Charlie Threshie (G19-24) spent his Gap Year at Geelong Grammar, a Co-ed Boarding and Day school in Victoria, Australia as a Gap Year assistant, from where he went travelling during the school breaks. Since returning to the UK he has taken up a place at Durham to read Geography. Read about Charlie’s travel experiences here…

On 7 March 2025, Cyclone Alfred struck Australia’s east coast, forcing the cancellation of my planned weekend exeat to Brisbane, Byron Bay, and the Gold Coast. As a result, my first exeat during my time at Geelong Grammar did not unfold as expected. Determined not to waste the opportunity, I began researching alternative destinations for the four-day break. After narrowing my options to either Perth (WA) or Uluru (NT), I ultimately chose Uluru, attracted by the significantly shorter flight time of just two hours and forty-five minutes and the fact that it isn’t three time zones from Victoria.

During the flight, I was immediately struck by the sheer vastness of the Australian outback. After waking from a two-hour nap and looking out of the window, the landscape appeared unchanged, an endless expanse of red earth, heat, and apparent emptiness. This sense of remoteness was reinforced upon landing at Uluru Airport, which stood in stark contrast to Melbourne Airport, operating with only three arrivals and departures per day and possessing a distinctly eerie atmosphere.

Following our arrival, a bus transported us on a twenty-minute journey to Yulara, the purpose-built resort town servicing Uluru. Despite its isolated location, Yulara was surprisingly well equipped, featuring a hostel, several hotels, shops, and even a Shell service station. I was struck by the level of infrastructure sustained in such a remote environment. I stayed in a twenty-person dormitory that, remarkably, housed only one other guest. The heat was oppressive, with daytime temperatures reaching 42°C, and the air conditioning functioning intermittently only during the night. The lack of other travellers was unsurprising, given that my visit coincided with the peak of summer.

That evening, I did a sunset tour of Uluru, where the changing light produced an extraordinary array of colours reflected across the rock’s surface. The viewing area was crowded with tourists photographing the spectacle and enjoying picnics, in the cooled heat. Several Indigenous artists moved among the crowd selling their artwork, whilst their children played nearby, adding a sense of life and cultural presence to the experience.

The following morning, I rose at 4 a.m. to witness the sunrise over Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), before returning later to complete a walk through the formations themselves. I found the Olgas particularly compelling, as their scale and complexity can be experienced from within, unlike Uluru, which can no longer be climbed or accessed in the same way. Walking through the valleys between the domes felt immersive and profound, offering a deeper connection to the landscape.

 During my second exeat in May, I travelled to the Whitsundays, where I had the opportunity to scuba dive at the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. Experiencing one of the world’s seven natural wonders firsthand was truly breathtaking. The vivid colours and remarkable diversity of marine life were unlike anything I had previously encountered. However, it was sobering to learn about the cumulative impacts of climate change, tourism, and sunscreen use, all of which contribute to the gradual bleaching of the coral reefs.

I am deeply grateful to the Bradfield Society for enabling these experiences during my gap year. This award provided opportunities that I may not otherwise have had and allowed me to witness extraordinary environments, many of which may be dramatically altered within the next fifty years. I would strongly encourage others to apply, as it offers not only adventure, but invaluable perspective on the fragility and significance of our natural world.