Alex's adventures continue with passage to India

(posted 24.11.09)

Having conquered Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro last December and sailing on the Young Endeavour earlier this year, graduating Year 12 student Alex Cattaneo might be excused for resting on his laurels.

But that is hardly likely for someone into triathlon, rowing and cross country and who this year often preferred to ride his bike from his home at Noosa to Matthew Flinders Anglican College rather than take the bus.

“It was either an hour bus ride down or an hour and a half taking the bike – I mostly did it when I had a triathlon coming up,” Alex said.

Having done the hard kilometers just to get to the classroom, he has been working hard in all fields of endeavour – his efforts as a sporting all-rounder winning him the Pierre de Coubertin Award.

But he is far from just a sports jock, having also worked up a sweat in Africa doing humanitarian work and will set out for India next month as part of a Goda Foundation field crew.

“What we’re going to do over there is mainly work with children in day care centres – helping out,” Alex said.

The foundation is also designed to increase awareness of Indian culture by immersing young people in the language and local way of life.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the Indian culture most of all – I’ve been to Africa before … we did one week’s worth of work in the local school rooms.

“That involved teaching lessons for the Australian Youth Development Association, painting classrooms and we ran their athletics carnival.”

This trip of a lifetime also involved climbing almost 6km up Africa’s highest mountain and then going on safari to do some amazing big game spotting.

When he returns from India in February, Alex is going to embark on a gap year, working and then travelling in Europe and visiting family along the way.

His long-term goal is to study at QUT to be a paramedic – and to climb into a boat and go as fast and as he can.

Alex started rowing with the Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club about four years ago and has placed sixth in the national schoolboys single scull, but he may yet be lost to the surf.

“It’s a bit hard to choose what I want to pursue, it will be either rowing on the river or something I picked up recently – surfboat rowing with the Noosa Surf Club,” he said.

But in the meantime, Alex has some serious letting down of the hair to do with his mates at Schoolies Week.

- story by Peter Gardiner, Sunshine Coast Daily

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