Last week, Bobs Farm PS students and staff joined peers from Millers Forest, Mt Kanwary, Glen William and Martins Creek for a two-day camp in Sydney. 

Our fabulous bus driver, Brad Sexton, from Sexton Coaches, was the ultimate tour guide, capably delivering us to venues around Sydney with positive, relaxed, informative commentary along the way.  

We started the day with a guided walk around The Rocks, with our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide, Harry; then Brad continued the tour with an extended tour around the Botanic Gardens area, taking in the sights of Mrs Macquarie's Chair, the NSW Art Gallery, State Library, NSW Parliament House, Hyde Park and the spectacular Opera House, Harbour Bridge and cityscape outlook. 

The bus ride ended at Wharf #1 at Barangaroo, where we boarded an iconic Sydney Ferry for the short but scenic ride to Cockatoo Island, our home for the night. We were pleasantly surprised to find we didn't really need our sleeping bags, though, as we'd been upgraded to the more sophisticated glamping tents, complete with stretcher beds, fresh linen and toiletries! 

This time our tour guide, Brooke, led us around the 18-hectare site, describing the history of the island, from its origins as Wareamah, a meeting place for the Wallumedegal, Wangal, Cammeraygal and Gadigal peoples, through its times as a convict prison, naval dockyards, reform centre and now, as a UNESCO World Heritage-listed historical tourist facility.  

Following a fascinating walking tour around the island, we set up camp, enjoyed a delicious dinner, explored a little more by moonlight before eventually settling in for a good night's sleep. Some early risers took in 'golden hour' overlooking the harbour and cityscape, before another impromptu stroll around the island, a scrumptious breakfast and packing up for the return ferry ride to Barangaroo. 

The rest of our day was spent exploring Taronga Zoo, complete with Seal and Bird shows, lunch with picture-perfect views over Sydney Harbour and meandering our way through animal exhibits before one final stop at the gift shop. 

A group of happy but tired campers eventually arrived back at Raymond Terrace to the warm and welcoming hugs of family, no doubt with countless hours' worth of stories to recount. 

With perfect weather, an itinerary of Sydney's finest activities and fantastic company, this was definitely a camp that will be hard to ever beat!