Tara & Angus' Chief Scout Adventurous Journey (Angus)

DAY 1 FRIDAY

We left the scout den at 4.30 pm on Friday and drove to Greytown. We arrived at the Greytown Scout Hall, biked down to the Greytown fish and chips shop, and ordered burgers and chips. After that, we went to a local park to play. Later on, once it had become dark, we decided to play Spotlight in the nearby park to end the night. Overall, we got on well because it was a small group, and everyone knew each other. Though it might have been better if we made food instead of buying it, at least it fits the budget.

We had pancakes for breakfast on Saturday morning. Upon finding that we needed more batter, we added more water, and the result was funny-looking crepes that were still fine. Soon after breakfast, we decided to go geocaching, and this went well, though some of the caches had been damaged. Next was the Patuna Chasm walk, which went exceedingly well only because Patuna Farm Adventures had a tight system. After that, we talked about how that went. We got dinner on the go soon after. It was pasta, and whilst some participants doubted my portioning skills, it worked out great. To top off the night, we baked a chocolate cake, though we spilled a bit of the mixture almost immediately. We got it done and topped it with icing.

By Sunday morning, we had got the hang of working/ cooking as a team, and breakfast was made quickly. The only issue we found was that the electric stovetop started sparking, so we switched stoves. At first, we had planned a short bike ride to Featherston for the end of the camp. The leaders (Derrick and Dermott) advised that this was too little of a challenge. Dermott stated, "We had to do something longer to make this epic. So, with some quick thinking, we planned a bike up over the Remutakas and over to Kaitoke to seal off the adventurous journey. Although biking 43.8km on bumpy gravel and the uneven road is painful enough, the hill is pretty steep and just goes up to the top. Once we were on the other side, it was smooth sailing. In conclusion, I enjoyed my Chief Scout's adventurous journey and would do it again.

Shipwrecked at Pukerua Bay - Cub Camp

“Shipwrecked at Pukerua Bay” was a Cub Camp that will go down in legend for the youth and Kaiarahi of Ngāti Toa Sea Scouts.

In March we spent two nights under canvas at the Pukerua Bay Scout Den. An outdoor camp was a first for most of our Cubs and organising it was a first for most of our Kaiārahi too. Despite trepidation from both parties, the weekend was a successful, fun packed adventure from start to finish.

 

The theme of the camp was “Shipwrecked” with the games, activities and food all aimed at surviving in a remote location with limited resources and trying to secure rescue. Having a theme was helpful for the organisers and fun for the Cubs. It gave focus to the activities and made space to tell fun stories to each other.

Across the weekend the Cubs:

• Took part in wide games like “Message in a Bottle” and “Blind Buccaneers Trail” – very useful for building small teams and blowing off steam before bed. 
• Learned some bushcraft skills such as shelter building, signaling, and tracking – a must if you are trapped in a remote bay. 
• Conquered a nearby peak to warm up their muscles in the morning and get the “lie of the land” in unfamiliar surroundings. 
• Made flags to mark their territory and use up some creative energy. 
• And spent time learning some campfire skills – lighting fires and cooking chocolate stuffed bananas, smores and a, remarkably tasty, damper – everything a shipwrecked cub might need.

 

The weekend was catered by an incredible crew who managed to rescue some surprising supplies from the galley before the ship went down. We were treated to “Kraken & Seaweed” (Carrot and

Cucumber, “Scurvy-be-gone Juice” (Raro), Ants on a Log, “Cheesy Cannonball Rolls” and a First-Class

Feast at the Captains table. The “Booty Bars” were a real hit with the Cubs and Kaiarahi but the Galley Chief insists that he will take the recipe to the bottom of the briny blue before he gives it up to any Land Lubbers. 

 

In the evenings we enjoyed some fantastic Campfires where Cubs and Kaiārahi alike showcased their top songs and skits. Favourites like “Ging Gang”, “Singin’ in the rain” and “My Bonny” were complimented with more nautical hits like the “Wellerman”. The cubs had prepared skits during the day, and we were treated to excellent versions of “Broken Finger”, “Invisible Bench”, “Ice Fishing” and “Is that a Poo?” The version of “The Bandana skit” that we saw had the camp rolling with laughter and may never be forgotten!

