‘Greatest experience my kids and I have ever had!’

My children, aged nine and two, and I moved from New Zealand to Far North Queensland at the end of the wet season in 2023. Not knowing what to expect, we arrived with open minds and open hearts. A box of Lego and a tin of beads were well used during the first term of teaching and learning! 

I am writing this after a busy second term here and I am still loving every minute of it. I feel so grateful to be a part of a thriving, well-resourced and fun community at the top of Australia! We have ventured north to the tip and south to the waterfalls, and spend a lot of time basking in the area. Finding out about spiders and crocodiles, and different birds, and trees. 

Teaching in a remote community has challenges that are like the challenges faced in mainstream education with solutions that come from thinking right out of the box. The comradery among the staff is just one of the many things that I love about teaching at a remote school. And the students have welcomed my kids to after school play dates and birthday parties, we are able to thrive here. 

Bamaga is a Torres Strait Islander community among five communities half an hour from the northern most point of the continent. Weipa is a six-hour drive to the south west and Cairns is thirteen hours south east. I am looking forward to fish and chips at the beach while we watch the sunset over the Torres Strait and camping at the waterfalls, as well as our Christmas song for the end of year presentation.

Moving here has been the greatest experience my kids and I have ever had the opportunity to be a part of. Thanks to Ben and Georgie for helping to make it possible, cheers!

Chelsea - Remote Teacher

Placed by Footprint Placements in Far North Queensland.