Camp Lake Fire - Camping and Fishing at Maroon Dam Queensland - Camp Lake Fire

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Churchie Year 4 School Camp

Sports Tuition’s first school camp of the year was held at Camp Lake Fire from 30 January - 3 February. The school involved was Churchie with their Year 4 cohort. Each class participated in a one night two day camp, so a new class came in each morning. The boys utilised the cabins on-site, which are ideal for small groups of up to 28. Once the boys arrived on site, it was time for them to pack their lunch and water in their back pack and paddle to the other end of the dam. Once there, they set off on a hike to Waterfall Gully. This area was absolutely magnificent, with several waterfalls flowing. It is also a great rock climbing and abseil area. During this week, the main water hole was a bit like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory because of the extreme in-flow. It is much more pleasant here when the waterfall is only trickling and the water hole is clear. It’s a great spot for the kids to jump off the rocks and into deep water. However, the groups managed to have a swim in some smaller, crystal clear water holes, a little further around. The appearance of these holes changed daily. Water is certainly a powerful thing. On day three, the students discovered a small water cave. Due to the fast flowing water on the early days, the cave wasn’t visible. The students went in one side and floated out through the other side and under a waterfall. Do you think nine year old boys enjoyed that! You should have heard them! The refreshing swim certainly invigorated and rejuvenated the groups and the hike back was a lot quicker than the one there. Once the group arrived back at the canoes, it was time to paddle around and check the red claw traps that were set in the dam. There is something special about a kid pulling up a trap and catching red claw. The excitement levels were incredible and an experience I’m sure they’ll never forget. Every group caught some great red claw. By the time the group arrived back at Camp Lake Fire, it was the end of the six hour activity. Not a bad effort for young boys. They all enjoyed it, and they slept well! For a few, it was probably the most exercise they had ever done in their life.

The boys also enjoyed the orienteering puzzle course that was set up on site before departing after lunch on their second day.

December School Holiday Survivor Camp

The Christmas school holiday camp at Camp Lake Fire on 19-21 December was a great success. 107 students participated. Well done to Wallis and Bruno who were the Ultimate Survivor girl and boy winner who collected the SureCatch fishing rods and tackle boxes. The top ten survivors received SureCatch caps and mini tackle boxes courtesy of L. Wilson & Co. There were some great fish caught, along with some good size red claw, which the morning canoeing group collected. It was the first holiday camp where we conducted rock climbing. There are a couple of challenging climbs on site. Together with the other activities of archery raft building and open fire cooking, all the students were kept busy. The next holiday camp is scheduled for 2-4 April 2012.

Nyanda SHS Leadership Camp

Sports Tuition hosted a leadership camp for Nyanda State High School at Camp Lake Fire on 23-25 November. One of the challenges for the students was to go out and catch enough fish for dinner. But what do you do if it is pouring rain? Get wet! There were no complaints from the students, they were a great group. There were a couple of very large eel tailed catfish caught, along with quite a few bass.

BBC Father & Son Fishing Weekend Nov 2011

On 12-13 November, Sports Tuition hosted a group of fathers & sons from BBC at Camp Lake Fire for a fishing weekend. The boys were all in years 5 & 6. Everyone managed to catch some fish, but in general, on the Saturday, the fishing was much slower than what we’ve experienced over the past few months.
The boys kept some of their catch for dinner for Saturday night. They had the job of breadcrumbing all the fillets and peeling the potatoes. Over the weekend, redclaw were caught in good numbers. These were cooked up for dinner on Saturday night as well. After boiling for a couple of minutes, the redclaw were then split and cooked on the hot plate. Some were done with butter and garlic and some were cooked up in sweet chilli sauce. They were absolutely beautiful.
Most of the group caught a lot more fish on the Sunday morning session. A good time was had by all. The boys enjoyed toasting some marshmallows over the open fire on Saturday night and it was a great opportunity for the dads to socialise and relax for the weekend.

"Fishing on the Dam
When we first arrived at Lake Campfire our main focus was to settle into our cabins and familiarise ourselves with the facilities. Having settled in, we all turned our attention to the spectacular view of the dam and surrounding environment. Wow! How tranquil and relaxing. With our gear stowed away, it was time to go off to do some fishing. With live shrimp in tow, we started catching fish within two minutes of throwing our lines overboard. Fish after fish, after fish… Great! Fantastic! But wait boys, we can’t eat catfish. With some perseverance, changed tactics and positions, results came our way with some lovely bass. After a hard day’s fishing, the boys headed back to camp for fish and chips. Yes! the boys peeled the potatoes and crumbed the fish. For me, it was my first fishing adventure with the boys from BBC. I must say how impressed I was with both their behaviour and the jovial atmosphere that the boys created during the whole weekend. I must thank the fathers, and Steve Wilkes and his crew from ‘Sports Tuition’, for making me feel warm and welcomed. Most importantly, I would like to thank the boys. Your company was so inspiring and infectious. Please call me anytime for more adventures.
Mr Paul Shepherd"

"Hello Mark,

Just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thanks to yourself & the school for organising such a wonderful weekend away for the boys & their dads - I'm not sure who had the most fun? Steve, Mick & the other staff from Sports Tuition did a great job of looking after us in every way & the food caught, cooked & provided was sensational. (I will e-mail Steve directly to thank him). Paul Shepherd representing BBC was also a great asset to the group, however his "firm but fair" policy was rarely needed as the boys' behaviour was exemplary. Paul did ask me to send through a few photos as you may want to include some in the Newsletter this week.

Kind Regards,

Tony Yarrow"

Brisbane Grammar School Father & Son Fishing Weekend

On 5-6 November, Sports Tuition hosted a father & son group from Brisbane Grammar School (BGS). The boys were all in Years 6-7. It was BGS’s fifth year in a row where Sports Tuition has hosted the event. The past four years were conducted at Hinze Dam, with this being the first based at Camp Lake Fire at Maroon Dam. There were quite a few who fished the last couple of years at Hinze, so it was great for them to fish another dam, and with the sheer numbers of fish caught, I’m sure they enjoyed the experience. There is also the added convenience of having everything so close, with it being just a short walk to the water’s edge from the cabins and kitchen area. Maroon Dam is obviously a much smaller dam than Hinze Dam, but another advantage, which is important when fishing with kids, is that you can be onto the prime fishing spots within minutes. Not only has the fishing been great, but the red claw are really starting to come on in size and in numbers. The BGS group also managed to fit some red claw in with their fish & chip meal. The red claw were boiled for a few minutes and then split and cooked up a bit more on the hot plate with butter and garlic courtesy of Chef Mick. The boys all helped out with the meal preparation as well, by peeling potatoes and breadcrumbing all the fish fillets. We ended up having a feast fit for a King on the Saturday night.
Special thanks to Mrs Ann Baumann for her continued support of this yearly event for BGS.

Churchie Year 5 School Camp

On the back of the St Margret’s weekend was the Churchie Year 5 School Survivor Camp. It was a group of 120, who participated in a variety of activities, but the highlight for many was the fishing component. The boats are fitted with Minn Kota electrics, so the students don’t need a licence to drive them. The boys had a ball and managed to catch and release some of the biggest yellowbelly we’ve seen at Maroon to date. The bass were also on the bite and plenty were caught. Churchie is a school which is actively involved in Sports Tuition’s programs. During the school holidays, Camp Lake Fire also hosted a Father & Son fishing group from Years 5 & 6 at Churchie. During that weekend boats were catching up to 30 bass in a session. The experience would have been an advantage for those boys who attended and then returned for their school camp.