Andi's Adventures

Hi everyone! Exciting news- I've heard back about the opportunity I hinted at a few weeks ago. Beginning 2 days after the AABAT conference, I'll be working as a volunteer mentor on Human Nature Adventure Therapy/Recre8 Young Women's Program ( www.humannature.org.au )! This is really exciting. The Recre8 Young Women's Program is a four-month long therapeutic process using a combination of traditional office-setting psychotherapy and Bush Adventure Therapy. The program is for "troubled" girls aged 14-19 who are interested in developing self-esteem and self-efficacy skills, and may be experiencing or have experienced mental health issues, childhood trauma, drug and alcohol problems, behavioral difficulties, or social exclusion. Recre8 serves the northern region of New South Wales, so while I am in NSW right now at Wangat, Recre8 is still almost 7 hours away! During the 10-day expedition portion of the process, I'll be coming along with the participants and ...

I arrived at Wangat last Sunday and have spent the week with Verity and Dan, and I’ve been busy! I’m not quite sure how to go about describing everything I’ve seen, done, and learned in a way that feels like I’m conveying that parts that matter, but here’s my attempt: Wangat is an outdoor education/family camp/retreat center that hosts individuals, families, school trips, and camps at various times throughout the year. It's located in New South Wales near the edge of the Barrington Tops National Park, about 4 hours north-ish of Sydney and an hour west-ish of Newcastle. The closest town is Dungog. There’s a big lodge that has 10 cabin-style rooms, and a nice little cottage called Melia Cottage (that’s where I’m currently staying) and a bigger cottage for families called Clancy Cottage. Verity and Dan own and run Wangat. I’ve really enjoyed helping them out with all sorts of things, from leading bush adventure hikes to preparing lunches in the kitchen with many i...

After a grueling 22 hours of travel, I made it to Sydney. Aside from the fact that I got lost in the Sydney airport even though all the signs were in English,  I think I'm navigating Sydney quite well. (As I was writing that sentence 3 different parrots flew onto the table next to me, wow cool.) My adventures in Australia began perfectly- my new friend Joelle and her friend Simon picked me up from the airport, and then we drove to Simon's home in Paddington where I got to take a hot shower and was fed avocado toast (omg) and espresso. Yesterday I walked around Sydney all day and visited the Australia Museum near Hyde Park, trying to force myself to stay awake until it was evening. I failed, and went back to Simon's to take a nap before dinner. Simon made us the most delicious dinner, complete with wine and Australian beer. It was the perfect end to a wonderful first day. I'm so grateful that I didn't have to spend the first 2 days of this year stressing out about ...