 

Luckily, Pukerua Bay turned out to be a less remote place to be shipwrecked than we had initially feared, and rescue parties were able to collect some tired and happy Cubs at the close of camp. I know they were full of good food, and I would like to think they also took away some new skills, strong friendships, and some fantastic memories. I, for one, cannot wait to do it all over again!

 

Dave Philipson at the NTSS Cub Kaiārahi

Tara & Angus' Chief Scout Adventurous Journey (Tara)

Day 1

On Friday the 28 of February we left Ngāti Toa scout hall to begin our adventurous journey. The drive took longer than we thought because there was lots of traffic. When we got there we found the key the was left under the rubbish bin for us and had a look around then we went back to the car and unloaded everything after everything was inside the hall we got out a table and told the scouts what was going to happen that night and also decided what days I would lead and what days Angus would lead. We decided that I would lead Friday night & Angus would lead Saturday and I would lead Sunday. I think it was good to tell the other scouts what was happening because it meant they didn't have to ask us what was happening next after each activity finished. 

After that I decided we were going to set up our beds and then ride our bikes to the fish and chip shop where we were eating our dinner. When we got there I ordered the food and they said we had to wait for about 30 minutes. There was a picnic bench next to the fish and chip shop but me and Rose went to see if we could find a nicer place to eat around there while Angus and Dylan waited for the food. I think that was a good idea because otherwise we would have had to find a place to eat after we already had the food and it might have gone cold. Once the food was ready we went to the picnic table me and Rose found at a park to eat our dinner. 

After dinner we biked back to the hall and all found our torches. It was a good idea that we set up our beds before dinner because it gave us more time to play spotlight. We went out to play spotlight and then came in about 45 minutes later because we had to get ready for bed. We probably should have set boundaries before the first round because we didn't know how far we could go but after the first round we said we could only go on the field and the trees around it.

At around 9.50 we went in and got ready for bed we were in bed and lights out by 10 or 10.15. Our aim was a 10 pm lights out so we should have come in earlier but we were pretty close. 

Day 2

On Saturday we had planned to get up at 8 but everyone woke up at 7 or 7.30 and so we played cards until then. 8 was too late to get up and we probably could have started on breakfast when we got up so we had more time to do other things. For breakfast we made pancakes which were okay. We used a lot of mix in the first couple that didn't turn out well and then decided to add a bit more water so we would have more mix. That made the pancakes very thin but they still tasted good. It did take us a lot longer than expected to make breakfast and we decided that maybe it was a bit much to have all four of us in the kitchen making breakfast so me and Rose got out the stuff for lunch and started making people's wraps. One thing we realized is we had forgotten to put on the gear list things to put our lunches in but we had planned to eat at the start of the walk that day anyway so we put the lunches in one of the boxes with food. 

While we were eating breakfast and a bit when we were cooking, Angus told everyone what was going to happen that day because he was leading that day. When all the breakfast and lunch things were packed up we packed our day bags so everything would be ready by the time we got back from geocaching. We went geocaching for about an hour or hour and a half. It was good but some of them were hard to find or not there. 

When we got back we put our lunches in the car and our day bags and went to Patuna chasm. We didn't know where to go so we used google maps.  We got there about 45 mins early so we had lunch at a picnic bench that was there, signed in on the sheet out front and put on more sunscreen. It was good we got there early because it meant we had time to do all those things and if we were late they wouldn't have waited for us and we would have missed out. 

The car ride that took us to the start of the walk was about 15 mins and had some nice views it was also fun because we were in the trailer it the actual car. When we got to the start the person that ran the Patuna chasm walk gave us instructions about the walk and told us where a first aid kit was and what to do if anything happened on the walk. That was good but made it easy for me and Angus because we didn't have to try to find out where we were or where to go next on a map because we had the instructions and the person had told us everything we needed to know. 

