs through berry bushes and absolutely breath taking views we were well and truly ready to arrive at Mittagundi and set up for a weekend of ‘Pioneer Skills’ fun. To start off the weekend we headed to the Bush Dance at the local hall and my oh my did that dance go ‘off’, after arriving two hours late we made up for lost time and got straight into it and busted some moves until early morning. For the rest of the weekend we looked around Mitta and joined in on the all the activities going on. It was the same sort of stuff that was at the Wollangarra Open Day, but with a Mittagundi twist to it. The January hike was definitely an ex- perience that I would like to repeat. A great group of people, great place and all in all a great time. Annabelle Nunan

Stage III news: We would like to welcome two new members to the stage III Committee: Angus Woodward who is going to be helping Hamish with Woll Events and Louise King who has paired up with Ella Barry and these two lovely ladies are bringing you Melbourne Events—they’ve been working had to make the Trivia night a success. The committee has also been working hard to bring you the Stage III calendar—if you have- n’t received one please email Lisa on [email protected]. You’ll notice we have left a weekend in August and the Spring hike blank for your ideas. So think about where you’d like to go or what projects you’d like to do (either at Woll or in the mountains) and let us know. We can help you plan and organise the project—contact the committee at [email protected]

More Info on Stage III? See the web: ‘Stage III’ at www.wollangarra.org ‘Stage III Mountain Work Parties’ Group on Facebook or Call Stage III at Wollangarra on (03) 5148 0492

Burgoynes Hut

Once upon a time not that long ago, a group of enthusiastic stage IIIs and their mascot ‘Michael Jackson the Barbie’ went on an adventure to Burgoynes Hut. We called it the ‘Burgoynes raising the roof party weekend’. And that was exactly what we intended to do, party hard and raise a roof. Annabelle, Tish, Mal, Bonnie, Lucy and Keithy joined Lisa at Traralgon. We stayed at Wollangarra on Friday night and Ant joined us on Saturday morning to walk into Burgoy- nes. Meeting us there was Jack and Fallsy, Simmo, Will Ford, tall Ant and another helper Eric. Once we arrived there was no time to sit and relax, we had to get straight to work. Cleaning some rusted corrugated iron that would later be used on the roof. Axing and adzing pieces of timber the old pio- neer style way to complete the post and rail fence around the hut. It was hard work but the end product was well worth the effort. We persisted through the blisters and the short storm. The roofing and work up on the temporary scaffolding was done by the men and the girls stayed on the ground and did the hard work, haha. Saturday evening was spent creating the best bonfire in Wollangarra history! Tish and Annabelle stacked the pile high and Will got creative with a fuse to try and light it but we settled for the traditional method of scrunched newspaper and matches. Sunday morning was an early rise and we continued working through until lunchtime. In that time Ant and Keith dug a new dunny hole to replace the loo made on September Stage 2 in 2008. The new one is big enough to hold all the campers poo for at least another year! Thanks to everyone that helped us out, it’s really amazing to be able to say “BURGOYNES HAS A ROOF!” ! Congratulations fellow stage IIIs and helpers, we did it! Bonnie McWilliam and Malory Huther at do you have planned for next year? Well next year I plan to do year 11 at Melbourne Girls Grammar. I am Thanking You . . .  Denno—leading April Stage III hike.  Alex Pontonio—stage III induction  Fallsy, Jack Gilbert, Simmo and in December, nice work! W i s h l i s t Will Ford heaps of work on Bur- goyns hut, setting up and teaching us some new skills.  Nalgene Bottles and Containers

 Dan Abikhair and Merryn Shaw—  Gaiters in all sizes leading Jan hike.  Waterproof pants  Stage III Committee— all your  2nd hand cupboards for gear storage behind the scenes work  Shovel (for hiking)  Trivia night helpers—thanks for  your time and donations. More in the next newsletter.

If undeliverable, please return to: Surface Mail Postage Paid Wollangarra Licola 3858

Print Post Approved PP 381667/00516