Time for dads and sons to shine
By Miguel Groth, Year 9, St Augustine’s College
LAST weekend, my father and I, accompanied by eight other fathers and sons, had an experience we will never forget.
On Friday afternoon we headed to Quinola Lakes in the Tablelands, arriving with leg cramps and pins and needles.
These soon disappeared once we saw the amazing scenery and features the place offered.
The other fathers and sons started arriving and it seemed the sons were quiet and shy while the fathers, on the other hand, seemed to bond instantly with each other.
The two hosts, Peter and Peter from MenAlive, arrived and we got into our first session. This session was all about introducing ourselves as a father and son to the other pairs.
This was the start of the journey of becoming a man.
The next morning we woke up early for a morning prayer session and breakfast before we started our next activities.
The following session saw us split up into two groups where one did orienteering and the other did canoeing.
With lots of canoes capsizing and everyone soaked we returned back to the hall for some morning tea.
We met the other group back at the hall with all of them returning back all muddy and itchy from the long grass and hidden muddy holes.
After the sons were stuffed with chips and the dads full of tea we continued onto our next session.
The two presenters kept us entertained with short, funny activities and starting with cool little videos. The two groups then swapped activities keen to get out there. WORKING TOGETHER: The father/son experience included activities in small groups.
The orienteering required a lot of physical exertion as you were always climbing up hills and going under fences.
For an hour it was continuous strain going up and down hills with our grey-haired fathers wanting to rest every 100m.
Eventually we got to the end and rewarded ourselves with a swim in the nice cold lake. Lunch finally arrived with steak burgers which everyone ripped in to.
After lunch we had another session about becoming a man. We split up again but this time the sons were all together and the fathers were all together.
The fathers secretly worked on their staffs to give to their sons as we were having a blast in the lake.
We got back and asked what the fathers had been doing but the only reply we got was: “Nothing really, we just talked about you guys”.
We had afternoon tea with more chips and muffins.
The next session was spent talking about women and relationships.
Soon after, dinner was ready which was beefstroganoff and after the big day, most of the fathers had about three servings, with each one being bigger than the serve before.
We then had a campfire but it was a different type of campfire.
The fathers blindfolded their sons and then led them towards the fire. We removed our blindfolds and stood in a circle with our dads each holding a beautifully handcrafted staff to present to their sons.
We were each called by name by our fathers and initiated. We were given the staff that our dad had been working on.
We then all sat around the fire and told stories about what had happened in our lives.
We went back to the hall and prepared for bed.
We woke up the next morning with everyone trying to get that extra minute or two of sleep before we had to start our day. We had another brilliant breakfast and started our sessions.
One of the last sessions was all of us spread out around the camp to have good one-onone time with our fathers, a time to forgive each other for issues in the past and to resolve those issues in the future. Then each father gave his son a blessing with oil.
We all gathered back together for a short mass then lunch which saw us saying our goodbyes and thank yous to the staff, hosts and other fathers and sons.
I would highly recommend this trip for boys who have not yet been on it as this is an experience of a lifetime that they will not forget.
I have taken many memories back with me that I will always remember.
This is a time where sons can get to know their fathers better whether they have a good relationship or not.
If their relationship is not the best this can help restore it and make it better.