The first part of the walk was on land and a bit uphill. After about 15 to 20 minutes of that we went down into the river. It was a steep downhill so they had a rope you could use to help you down. Once we were in the river we went upstream to a waterfall which we stood under and it was nice and refreshing since it was a nice day. After that we had to turn back downstream because past the waterfall was private property. We kept walking downstream and took lots of pictures because it was very pretty. It was rocky and slippery in some places so we made sure that we were watching our steps so we didn't fall. We were just walking straight for a while in some parts the water was up to our waist and in other parts it was only up to our ankles. After that there was a side path to a cave type thing it took about 15 mins to get up there and it was cool but very muddy and slippery on the way up and down after that we just kept walking down the river and because we wanted to do the swim out option we kept walking past the walk out sign with the rope to get back up. 

We continued down and it started to get deeper at one point there was a part that was up to ours waists on the side and deeper in the middle me and Rose went under the water there because we thought it was the swimming part but it wasn't super deep for that long. Then after another couple of minutes we saw the deeper part. Derrick and Dermot took the bags because we wanted to go under the water and because we were too short to keep them from getting wet. It was a good idea to give them the bags because they didn't get wet and they definitely would have it if we had carried them. 

At the end of the swim there was and orange cone that showed us where to get out so we got out and followed the path back to where we had started on our way up we heard the cars coming back to get people but by the time we got there they had already left so we had to wait a hour for them to come back and pick us up. We should have run when we heard them so we would get there on time. 

During that hour we put our thermals on and some of our wet stuff off so we wouldn't get cold because it was windy. Derrick taught us about some of the trees that were around there and the clouds that were in the sky at that point. The cars came back for us at 4.45 we went in the trailers back to the place where we parked and then drove back to the hall. 

When we got back to the hall we put on our togs and went to the pool that was right next to the hall. We were there for about 45 minutes because it closed 30 minutes before they said it would. But it was still a good amount of time in the pool before we had to go back to make dinner. 

Dinner was pasta which some people thought there wouldn't be enough of because we only brought one bag of pasta but it was enough for all of us. It also didn't take as long as breakfast. After dinner we were going to start making the cake but then we realized we didn't bring a cake tin but then someone suggested we use the pot we made the pasta in so we did we made the batter put it in the pot and then we put in in the oven and set a timer and went outside to play spotlight it was fun but there was a lot more people around. We went inside 15 mins before the timer went off because there were some people walking around the field and it was kinda creepy. When we were inside we checked on the cake but it still had a while to go so we played cards until it was done. After the cake was done we realized we still had to make the icing so we quickly made that and put it on the cake we also wanted milo but we had used the pot to make the cake so we had cold milo it was very good after we had eaten cake we cleaned the dishes and went to bed. 

Day 3

We were planning to get up at 7 on Sunday but the alarm didn't go off and so we ended up getting up at around 7.20. When we got up we packed up our beds and stuff because we were going home that day then we made breakfast which was scrambled eggs and bacon on toast but when we were cooking the bacon the stove we were cooking it on sparked so we turned it off and started using another one. 

When  we were eating breakfast we were talking about what we were gonna do that day and we were planning on doing a 10km bike ride but then Derrick told us that that would only take us half an hour so me Angus and Dermot went outside to talk about what we would do instead while everyone else cleaned up the inside of the hall. 

When we were trying to decide what we were going to do we decided that we still wanted to do a bike ride but a longer one that we had originally planned. Angus wanted to ride all the way back to Ngāti Toa but I thought 105km was to much and so we decided that we would ride over the Rimutakas on the Rimutaka rail trail and Derrick would pick us up at the carpark at the end and drive us back to the den. 

So we went inside to tell everyone and everything was packed up so we told people what we were going to do and at first they didn't really like the idea because it was still a really long bike ride but they didn't really mind when we were on the bikes. We loaded up everything into Derricks car and he was going to meet us at the start of the Rimutaka track that was about 25 km away but on his way there he stopped at the supermarket because we had to do something else for lunch because we had planned to have nachos at the hall but couldn't do that anymore. Once we had loaded up Derrick's car we left and Dermot was riding with us and had the map on his phone. The first part of the ride was pretty good we were on a bike path for a lot of it and there were some times we went on the road because it was easier to ride on but we only did that on roads that had barely any cars on them and if cars started coming we went onto the path next to the road. 

