On Thursday 25th March, our Aboriginal Men’s group went on a camping trip. This was a partnership between Western Sydney Aboriginal Men’s Group and NCNS with funding from Aboriginal Affairs. Bob Gordon – Western Sydney Aboriginal Men’s Group, Zach Nuttall – NCNS Aboriginal Project Worker and local Aboriginal man Dennis went and picked up the men from their houses and made their way down to Eden.
The men travelled to Eden to be on Country and to pay respects to one of their founding members. During the trip down to Eden, the men enjoyed listening to music, and a few of them caught up on some sleep. The men were amused during the ride as every time Greg would ask for a smoke break, they would hit a bit of roadwork, meaning they had to slow down and it would take longer for them to get their break! Greg was not impressed!
When the men got to Eden they unpacked and chilled for the remainder of the day. Bob cooked the men Silverside and sausages for dinner later that night. During the trip the men enjoyed cultural activities and yarn time on the beach, fishing and barbeques.
On the Friday, the men were taken into town to go fishing and also for a little walk to the lookout. Andrew was the only one to catch a couple of fish but threw them back in. They then enjoyed fish and chips for lunch.
The next day, the men went down to the beach, to have another go at fishing and also for a bush walk. That night they all went to the local pub, Great Southern Hotel in Eden for dinner, before going back to their cabins and having a yarn.
Sunday 28th March, the men got up early to make their way back to Penrith stopping at McDonalds for breakfast.
The weather was great and it was wonderful to get out of Sydney and onto country. The men from the group had an awesome time, they really enjoyed themselves and said that they would like to do more camps in the future. They especially enjoyed having each other’s company during the trip.
Zach Nuttall, NCNS Aboriginal Project Worker chuckled, “My favourite part of the trip was when we went for a bush walk and there were Kangaroos right next to us, I ran being scared thinking it was coming after me! I found that pretty funny and so did the other men there watching! Haha”
Our Aboriginal Men’s Group meets at Kooly on Wednesdays fornightly. If you would like to come along or would like some more information about this group, please call 02 4706 0280.