We have completed our camino! Over the last eleven months we have travelled around Australia. Our journey followed the outer edge of our continent as best we could.

Over the last few weeks of our journey we jumped on the Spirit of Tasmania, completed a lap and retuned to SICG before our breach of COVID regulations put an end to our dream - Thank goodness this is was a virtual camino.

Over the journey we hope you have learned a little more about the other Jesuit and Companion schools across our country, have enjoyed the fitness challenge and feel a sense of accomplishment. 

Our thanks goes out to every participant. With your support we completed the 18,500km round trip in under a year! 

We look forward to future journeys and hope that you stay active and safe during this period of restrictions.

Details:

• Began: 1 September 2019
• Finished: 17 August 2020
• Total distance: 18,500km
• Average km/per week: 420 km
• Kilometres walked: 9,165 km
• Kilometers run: 10,106km
• Most kilometres completed by participant: Brendan O'Brien (3084 km)

Camino de Ignacio fishers (628km by Feast Day 2020): Seven finishers​.

1. Brendan O'Brien - 3,085km
2. Lorella Knight - 2425km
3. Brad Manczak - 1,710km
4. Kylie Pummeroy - 960km
5. Greg McKillop - 960km
6. Cameron Donald - 757km
7. Amanda Kristapsons- 628km

Portland, VIC.

Although we have been living under restrictions for the last two months many of our Camino members were able to get out and exercise.  So although our progress has slowed we have progressed and have collectively travelled another 2,000km's during this period. We have now crossed the border into South Australia and are fortunate that this is a virtual camino otherwise we would have been turned back at Eucla!

We have a special mention in this update for one of our Year 10 students Cameron Donald. Cameron took up running in Year 8 and has been extremely focussed this year. During our time living under restrictions he:

• Ran to 206.1km in April with an active time of 19.3 hours.
• Ran a Half marathon the other day with a time of 1:57:01 and set course record on Strava for the Young Brolga segment in Lara.
• Ran a second half marathon with a new personal best of 1:52:02.
• ​Is currently in 3rd place for the Australian and 1st place in the Victorian in his age group in the Great Australian Cross Country Challenge. year 10.; with a time of 17min 09sec for 4km.

As our camino picks up pace we are headed towards Port Augusta, with our next Ignatian stop being Seven Hill winery in the Clare Valley.  

hWelcome to the new participants who have joined us and are keen to help us complete our camino. We look forward to your involvement and energy as we continue our camino (journey) around Australia.

Our progress has been swift since our last check in. Life at the College has also proceeded at an amazing pace with much being packed into the first month of the school year. Cross country training has begun with the largest numbers yet (an average of 12 each Tuesday and Thursday lunchtime! 

Our total is currently 12784km! An amazing total that averages out to just on 500km per week. We have some people training for ultra marathons who are clocking up 80-100km a week and others who walk daily adding a good 50km a week. Every member of our pilgrimage is valued and helps us achieve our goal and at the same time they set an example of a healthy active lifestyle. Thank you and well done!

Since our last update we passed John XXIII College (Perth). John XXIII College is quite similar to SICG as it's a co-educational College of 1500 students (although it's P-12 in structure).
The College was founded in 1977 after the amalgamation of  seperate Loreto (girls) and Jesuit (boys) schools. The College was named after Pope John XXIII (now St John XXIII), who was an inspired leader whose vision led to Vatican II and whose love and humility inspires us even to.
​John XXIII College is a key component of Catholic Education in Perth with the clear point of difference being it's Jesuit charism and lived experience of Ignatian Spirituality. 

Our journey continues to our next Jesuit/Ignatian waypoint which is Sevenhill Winery (SA). As this post closes we about 70km the other side of Bunbury heading towards Peaceful Bay which is a truly delightful place.

​Keep on moving!

Welcome to a new year and the continuation of our Camino around Australia. Since the end of classes in 2019 our progress has continued on par with almost 5000 kilometres added to our total! It seems as though many of our 'pilgrims' didn't take a break over the summer- hats off to all the active people out there.

Our totals are still quite even at this point in time:
5512 - run
5834 - walked

Currently our total sits at 11,347km. This has us positioned near Gnoorea in Western Australia. We have passed Broome and Eighty Mile Beach, which is the one of the longest stretches of unbroken beach in Australia.
As we head towards Perth we are closing in on John XXIII the only Jesuit/Ignatian Companion school in WA. In December, during the last week of the year, I was fortunate enough to travel to Perth with 11 students and three staff to attend the Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF). We enjoyed the trip immensely and can thoroughly recommend Perth as a destination. Help us tick off the next 1,000k's over the next few weeks and we will explore John XXIII together.

