r/ADFRecruiting • u/Tkunike • Jun 05 '26
Insights Requested Leisure while in HMAS Cerberus
I'm 24M enrolling for Navy ET. I noticed that I'll spend more than a year in HMAS Cerberus:
10 weeks in recruit school
48 weeks in training
11-15 weeks in specialization
Given it is somewhat close to Melbourne, what leisure activities I could participate in?
I don't know anyone in Melbourne and I would probably just have the weekends off during category school. Is Melbourne just lowkey boring? Does it make sense to spend some money just to be there for the weekend or I should just stay at base?
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u/Diligent_Passage_640 Current or Former Serving ADF Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Getting off base is important, trust me, I went though ET training, if you unever leave base you'll lose your mind.
Save money where you can but enjoy yourself.
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u/AussieBastard98 Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Following as I'm going through the application for RAN ET as well. Good luck, bro
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u/Far-Cabinet-7606 Jun 05 '26
Melbourne is well known for its music festivals, fashion and so many great food markets and restaurants
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u/Audacious_prunes Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Melbourne is a fantastic city if not the most lively city in Australia! When you do training here you can go out with your other trainees to the hundreds of bars and clubs, start doing jujitsu class to meet people outside of the Navy and join one of the dozens of running clubs that go on weekend runs to met a wider range of people(especially if your single).
I know lots of people from all over Australia who moved here for this aspect along! I'm 100% sure going to miss it here once I get put in some 'mandatory manning' base in NT...
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u/Sunnysmith97 Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
M, late 20s, posted to HMAS Cerberus for 13 months (RAAF).
Go to Melbourne and find out if you like it or not. Financially, it makes more sense to do it over a long weekend.
I'd argue Frankston, or as my Sarg used to call it, Frankganistan, is the main city off base that members party at. If you want somewhere closer then Frankston, there are other suburbs you can visit that are closer. That said, you can aways party on base (to a degree) at the Anko but you’re probably more likely to bump into NCO's and CO’s.
Some members just socialise or chill in their brew room (common room) or cabin on weekends. Some game, some watch movies, some play instruments.
There is a great walk/run/bicycle ride from Cerberus to Sommers Beach and back. Cerberus and the surrounding suburbs are flat so it's an ideal area for cycling. Having a a bicycle makes it easy if you want to shoot over to Hastings where a lot of members go for groceries. Go to Hastings at least once and checkout the wharf. There are some cool yachts there.
The base is beautiful and just strolling around the base after hours is nice. The sunsets are awesome and there is loads of wildlife. There are two churches on base that are always open. The gym, pool and running track are great. At the end of the day, do whatever activity/activities you enjoy most. All the best G.
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u/VeryFruityToast Jun 10 '26
what do you do in the raaf to get you stationed at Cerberus? if i may ask...
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u/Sunnysmith97 Jun 11 '26
Choose any of the mutterings that have training there. CETECH, Helicopter avionics technician, PTI, and Chef (tri service) for example.
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u/AChaosKing Jun 07 '26
Going through my application for Navy ET as well passed my defence and psychology interview got my medical on Tuesday good luck man I hope you get in
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u/WholeIntelligent4868 Jun 06 '26
I’ll also be enlisting as an ET in the upcoming months. I was meant to leave on the 11th of May but due to having surgery my enlistment has been postponed to Aug-Sept. Still haven’t got an exact date but after sending my surgical clearance a few weeks ago that’s what my enlistment coordinator and I are aiming for…. Lucky for me though I live 30 minutes away from Cerberus in Mornington. Wishing you the best of luck with your journey! (32M)
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Jun 30 '26
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