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| Left to Right: Zac, Matt, Daniel, Ohara, Emyr, Max, Derrick, Adam, Lauree, Kym (behind), Amelia, Rosie, Hamish, Ciara, Calvin, Vanessa & Robin |
Day 2
Day 2 was the big day, with the building and setting up of our first attempt at our Jamboree gateway. The plan went well and we even got the gateway standing upright for a while, although not unsupported. Team work played a large part with the work being divided up between the scouts and then coming together at the end. One comment I heard, which I have taken to heart, was "I think we need to practice this some more!" |
| The final gate - umm,,definitely some practice needed |
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| Ohara showing off his square lashing ability |
The afternoon saw the scouts all preparing for their tramp. The intro was a little more than just a briefing with some instruction on separation and exposure, and search and rescue. These being a key part of the plan to get these scouts their "Hiking Badges". Then came the tramp.
from Derrick: "My watch did really well with even the youngest scout, Calvin, showing great determination to reach the top. There were no complaints, no mumblings, nothing but the stoic continuation of the tramp (sometimes backwards on the really steep bits, because "its easier"). Hot soup just beyond the summit (out of the cold) and then came the downhill piece. Completed really quickly obviously and everyone was back in camp around sunset having started at approx. 1pm. A good 4.5 hours walk."
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| Derricks Watch - The Martians |
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| Kyms Watch - The Heros |
Thankfully I think I got a cruisey watch for the tramp - the BOIZZZ! (Boyz: Adam and Ohara.) They really did make light work of the 4.5 hour tramp. With their constant chatter of lively conversation and easygoing teamwork they marched through all the checkpoints without complaint. Adam even took a spectacular panoramic shot from the summit, capturing the many hues of grey from the fog, mist, cloud and rain. I can almost feel the bracing wind just thinking back.
The hot soup was a welcome treat before heading back down that epic hill, again with a lively chatter of conversation and a couple of songs thrown in for good measure. Their upbeat attitude was fantastic.
Throughout the camp it was really great to see how well all the scouts worked together: building fires, mixing ingredients, prepping their meals, clearing their workstations/areas and washing up. Honestly there were so many bits and bobs they had to do and they just got stuck into everything.
The campfire singalongs were very entertaining but I can see it'll take a few more camps before I start knowing most of the words. (I'm a big fan of "The quatermaster's store", that was a new one for me.)
Overall I was super impressed by how upbeat everyone was despite the weather. It made me really proud to be a newly invested Scout Leader. I'm looking forward to the next camp!"
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| Robyns Watch - The Boizz |
from Vanessa: "The watch I hiked with were not bothered by the weather and time passed quickly with good company and a wide range of conversation. We set a good pace and kept catching up to the watch in front of us. “Get a move on, Kym!” We made our targets in the time we calculated using the map - “oh, about half an hour, just a few more corners." It was awesome when the cloud lifted enough to see the farm below. The hot soup was wonderful, particularly out of a pot. The girls had dinner planned and jobs were sorted before we even hit the stream."
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| Vanessa Watch - The Goyrls |
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| The Summit in cloud |
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| Calvin at their dinner table |
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| Emyr and Zac frying breakfast bacon |
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| Hamish and Max preparing to boil water for washing |
All did not end well on this day for some scouts. A mess of food left outside their tent and unwashed dishes and work surfaces, meant that said scouts were roused from their beds and made to complete their kitchen clean up after everyone else had gone to bed. When they finished this at 11:10pm they were allowed to return to their sleeping bags.
Day 3
Sunday did start off promising with sun making a brief appearance and a beautiful rainbow.Then came the rain! The outstanding memory of Sunday. And Mud! A call was made early to ask parents to come in and help pack up. The programme was abandoned (except for the "Scouts Own", which we did during a lull in the rainfall)
Scouts Own was done with a Kaupapa theme - the scouts doing karakia and waiata. Then came the highlights:
- Robin was invested as a Leader - congratulations Robin; and
- Vanessa was awarded her Medal of Merit - Well deserved.
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| Vanessa with her ever present smile | Kym on Parade |
Then to packing up. Muddy tents, muddy gear and getting everything into packs and then into cars and trailers. A story of rain and wet and mud. Many thanks to the parents for responding to the the call for help and coming prepared to get wet and muddy to help us get everything packed away. It was so good, as leaders, to see the support that came out as soon as we asked for help.
All ended well, no injuries and plenty of good, lasting memories.