We took a couple of breaks and made sure everyone drank a lot of water and ate some snacks we brought with us so that people didn't get dehydrated and hungry. We got to the start of the Rimutaka track about just over 2 hours after we left. Everyone was pretty tired and not really excited about the big hill that we had to ride up next. 

We had lunch. Derrick had brought some lollies for energy and some tuna wraps. We stayed there for about an hour and then got back on the bikes and started up the hill. Rose was struggling a bit and wasn't feeling the best at the start so we took a little break and then kept going. We walked our bikes for a bit and then rode them for a bit and kept doing that and taking some breaks but not too many. We did that all the way up the hill to the swing bridge. I think it was a good idea to walk the bikes when we got tired instead of taking breaks so that it didn't take too long. Angus and Dylan were a bit ahead of us but stopped when they thought they were too far ahead. 

When we got to the swing bridge we knew we were close to the top we left our bikes on one side of the swing bridge and then went to have a look over the sides and stuff then we got our bikes and biked across on the other side of the swing bridge there was a tunnel so we a couple of people had torches so we turned them on so we could see. It wasn't a very long tunnel but it might have been more helpful if more people had torches. After another 5 or 10 mins there was another tunnel and then we were at the top. 

Once we were at the top we sat under a tree and rested for 15 mins. Then we went down the hill everyone was a lot more happy because we were going down hill and didn't really have to peddle. The down hill didn't really take us that long, only about half an hour and when we got to the end we saw Derrick and loaded the bikes onto the trailer and then drove to the den. When we got to the den we unloaded the trailer and put everything that needed to go back in the den. Then we all went home. 

It was a good camp and if i did it again i would probably make some changes especially in the planning but i think we did pretty good.

Dylan & Cameron's Chief Scout Journey

Trip Report

---

1. Trip Details

• Destination: Lake Taupo

• Travel Dates: October 10th to October 13th

• Purpose of the Trip: Chief Scout Adventurous Journey

---

2. Travel Companions

• Leaders: Dougal and Derrick

• Organizing Scouts: Dylan and Cameron

• Scouts: Trinaya, Rose, Tara, Angus, Flynn, and Toby

---

3. Itinerary Summary

• Day 1: The first group arrived at 7:00 pm, meeting with Wontolla, who runs the Taupo Scout Ship. He gave a tour of the den, explaining rules and guidelines for our stay. The second group arrived later, around 11:10 pm, and after everyone was settled, we quickly got ready for bed and fell asleep. From Day One we learnt that arriving at 11 at night is quite a challenge, especially unpacking the boats late in the night in the rain. Ideally, if we were to do the camp again, everyone would be able to leave at the same time.

• Day 2: We started the day early, waking up at 7:30 am to make a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs. Later, we embarked on a hike up Mt. Tauhara, taking in the incredible views from the top. Afterwards, we visited AC Baths, which was a blast and a refreshing way to wind down. On day two we should've pushed scouts harder to do the things that they needed to do so we could get going faster. We ran behind schedule all day but they wouldn't have been a problem he we encouraged scouts to do what they needed to do in the morning

• Day 3: We woke up at 6:30 am and kicked off the day with a fun breakfast of blue pancakes. Afterwards, we began rigging boats, but it took longer than anticipated, and unfortunately, we popped the patrol boat. This led to a change in plans, so we ended up sailing back and forth within the bay. After sailing, everyone was cold, so we took a trip to the natural hot springs to warm up. Although the water wasn’t as warm as we’d hoped, we still enjoyed the experience and made the most of it. On the third day, our biggest error was probably forgetting to put the bungs in. if we had done so we wouldn't have popped the patrol boat and we may have been able to go to the Maori carvings. However, we did adapt well and came up with alternative options.

