‘There's no rules!' A day out on an adult school trip
It has been a good 18 years since I last went on an excursion of this kind, but this weekend I've signed up for my own school trip of sorts: an adult day out with the First Timers Club (FTC).
Instead of a teacher, it's led by Penny Jordan, 30, who founded FTC in 2023 with two friends. What started as a way to try out new experiences soon blossomed into a collective of like-minded people in Melbourne, with a social media following of roughly 30,000 and chapters in Sydney and London.
Welcoming everyone, Jordan delivers news that any school child would be ecstatic to hear: 'There's no rules today … Just have fun!'
We've met in Melbourne's inner north and are heading to Phillip Island for the annual Island Whale festival, a celebration of the majestic creatures timed to coincide with their migration from Antarctica to warmer waters in the north.
While the stated aim of the trip is to glimpse some whales, most people are here to find something else: connection with others. About three quarters of those attending today are at their first event.
'It's nice to try new activities that I wouldn't normally do solo. And having it all organised while meeting new people really takes the mental load out of it,' says Julia Caissutti, 30, who has been to several FTC events.
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Once on the coach I get talking with a lovely woman named Steph. Despite a distinct lack of caffeine and it being not long after 8am, chatter buzzes around us. It's a sharp contrast to the tram I took to the meeting point, where everyone was buried in their own worlds, barely making eye contact.
About an hour into the journey, we stop at Caldermeade Farm for a toilet break. At this point, it really does feel like a school trip: walking around petting farm animals, I feel as if I've regressed about 25 years – not necessarily a bad thing.
After we leave the farm, the school comparisons end. We arrive in Phillip Island, dappled by the soft winter sun, and Jordan welcomes the group, gives us some background information, then invites us to go off and explore the town of Cowes unsupervised.
Left to roam free, I hang out with a group I got chatting to at the farm. We visit the stalls in the festival hub, then have lunch on the foreshore and try to spot some whales. Despite recent sightings, we don't have much luck, but the chat is more than enough entertainment. I'm struck by everyone's warmth and friendliness.
'Trying to meet new people as an adult is hard,' says Ben Paz, 27. 'Usually if you join a community it can feel like it's already set and you're coming into their space. With this, everyone's on equal ground. It's so inclusive.'
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Later, I catch up with Jordan and ask how it's going. 'I have to remind myself everyone's an adult, they'll just go off and do their own thing,' she says. 'Everyone who comes to these events is just so up for anything.'
That's what strikes me as special about this day. I'll admit I had preconceptions about what the day would be like and who would attend. Although almost a quarter of Australians say they want to make new friends, people who are actively looking for friends still conjure up a less than favourable image: awkward or shy types.
This group is the exact opposite: a self-selecting congregation who are willing to give up a day of their time to make new connections. Those with less commitment to the cause are absent, and the result is akin to a warm hug.
After lunch we stop at another whale viewing point, once again to no avail. But on the bus back to Melbourne no one feels cheated by the lack of marine life. The day has met the brief. Many of us exchange contact details and hatch plans to go to an event independent of FTC next month.
Almost everyone I speak to says they plan to attend another First Timers event as well. I'd happily join them. Like whales, we've formed a pod.
The journalist attended as a guest of Visit Victoria
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