January 2012. Melbourne Vixens, our national level netball team, concluded their 2012 pre-season camp with facilitation at KRWC. 12 tough girls with 12 authentic smiles - lookout the rest of ANZ - they are switched on
With the support of the Australian Camps Association Colin French from KRWC presented at the ICC in Hong Kong in November. The focus of the presentation was the recovery journey since the Black Saturday bushfires. The aspiration was for the KRWC experience to be helpful for camps internationally that have sufferred from natural disasters, particularly with the Japan tsunami experience in mind.
At the Reach Foundations annual Shooting Star awards event at The Dream Factory in Collingwood, Colin & Michelle French (KRWC operators) were awarded the peak award for 2011 the Shooting Star. Woohoo!Our Camp Philosophy and General Overview
At Kinglake Ranges Wilderness Camp we take pride in making camp experiences as they should be. We deliver a blend of the fun classic camp that will become etched in childhood memories with contemporary expectations of youth development needs.
KRWC is a group accommodation and adventure activity camp just 60 minutes from the CBD and perched on the very top of the Great Dividing Range. Our facility is in the centre of 1500 acres of DSE managed parks and sits beside the King Parrot Creek. It is owned by DSE and leased by Colin and Michelle French. The camp was totally destroyed in the 2009 Black Satruday bushfires and has been rebuilt to begin operating again in 2011.
KRWC offers very much a classic camp experience in an exceptional natural surround where great food and a warm hosting culture set the foundation for developing individually and as a group. Challenging team and individual activities are delivered with the goal of sustainable learning. We have challenging high ropes and water courses, including the Leap of Faith and we also have a series of sites we offer for overnight hikes and bush camping.
We go to great efforts to ensure that our school and youth programs are aligned with the latest thinking in the developmental requirements of young people. We regularly deliver programming for VYDP groups and integrate many of our programs with school curriculums and course competencies. Orientation/transition and peer support camps aimed at years 7, 11 and 12 are regular at KRWC as are tertiary orientation camps. We are also working with a number of schools on ways to improve student participation rates where cultural or religious beliefs are at odds with the general school camp model.
At KRWC there are no shops, there are no nearby roads, there only Telstra mobile phone reception at the camp. Our experience is that this removes a lot of day to day clutter providing students with a sense of freedom in a safe environment and really makes the most of the environment and the experience.
KRWC also understands the value of documenting and adhering to standards in relation to our facilities and the operation of activities. ALL aspects of our camp are subject to extensive documentation of standards from cleaning, kitchen, maintenance, equipment logging, emergency procedures and so on (see attached overviews). Of significant importance to us at KRWC is our framework for delivery of programs which goes well beyond the usual physical safety aspects. In ALL programs we deliver we focus on making the experience physically and emotionally safe e.g. no bullying, no undue peer pressures.
You will see from our testimonials that we have a very strong track record of delivering great camp experiences – for students and teachers alike. You will also notice in these testimonials that KRWC food is acclaimed.
We have great people, with tremendous experience, who have a passion for people and the outdoors! We are very proud of what we achieve with each and every camp.
Please feel free to contact us directly on 5786 5230 or via our contact page for any further information you require regarding our facilities and programming or please feel free to come up for a visit.
Yours sincerely,
Colin & Michelle French