• Day 4 (Last Day): We woke up at 6:30 am again, which didn’t make everyone happy! After that, we began our pack-up process: everyone had their designated jobs as we mopped, swept, and cleared out the den. We then dropped off the rubbish and delivered a thank-you cake to Wontolla for hosting us and assisting on the challenging sailing day. From there, we drove to the Whakapapa side of Mt. Ruapehu and enjoyed a beautiful walk to Taranaki Falls, an impressive sight. Finally, we drove back to the den to unpack after a long and adventurous journey. On the last day of camp we should have slit up, one car going to Steve's place and one going to the tip. Other than that I think Day 4 went very smoothly. 

---

4. Accommodation Details

• Hotel/Location: Taupo Scout Ship

• Type of Accommodation: Den

• Quality and Experience: A good place to stay with easy access to the water, ideal for sailing activities, and a private environment perfect for scouts.

---

5. Transportation

• Main Mode of Transportation: Car

• Experience: Convenient and flexible for the journey; allowed easy travel around Lake Taupo and direct access to the Scout Ship.

---

6. Highlights of the Trip

• Top Attractions Visited: Mt. Tauhara and Taranaki Falls

• Favourite Experience: Learning to play poker with everyone, which became a fun group activity

• Must-try Food or Drink: Blue pancakes—a memorable and tasty part of the adventure

---

7. Challenges Faced

• Issues with Accommodation/Transportation: None reported.

• Health/Safety Concerns: Having a smaller patrol boat led some safety concerns on the water and some scouts not being as confident with the conditions at hand which also caused a leader to be on a boat to help teach

• Other Obstacles and How They Were Managed: On Day 3, the patrol boat was damaged when it popped, and high winds, combined with scouts not having their boats properly rigged, created additional complications. These challenges led to a necessary change in plans to ensure safety and manage resources effectively.

---

8. Budget Overview

• Total Cost: $904.67

• Main Expenses: Food, Petrol and Boat repairs.

• Left Over: $135.33. This translates to 16.9 dollars per person

• Cost-saving Tips: Choose the cheapest options for food and don’t break the patrol boat.

---

9. Key Takeaways

• Memorable Moments: Reaching the top of Mt. Tauhara with all scouts and leaders and enjoying the amazing views.

• Lessons Learned: The importance of proper preparation, especially ensuring that boats and gear are ready and rigged on time for activities.

---

10. Photos 

                    

Sam's Chief Scout Adventurous Journey

Overview

My chief scout journey took place over the Matariki weekend from Friday the 28th of June to Sunday the 30th of June 2024. 

There were lots of possibilities of what I could do and where I could go. After a lot of thinking, I decided to go to Kapiti Island and cycle down the coast from Paraparaumu to Ngati toa domain. Along the way we’d do things like working at the community gardens, going to a scenic lookout point, and kayaking.

Planning 

This journey took a lot more planning than I thought it would. Things took a lot more time than I thought, like budgeting, posting the event on Mahi Tahi, and some of the activities like cycling. Even though they took more time than I thought, they ended up all working out and everything ran smoothly. 

Budget

My budget went pretty well.  The total cost for the trip per person was $120, I have reached this budget. The trip would’ve cost more, but luckily Kapiti Island Nature tours had a discount of 20%. I knew that if the trip cost any more it would draw people away from attending. So I’m thankful to Kapiti nature tours for the good timing of the discount! 

I had the amount of food planned to cost $161, and it ended up being $158.08 which is less than I expected. I was budgeting for 3 people. I budgeted the camp with 3 expenses in mind: Food, Kapiti Island trip and the Koha to Raumati Scout Group. The food cost was $52.70 each, the Kapiti Island trip cost $63 each, the other $4.30 each was for the Koha to Raumati Scout group. That means the koha would only be $12.90. 

I would like to round the koha up to $20.  

We ended up having a bit too much food at the end so we all took it home and found ways to use it. I used the leftover bananas to make a banana cake and I bought it into scouts to share on the last night of term. Some things like bacon, apple crumble, cereal, and burger patties went very fast. But there were some things that I took too many of, like bananas, apples, fries, tinned food, and raro. 

