CONFIRMATION CAMP – September 2005
What was best and worst
Dirk Lubitz – The best thing about confirmation camp was the fires even though Winnie didn’t let us have more than one, and also the spaghetti bolognaise which Karl, Linden, Daniel B and I made. On the last day on the way home, Linden and me were asleep and Ingrid smeared vegemite over our faces, then we got her back by smearing it all over her face.
Some bad things were the tents we slept in and the sand that got everywhere.

Linden Ruff – The best parts of confirmation camp were the people, the fires that me, Dirk and Karl made, the spaghetti bolognaise (which Karl, Dirk, Daniel B and I made), reading girly mags on the 4 days in which we were in the bus a lot and the Bega cheese factory. The bad parts of the camp were the old school tents, and all the bus driving. Also, on the way home I was asleep and Ingrid put vegemite on my face, then I put some on Dirk, then me, Daniel S and Dirk all got Ingrid really bad.

Karl Wennagel – The best parts of confirmation camp were building huge fires with the other guys and eating the dinners that we prepared ourselves. The caravan park that we stayed at in Tathra was great because we weren’t near any other campers so we could make heaps of noise. The worst parts of the camp were the one-hundred year old tents that we had to sleep in; they take ages to set up! Thanks to Christine and Winnie for looking after us.

Ingrid Beilharz – There were many things I liked about confo camp like going shopping in town (I bought pearls and lots more) and having power points on our camp sites, so we could curl the guys’ hair. We stayed up late, ate heaps of junk and played pranks. The guys antiqued us (throwing flour at us) on a number of times, we got them back but! We had four spiders in our tents which by the way need to be upgraded, they smell really bad! On the way back home, I played an innocent prank on Linden which left me with vegemite all over my face and in my hair!

Mieka Decker – The best parts of confirmation camp were exploring the towns that we visited like Tathra, Merimbula and Bega, and the great meals that us girls made.
The worst bits were the ancient tents, all the travelling on the bus, the insects and everything getting sandy or dirty. There was lots of pranking where we all got covered in flour and many tent pegs got pulled out! It was too bad that not everyone could come, but then we probably wouldn’t have fitted into the tents.

Lisa Beilharz – The best part about confirmation camp was seeing people from our confirmation group again. I also enjoyed the Buchan Caves where we had a tour. I enjoyed visiting towns like Merimbula and Tathra. Also us girls made the best meals (tacos and potatoes and hamburgers).
The things I didn’t like were the tents, they were a bit too old for my liking, and all the driving. There was heaps of pranking and my whole bag was covered in flour. Thanks to Winnie and Christine for putting up with us.

Rebecca Beilharz – I thought the best parts of our confirmation camp was going caving and to the beach. I liked cooking tea with the other girls and sitting by the fire cooking marshmallows. We got to spend some time shopping in Merimbula and we visited the Bega cheese factory.
Most boring was spending time on the bus but some of the other girls bought magazines for us all to read.

Caitlin Crowe – The worst parts of this confirmation camp were all the driving in the bus, it got very boring and uncomfortable; the tents, they were old ‘circus tents’ with holes in them! And also all the bugs, mosquitoes and spiders. It was good when the guys had fires because it kept the mosquitoes away but on the last night we couldn’t have a fire and the mosquitoes got everyone. It was fun cooking on bbq’s and stuff, but it was really good in the caravan park at Tathra Beach because it had a camp kitchen so we could use a sink, oven, microwave and fridge.

Thomas Blackwell – The best thing about camp was the food and the fun we had. I hated the tents we were sleeping in. I had fun spending time with Anja & Timmy when they weren’t sleeping. Other fun was when we were getting the girls with flour or stink bombs!

Daniel Schlender – The best thing about confirmation camp was definitely the places we stayed at, they were picked very well, they were situated in very nice locations (always on the beach). We went to the caves – that was magical, nothing I have ever seen before. There are just too many great things we did to list. Overall the camp was planned very well and everything was very organised; it was fantastic, something that I’d do again in an instant. Thanks to Winnie and Christine for the whole experience.

Daniel Beilharz – The highlight of the confirmation camp was when we went mini-golfing at Top Fun, as well as the Buchan Caves, the beaches and the food, which was expertly cooked by everyone. Our accommodation was pretty good except for the tents that we slept in and we had lots of fun pranking each other at various times of the night. Or was it morning? The only bad thing about the camp was the long bus trips which became quite a bore, but overall I had a fantastic time and can’t wait for the next camp. Also thanks to Winnie and Christine for keeping us in line.

Timothy Ruff (4½ years old) – The best bits about confirmation camp were paddling at the beach, taking Red Ted along, hopping in and out of the bus, putting up the tent and the kookaburra. I had a really, really, really good time at camp. It was lots of fun.

Anja Ruff (7 years old) – Timmy and I went on confirmation camp. At camp we had marshmallows and Winnie made pancakes. We saw two snakes – one had a flat head. I cut myself on the foot with a stick. The worst part was when we had to stay in the bus for ages. It was cool when we saw the snake. It was fun. I can’t wait to go again when I am a confirmation kid.

The Leaders – There were many questions posed during the camp which remain unanswered:
What is wrong with 100-year-old tents?
Why is there a need to shop for cheap accessories on camp?
Where does antiquing come from? And why???
Why is it that the girls can set up two tents (properly) while the boys are still spearing each other with tent poles?
What in-built sensor tells you to go to the bathroom (for one hour) five minutes before pack-up/set-up time?
Why isn’t campfire construction a compulsory element of the confirmation curriculum?
What is the quickest way to skin a frankfurter (and why didn’t we buy skinless ones in the first place?)
Why did we leave a trail of sliced cucumber and tomato wherever we had lunch?
Exactly how big were the spiders in the girls’ tent? (And how did they find their way in through all that mess?)
How many kilograms of sand does the bus hold?

We would like to thank the kids for creating and maintaining a wonderful atmosphere throughout the camp. The kids were a credit to them-selves and contributed to a relaxing and stress-free week for us all.
Winfried Beilharz and Christine Ruff