The Duryea's entry
Nature Play ANZAC Day competition winners
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My Day in Rottnest.
By Laura Duryea - age 5 years
Hi my name is Laura Duryea and I am 5 years old. I had a trip to Rottnest. I have never been there before. I went with my brothers Jason and Aiden, my baby sister Sonia and mum and dad.
Mummy woke me up when it was dark and I was confused because I didn’t know we were going. I got ready and hopped into my daddy’s car and drove to the boat. It was bumpy on the boat and I got sick. When I got there we went to the Dawn Service and we needed to wait a long time. I saw the sunrise. I loved the beautiful flowers that were laid by the flagpole to remember the soldiers.
I saw some animals called Quokkas’. There are really cute.
I really enjoyed going on a bus ride to see the beaches and climbing the lighthouse with my daddy. My favourite part of the trip was making a sandcastle on the beach.
I love going on holidays with my family and playing in the sunshine.
THE END
What I did at Rottnest
Aiden Duryea - age 7 years
It was three o'clock in the morning. I felt tired. But I couldn’t go back now we were just moments away from Fremantle. We boarded the ferry at four o’clock. There were six of us going on this adventure, my mum, dad, two younger sisters, my older brother and I. When we arrived at Rottnest Island everyone started to gather on the grass area at Thomson Bay, waiting for the Anzac Day Dawn Service to begin. It was cold.
The Dawn Service was just about to begin and lots of Navy soldiers marched in. In the middle of the service they laid wreaths then followed by two minutes silence. It was amazing to see the sunrise. After the Dawn Service we had a sausage sizzle. As we were eating, I saw some Quokkas!
Then we queued up for the train but we didn’t get in because there was an enormous crowd. We decided that we wouldn’t go on the train anymore but go on the bus which took us all around Rottnest as the train only took us to the Gun Tower.
When we got to the seventh stop on the bus route, we got off and looked around. There was a humongous lighthouse on a hill staring down at us. We ran up the hill as fast as we could go. My mum and little sister got left behind. It felt like a century waiting for them. It was a long wait to get into the lighthouse but we finally got in.
It wasn’t that hard to climb the lighthouse stairs. As we went up the rooms got smaller and smaller. When we got to the top we went outside the balcony and looked down at the people below with some binoculars. We went down the lighthouse steps until we got to the bottom. As we were leaving we were given special lighthouse bookmarks.
We went down the hill again back to the seventh stop. We didn’t have to wait that long until the bus came zipping around the corner. When we completed the full circuit of the island, and returned to the first bus stop, we got off and went for a quick lunch at the Dome. Then we went to the beach for a swim.
At the beach there were giant “water toy floats” which I and my brother could play on for twenty minutes. When the twenty minutes were over, we had to get changed very quickly because we were going back on the two o’clock ferry.
The trip home was much quicker and smoother. When we got back I was so exhausted that I flopped right onto my bed.
While lying in my bed I thought of what a great day it had been. And then I pondered about what was my favorite thing I had done today. Oh yes, climbing the lighthouse steps, seeing the Quokkas or maybe it was on the bus? Ah! I know now, it was going swimming in the sea. Yes, it was going swimming in the sea.
I’m so glad that my mum and dad brought me to Rottnest Island. You can do so much nature play with just a little imagination instead of sitting in front of the TV or the computer. You can play Pirates or Mermaids, instead of watching a movie of the “Legend of the Seven Seas”. Just play it!
THE END
My Adventure at Rottnest Island
by Jason Duryea - age 10 years
The outdoors felt different in the early hours of the morning. It was dark and peaceful, with only the sound of the leaves gently blowing in the wind.
Hi, my name is Jason Duryea and I am ten years old. I won a trip to Rottnest Island for my mum, dad, younger brother, two younger sisters and I. Today I am going to state what I did at Rotto and how unstructured play outdoors is way better than just sitting on the couch in front of the TV holding a packet of oily chips.
It was 3:05 am when I heard the lights outside my door flick on. I struggled to get out of bed but as soon as I was standing on my two feet I was excited. I changed, raced out of my bedroom and woke my brother and two sisters up. We hopped in the car by 3:30 arriving at the ferry terminal at Rous Head, Fremantle just in time.
When we checked in a lady gave us a brown bag with the “Nature Play” logo on the front. It had lots of things in it like t-shirts and maps. Once we were safely seated in the lower deck of the ferry, we had a good look at the maps and t-shirts. On the back of the t-shirts was writing that said “15 things you have to do before you are twelve”. Fortunately I have done all these things already because I am a very active boy.
On the ferry the ANZAC day service in Sydney was being screened on the TV. We were going to attend the Rottnest Island Anzac Day Dawn Service, a solemn and special event. The boat was skipping over the water at great speeds, making it a really bumpy ride. It was surreal because it was still pitch black outside and you could not see where you were going.
When the boat arrived everybody rushed out really fast and because we were in the lower deck we were one of the last to leave. As soon as I got my two feet on the ground I literally kissed it. It was so much better to be standing on something that was not bouncing up and down in the waves. The crew was busy unloading all the bikes. There were some amazing carbon road bikes and some impressive rugged full suspension mountain bikes. We didn't bring our bikes because we are a family of six and we couldn’t fit them all on the car bike rack.
We were walking along the jetty at Thomson Bay towards where the Dawn Service would be held, when I saw a Quokka. The last time I saw a quokka was when I was two years old but I hardly remember it.
The Dawn Service was great. Seeing the sunrise was very moving and beautiful. One minute it was pitch black, then the world was beginning to wake up. The speeches, the soldiers and the really big anti aircraft gun were memorable.
After the service we all had hot dogs kindly provided by the Rotto Fire Brigade. The queue for the hot dogs trailed across grass that was covered in Quokka poo, so everybody stepped in it! Nobody seemed to mind.
Next we went for a walk around the villas, played in the playground and sat on the beach building sandcastles. We attempted to catch a train to the Gun Towers but this attraction was so popular that we didn't get to board as it was only licenced to carry 67 passengers. I was passenger 68! I tried to smile my way in but failed.
After that we decided to catch the Bay Seeker bus that takes you around the Island. We broke the journey by stopping at the lighthouse which was a really good experience. The lighthouse was humungous and everyone from our family wanted to climb it but unfortunately Sonia (my one year old sister) was too young and mum had to look after her at the bottom.
There were five levels in the lighthouse and at the top our group got to go outside to the balcony. The guide gave us all binoculars and we waved to mum and Sonia at the bottom. They looked like ants as they were so far away. On the way down it was slightly difficult, and I also felt a bit sick. We went back to the bus stop and didn’t need to wait long before the bus came to pick us up. We completed a full circuit around the island and marveled at its pristine beaches.
When we came back to stop number one we hopped off and tried to hire a bike. But unfortunately the queue was too long and it wasn’t worth the wait. At that moment, I made up my mind that I would definitely visit Rottnest again. Next time I will bring my bike and cycle around this exciting island.
After a quick yummy lunch at the Dome, we went to the beach. There were these inflatable climbing objects in the water and my brother and I had a quick play on them. I could have swum for hours but we had to catch a ferry home at 1:30pm. The ferry we caught home was smaller than the one we took here but you could see the sea as it was broad daylight.
There were many highlights but my favorite part of this adventure was watching the sunrise in such a magnificent setting. I hoped I have convinced you that it is heaps better to play outdoors than to watch TV or play computer games because look at my day. Does it sound like I had fun? Exactly!
The End