Accommodation

For our accommodation, we stayed at two places, Raumati Scout den in Paraparaumu, and Ngati Toa Sea Scouts. On the first night we slept in Raumati scout hall. We cooked and ate there and there was even a heater. On the second night we slept in tents in a field in Ngati Toa domain which is very close to Ngati Toa Sea Scouts. And everything went well. 

The Journey Begins

On the night before the journey, I was excited about what awaited me. I knew that the first day was going to be the biggest day and I liked that. The weather forecast was looking good too.

Friday - Set up

Before we set off to cycle to Paraparaumu beach, I got to check out the Raumati Scout den. Raumati Scout leader Belinda came down to meet us and showed me around. It was very well looked after den. There was a surprise note that said ‘enjoy your stay from the Kaputi coasters from jamboree’ with their logo. So we wrote a message back with a very impressive Porirua pirates picture which is what we were at the jamboree. 

We had to bike from Raumati south (Where Raumati Scout Den is) to Paraparaumu beach (Where the Kapiti Island ferry is). We were wearing hi vis vests as we were biking along the waterfront roads. But it was very cold.  It was -1 degrees as we were biking along the waterfront and my knees were so cold that I couldn’t pedal, they were absolutely frozen! Luckily the temperature raised to a comfortable 12 degrees on the island, and I could do everything fine without being frozen. I’m very fortunate that the two others in my camp, Angus and Connel, were all fine and we challenged ourselves to keep going when it was really cold. 

Kapiti Nature Tours - Check in

Just before we got to the island, we had to have a biosecurity check. What this means is that we had to take all of our bags off and thoroughly examine them to make sure that there were no pests in our bags like seeds, insects, and rats. After that we had to spray our boots with some sort of soap and brush our boots through a brush. We were also told that we can’t put our bags on the ground until we reach the boat, otherwise our bags could get seeds on them. We got our pass to the island and then set off across the road to the boating club..

I would like to thank John Smith from Kapiti Boating club. I popped into the boating club a week prior because we needed somewhere for our bikes to be safe and not get stolen. John let us put our bikes in the bathrooms and we locked them up with our bike locks, and we were good to go to Kapiti.

 

Friday - Kapiti Island

This was the highlight of our trip. Kapiti Island. At 9:30 in the morning, we set off on the ferry for the island. Just before we were at the shore, the boat that we were in was still going at full speed. I started to worry as usually boats would’ve slowed down at that point, but our driver smoothly slowed down very quickly. 

After we got on the island, we had a quick talk from the guide about the trails and the island's history. As soon as that was over, we set off for the Wilkinson track to the top of the island. There were heaps of birds! We took lots of pictures and videos of the sounds of birds, the main ones we saw were Saddle backs, Tuis, Wekas and we even saw a Kakariki bird, of which there are only 100 left in the world!  We stopped regularly but still no one had caught up to us. We stopped for a solid 20 minutes at the Hihi feeder, which is where the halfway point to the top is. Only then did people catch up to us. 

There were just two things I didn't like about the Kapiti island trip. Firstly at the guide's talk, there was the couple that delayed the schedule to the ferry.  Their children were screaming and crying so we couldn’t hear the guide properly. Angus and Connel and I all agreed that it was a bit rude. The other thing I didn’t like was at the Hihi feeder. Some tourists were playing music! The only type of music that you want to hear in a nature reserve are birds chirping. It's quite disrespectful to the birds and people who want to see and hear the birds. 

We had morning tea at the Hihi feeder, there were Wekas galore. All it took was a tiny piece of carrot to attract 3 Wekas. They tried to peck my legs, that was a bit scary. Then we set off for the top again. We were chatting, stopping, and looking at all the bird life that was there. And before we knew it, we were at the junction with the other track! We were then motivated to get to the top, which flew by, and then, we made it! 

The view at the top was outstanding. We could see from Porirua to Levin. We then ate lunch and went to the old long drop toilet at the top of the island. It smelt like Rotorua on a bad day! And then we headed back down to the bottom. We were just chatting and walking down the track but once we got to the Hihi feeder, something special happened. A big chime of Korimakos, probably 20 of them, were at the Hihi feeder along with the Hihis. I remember that we were talking, and then we just went quiet. The sound was just beautiful to hear. We sat down and just took the beautiful sound in. We were having a snack and then the same 3 Wekas came to peck me for food. We then set off for the bottom again. We were skipping down the island and then, SWOOSH. A kaka bird dive bombed 5 metres away from Angus, he got the fright of his life! 

