It was a 7th birthday party with a difference. There was no party at Mcdonalds, Clip n’ Climb, Inflatable World or Garden City Bowls for Isabelle Fowler of Little River. Instead along with four friends and three adults, brought along to carry the heavier gear, Isabelle’s birthday party group became the second overnight guests at the Rod Donald Hut. While the Rod Donald Hut is not yet open to the public it is being trialled by a few private groups (the first being a group from Burnside High School).
It was a warm, still autumn afternoon when the group set out from Little River and the girls were all very excited about what lay ahead of them in, for most of them, their first ‘hut’ experience. After ascending to the hut the girls ran inside to ‘pegs’ a bunk each. Naturally with all five of them wanting top bunks they had to squeeze into the four top bunks. With beds arranged with sleeping bags and cuddly toys, the girls settled down to make bracelets and necklaces with the beads that had been carried up. The fire was lit, and hot dogs and birthday cake consumed heartily.
The outdoor toilet provided a bit of evening adventure with a little procession of girls and their torches heading along the track to the loo before bedtime. From the vantage point outside the Rod Donald Hut the full moon shone out from a beautiful night sky and the lights of the Little River “CBD” could be seen in the distance.
When asked about her experience of walking up to the hut for her birthday, Isabelle’s response pretty much summed up the whole wonder of the wilderness experience for the girls “Well driving there would have been no fun at all”!