Year 11 & 12 Fulfilling Lives After two years of a COVID driven hiatus, Year 11 and 12 students were offered the opportunity to travel to the Northern Territory to undertake a community service project and cultural learning.
18 Ad Astra Issue No 142
Student Reflections - Fullfilling Lives trip to Lilla The 2022 Fulfilling Lives trip to Lilla in Central Australia was a journey we will likely never forget. Our adventure began in Alice Springs with encounters with snakes and crocodiles at the Reptile Centre and exquisite art installations illuminated on the West MacDonnell Ranges at the annual Parrtjima Festival. We travelled on our purple tour bus “Yummo” to the destination that was the objective of the trip, Lilla – an Indigenous community. As we arrived, we were smoked into country and welcomed by the local people. They took us on a tour of the sacred sites surrounding Lilla, including a birthing cave and a sacred waterhole. We also hiked the breathtaking Kings Canyon and spent two days helping the community with their food gardens and
preparing the church and cemetery for an upcoming funeral. It was a privilege to give back to the people who shared their home and their culture so generously with us. Our final stop at Uluru\Kata Tjuta tied the whole trip together. We hiked Kata Tjuta, the Uluru base walk and learned the story of the Mala men and Kunia which were painted inside the cave and embedded into Uluru itself. But there were some ancient stories that weren’t meant for our ears. We learned that in Aboriginal culture, children must pass an initiation to be considered an adult, and gain access to all the stories, song lines and traditions of their culture. If they don’t pass, they will be considered a child forever. Most of us