We got back to the bottom in good time so we dipped our feet in the beach water, tried some of the spring water from the lake which tasted a bit murky, and said our goodbyes to the island. But remember that boat driver from earlier in the day? Well he sailed us home too. He drove the boat so smoothly, when we got onto the sea tractor on the mainland we didn’t even notice until we saw the trailer with big barricades (so that the boat didn’t fall off). Overall, Kapiti Island was a great experience for all of us and we’d all do it again.

After our Kapiti island trip, we biked back to Raumati Scout den. We had burgers and oven chips for dinner and an apple crumble for dessert. We had trouble getting the oven going to cook the chips. We had a fiddle with the dials on the oven and it worked! We then got a bit of free time and went to bed at 10:20pm. But just before we turned the lights out, an unexpected challenge happened. I shut the kitchen door but didn't realise the nib was on, so the door locked behind me! But to make matters worse, the key for the kitchen was on the kitchen bench! So we were locked out of the kitchen! Lucky we didn't have any elements on. To solve this problem, I considered picking the lock, or calling Belinda in case she had a spare key. But then Connel suggested we check if we had any windows open, and we did!  So we devised a plan.  I lifted Angus up and into the window, Connel held the torch for us. Then bingo, Angus was in, he turned the lights on and unlocked the door. I learnt to always put the key back and double check that the door wasn’t locked before shutting it!

Saturday - Biking Journey

On Saturday morning we packed up and headed off for the coast road from Raumati South to Ngati toa domain. We were supposed to leave at 9:30 but we ended up leaving at 10 am. We enjoyed our stay at Raumati Scout den and would definitely stay there again. 

We biked through Queen Elizabeth park, and stopped in Paekakariki. We then filed down Coast road and were in Pukerua Bay before we knew it.  When we got to Pukerua Bay, we stopped at the local community gardens to do some work for a badge for an hour. We clipped trees and knocked in posts. After this we had lunch and looked around the garden. 

After a short bike ride across the village of Pukerua Bay, we arrived at Raroa reserve. We took in the beautiful kohekohe flowers which were quite unique, and then we got to the lookout. It was a great spot to look out to and we saw a whale!

We then biked to Ngati toa domain from Pukerua Bay. I found this last bike ride a challenge because I was getting pretty tired.

When we got to the Ngati toa den, we set up tents. Connel had to leave early the next morning. So we decided to set up 2 tents instead. Me and Angus were in one tent, and Connell was in the other. That meant Connel could have a good night sleep by himself and get up early to leave without waking others. The setting up of the tents was fun, we played around with the poles but still got them up in good time. For dinner, we made chilli con carne. Later we had bananas, chocolate and marshmallows. Everything went to plan.

Sunday - Last day

On Sunday morning, we were supposed to go kayaking, but I decided the weather was not suitable for that, it was way too cold. Instead we did a beach clean up from the marina entrance at mana cruising club to the eastern channel marker of the Porirua harbour channel marker. We got lots of rubbish. I emailed Porirua city council about the gorse on the Whitireia reserve park.

Conclusion

Overall, I enjoyed my camp. I would totally do it again. And I would take my experience from this past camp and do what I think would work better, like getting places on time, and changing my shopping list to have less of some things.

If I had to break down my main highlight every day it would be…

Friday: The entire Kapiti Island trip.

Saturday: Seeing the whale at Raroa Reserve

Sunday: The beach clean up on Ngati Toa beach.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Derrick and Kem who are my scout leaders, Kapiti Nature Tours, John Smith, Belinda Tomkinson, Raumati Scouts, Pukerua Bay Community Gardens, Ngati Toa Sea Scouts, Porirua Council, and the McIntosh family - the boys Angus and Connel, and their parents. Without any of you I probably wouldn't have done this.

More Pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/RyxYVcunukTTo57B6