Remember to register your kilometres over the next couple of weeks and help us achieve our goal of walking/running 'around' Australia. 

It has been a busy time at the College and since the last update I missed a blog post. Our Camino has also 'been busy' over the last month and has clocked up a whopping 3,700km! That is almost the same distance as we had completed in the fist seven weeks. Running session is upon us though and many of our Camino members are training like mad.
Note: As always every entry has been authenticated and our progress it's truly amazing.

Since our last post we have gone from roughly Cairns right up to Mapoon (Australia's most northern mainland point), back down to Normanton and across to Borroloola. Currently we are very much like Forrest Gump. Somewhere in the middle of the desert on Highway 1 on the way to Birdum. Not much too see here so best keep moving along and logging the kilometres. 

We are getting close to the halfway mark and I predict that by the time we get to the end of the school year we will be in WA. In the meantime we look forward to heading north towards Darwin and the beach and having a risky paddle in Fannie Bay. If time permits we also might extend our Camino via a short trip into Kakadu. 

Keep going forward and when we get there go troppo!

Our journey continues to move along at an astonishing pace! We have traveled some 4830 kilometres. I am astounded at the progress and can assure you I authenticate every entry. Currently the number of kilometres 'run' and 'walked' is almost equal, so our aim to celebrate activity is being achieved.

​Since the last update we have travelled from Prosopine (QLD) to Innisfail (FNQ). We look forward to 'visiting' Jajikal country, the area our students visited during their Cape York Immersion.

As spring continues draws us outdoors keep up the activity and help us reach the 'top' of Australia over the next few weeks.

Our Camino continued over the term break and many of our members used the time to get out for a walk or a run. Since the last update there have been some very significant events:

• We doubled our previous total by adding just over 2000 kilometres!
• Along the way:
  • We 'visited' Xavier Catholic College Ballina.
  • We ran through the Gold Coast, taking no time to have a day off at the beach!
  • We 'visited' Xavier Catholic College Hervey Bay.
  • We continued up the coast and are now around Proserpine and the Whitsundays.

There have been a number of people who have really pushed our total along over the break with some big efforts. Brendan O'Brien (Y10 Coordinator) completed the 50km event at the Surf Coast Century. With the training prior he has added well over two hundred kilometres to our Camino and is now over a third the way to completing his individual Camino de Ignacio. There have been a number of other participants who have added well over one hundred kilometres as they prepare for other events and we are grateful that they have taken the time to log their activities and help 'us' increase our total.
I also note those who have also been active and have been walking quite a lot and have added almost 50% to our total. The Camino is not about whether you walk or run. It's about being active and achieving a goal as a community.

There will be a number of catch up posts this week that you are encouraged to keep an eye out for which will introduce the Jesuit and Companion schools we have 'visited' and celebrate ​our connection to these communities.

This weeks wrap up is a big one. Last week we were still in Victoria. Since then we have put on a huge number of kilometres. I have authenticated the entries over the week and all are accurate and have been confirmed. Over the last week we added 767 kilometres!

​Because of this we have:

• Crossed the Vic/NSW border.
• Visited the Parliament House (Canberra).
• Raced through Woolongong.
• Visited the four Jesuit Colleges in Sydney:
  • Redfern Jarjum College 
  • St Aloysius College
  • St Ignatius College (Riverview)
  • Loyola Senior High School

If we keep going at the current pace we may even make Xavier College Ballina before the next post! Keep logging those kilometres!

As noted in a previous post we visited Xavier College very soon after staring our Camino and we missed the opportunity at the time to offer something about the College so that we might strengthen our understanding and connection our Jesuit/Ignatian educational network.

Xavier College (Kew)
Founded: 1872
Motto: Sursum corda (Lift up your hearts)

Campuses:

• Kostka Hall (Brighton) - 3y.o. kinder to Grade 4 (Co-ed) and Grade 5 to Year 8 (Boys)
• Bourke Hall (Kew) - 3y.o. kinder to Grade 4 (Co-ed) and Grade 5 to Year 8 (Boys)
• Senior Campus (Kew) - Year 9-12

Enrolments: 2,080
Fees: $19,000 [3y.o. kinder] to $29,000 [Year 12] (2019)

Interesting: What is now called "The Senior Campus" is located in Barkers Road, Kew, 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the centre of Melbourne. The foundation stone of the campus was laid in 1872 and the school began formally in 1878 on land known originally as Mornane's Paddock. Founded as a Jesuit school, it was originally named St Francis Xavier's College. Construction continued during the school's early years, with the main oval added in 1883, and the West Wing and Great Hall in 1890. In 1900, Xavier replaced St Patrick's College in East Melbourne as the only Catholic institution among the six Associated Public Schools at that time.

Find out more at the College's website. Click here.