THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF ALL ACTIVITIES 

Social & Corporate Groups achieve better co-operation and increased performance, reduction in stress levels, better work environment, more effective resource management, increased loyalty and commitment to the organisation, increased communication, recognition of the strengths and weaknesses of other people, more trust between people, better problem solving and conflict resolution. 
Individuals gain increased self confidence, personal growth and development, improved decision making skills, better leadership skills, challenging personal strengths and limitations, better ability to overcome fear, more positive attitude. 
Challenge; The activities in our programs are designed to provide each participant with a physical, emotional and psychological task set at a level that is both achievable and challenging. The major learning areas in challenge environments are the value of planning, honesty with yourself and others and reliance on a team. 
Team Work; Very few of the activities in any of the programs can be achieved or negotiated without a strong commitment to using the resources of the team, solo players do not perform well in these activities. 



The lessons learned encourage individuals to trust the members of their team and to understand the concept of Gestalt or the whole equals more than the sum of its parts. 

Communications ; A different environment offers an opportunity to look critically at communication strategies currently employed by individuals, groups and organisations. The challenges set in the adventure experience require effective communication to be completed. Individuals will gain an understanding of how their information is received by others and some understanding of how to improve the effectiveness of their communications. 

Trust; For many of us the most difficult thing to do is to trust someone else to do a good job, or to trust others to do important tasks. The challenges in our programs emphasise the value of trust and translate into improved cooperation and teamwork in the work or personal environment. 

Trust is also the beginning of endeavour, we must be able to trust in order to leave the safety of our current position to achieve our higher goals. In these activities, individuals undertake physical and mental challenges, as well as experiencing an adrenalin rush. 

Fun; As a learning and discovery environment it is important that each participant enjoys the experience -for this reason our activities are fun. Coupled with the fun elements is safety. Ensuring that nobody is at risk of being injured goes a long way to ensuring that participants enjoy their experience. Your staff team or social group will be invigorated, enthused and excited by the activities and challenges prepared specifically for them.



Our clients include; Schools, Tertiary Institutions, Corporate Groups, Social Clubs and Government Departments. All activities are designed and tailored to suit your specific requirements. Adventure-based training is an innovative alternative to the more traditional approaches to training. 


Dot Points : 
  • Our home base is Mt. Buller Ski Resort, 3 hours drive from Melbourne. 
  • The 7 senior staff have an accumulated experience of 117 years. 
  • Access to 60+ accomodation options. (from dirtbag to 5 star) 
  • Video conferencing to sit 40 delegates comfortably 
  • A huge indoor sports hall 
  • An indoor 16m climbing wall 
  • A six storey abseil tower 
  • Summer chairlifts 
  • Sauna, pool and spa. 
  • Indoor tennis courts 
  • Cable/wireless internet 
  • Mobile phone coverage (generally excellent) 
  • 24hr radio comms 
  • Boardroom and lecture theatres. 
  • Local bars, restaurants and supermarket 
  • A sight-seeing Helicopter 
  • A local light airstrip (30km away; pick up- no problem) 
  • A 21 seater coach, four big trailers 
  • Bucket loads of adventure equipment, horses, bikes, climbing gear etc 
  • Uninterrupted 70km views from an altitude of ~5500ft 
  • Private stocked trout lake 
  • A pleasant 24 degrees when Melbourne and Sydney bake 
  • A world class Gymnasium 
  • Perfect sunsets 
  • Massage therapist and physio and our own private 250 seat cinema (digital and analogue) 


Team Development Concepts 

1. A team may be classified as a group however a group may not always be classified as a team. The main difference between the two is that a team is usually formed for specific outcomes, each member of a team has defined achievable roles and the team as a whole has specified goals to achieve. 

2. As a team is developing, the climate of communication will have a direct impact on the success of the team achieving their gaols. A positive communication climate is created by supportive communication where each member has a commitment to the team and the interpersonal relationships between members are positive. This is achieved by clear speaking skills and effective listening, where each member has an opportunity to contribute and all criticisms and conflict is positive. This will develop cohesiveness and increase productivity within the team. A negative communication climate may develop if the above elements are not achieved. 

3. Interpersonal communication skills will impact on the communication climate. Speaking skills will influence the success of the team, particularly if the climate allows all members to have their say and all members understand each other by effective listening skill, and clarify any misunderstandings by asking positive questions. Commitment to the success of the team by each member debating all disputes and criticisms in a positive manner will impact on the communication climate. 

4. The development of a team may be categorised into five stages ( Tuckman’s Theory). These are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. During the forming and storming stages of development, there is uncertainty amongst members of a team as to leadership, roles of members and the goals of the team. The storming stage creates conflict as to how to achieve these goals , leadership roles, and lack of commitment by members. Storming is a delicate stage that can make or break a team’s success. Norming, performing and adjourning are more settled stages of development as the team agrees on goals and roles and work towards the end outcome. The adjourning stage of a successful team will involve praise, encouragement, and cohesiveness. 

5. Functions of task related roles involve initiating goals, clarifying facts, briefing the team, disseminating information, seeking information by asking questions, updating. The functions of maintenance related roles are different to task related roles. They include keeping the team together by encouragement, mediating conflict, positive communication, and standard setting. They maintain the fabric of the team as the task role members drive the team towards success. 

6. Interpersonal concerns within a team include trust, respect, conflict, commitment, leadership, and monopolisation. 

7. A teams performance can be effected by the performance of its leaders, common understanding and agreement of team goals, the appointment of roles for each member, the type of communication climate, and the commitment to the success of the team by all it’s members. 

8. Groupthink is a term used to describe a situation where a team reaches a false harmony or cohesiveness because team members are not prepared to challenge the ideas of a team. There is lack of critical evaluation of alternatives in the brainstorming stage of team development. This creates selective evaluation of the objectives and a restricted communication climate hence overall team performance is impaired. 

9. Advantages of being part of a team is the ability to work with other people to achieve an outcome, increase the number of alternative ideas, positive morale and the forming of friendships, and the capacity to bounce ideas to solve difficult problems. Disadvantages of working in a team are the potential conflict amongst members, dominance of the team by select members, pressure to agree with team norms, and time required to reach joint decisions. 

10. Decisions are made by a team in different circumstances. Decisions can be made by authority when one member of a team or a body outside the team decide and the team is then briefed. The team may have a discussion prior to the leader making the decision. A decision may be reached by majority where each member cast a vote and the majority rule. A decision may be reached by consensus where ideas are brainstormed with all members have an opportunity to participate. 

11. Smart approach to goal setting : Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timing. 

12. Useful feedback is provided by the leader(s) to the members either rewarding or discouraging particular actions. The feedback should be timely, factual, objective, specific, and have a positive influence on the team. Subjective, personal emotions should be eliminated. 

13. Legitimate power is held by a team leader once that person has been appropriately appointed to that position. 

14. AAI low describes a hierarchy of needs which he categorises into five groups. Individuals will have differing needs depending on which group they fit into, that motivate them to achieve their goals. As individuals achieve their goals their motivation is focused on the needs associated with AAI low next category. 

15. Organisational goals are related to the overall performance of the organsation and are generally benchmarked against similar organizations: they involve financial ratios, productivity, quality control, competitiveness, and human resource management. Team goals are specific to its members and involve remuneration, working environment, and policies. 

16. Within a team environment each member of the team must be aware of other team members individuality, cultural and social background. Inappropriate communication techniques (including body language) may be discriminatory to a member and will have a negative impact on the team's performance.