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The highs and lows of living in the bush.

Everyone has a different idea of fun. For some people, the perfect day involves going to the movies, curling up on the couch with a book and going for a walk by the beach. For others, it’s sleeping in a bivy (a low-lying tarp held up at two points by rope) while it buckets down with rain after hiking with a heavy pack containing your essentials for the next 10 days. Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Client Bodie is one of these people.   

At 14 years old, Bodie went to his first Outward Bound camp with Guide Dogs in 2022. He experienced what it was like to sleep in the bush, cook outdoors on a fire and participate in team games and activities like high ropes and abseiling. From then on, he was hooked and attended another camp the year after. 

“The first camp opened me up to the outdoors as my family isn’t really big on that sort of stuff. The second camp really helped me understand how lucky I was to have the independence I did when I was outdoor living,” Bodie said.  

Bodie took the bush life in his stride so much that he was recommended by one of the camp’s instructors for a 10-day expedition that involved hiking every day, cooking for himself and the rest of the group and navigating to the next camping spot each night.  

The expedition was challenging, but “there were so many highlights”, says Bodie. “But the best and most surprising part of the whole trip was when I was elected to lead the group for the last three days.” When Bodie was chosen by 13 other group members to lead them home for the last stretch of the trip, he rose to the challenge and experienced what practical leadership involved. At 16 years old, Bodie can proudly say he led a group of adults through the bush without getting everyone too lost, made sure the group tasks were completed and managed to survive a 24-hour period on his own with no instructors or other group members.  

“The hardest part of the 24-hour stint alone was setting up my bivy by myself. Although when morning came, I was shocked to find out that my set-up was the best of the group,” Bodie says. 

The expedition wasn’t all blue skies and campfire karaoke songs. On the longest walking day of the expedition, Bodie had to traverse through swamp and tall grass, so it was difficult to tell what was ahead of him. Stepping directly into the water meant his boots, socks and feet were soaked and freezing. “I have this distinct memory that night of the cold feeling around my toes. I was very glad I brought spare socks.”  

When the trip was almost over, Bodie felt like he experienced a year in 10 days, but at the same time, he also felt like not much time had passed at all.  

“We packed up our bivys and the rest of our stuff and when we were walking to get picked up, I thought ‘wait a minute, we aren’t going to be out in the wilderness anymore,’” Bodie says.  

Upon reflection, when Bodie arrived home to the luxuries of suburban living, he realised the best part of the expedition was not experiencing bush life at all, but the opportunity he had to “meet the most wonderful people.”  

“I learned the motivating power of music, how to accept help when you need it and I’ve made long lasting friends,” Bodie says.