FRIDAY
Friday night arrived and the keas, cubs and venturers got settled quickly. The Scouts however, having to deal with their own tents, were a little lagging. The campfire eventually came around and all got off the ground well with a great big roaring campfire, a fantastic Sheriff campfire chief (and who could forget Stinky Pete!)SATURDAY
On Saturday morning we got our first proper look at our "Saloon" where we would be eating our meals for the rest of the weekend. Here is a picture of our first class catering crew. I saw first hand the spaghetti bolognaise sauce in the pot. The pot itself was rectangular and must have been 80cm wide by 40cm deep by about 40cm high and it was three quarters full! There were over a hundred people to feed. |
| From left: Wade, Rachel, Dene, Kelly, Ross and Jim |
We started the day with a formal flag break and got to invest a new leader Lauren - Welcome to the crew, Lauren!
Then it was on to the activities:
The Parson River was definitely a hit, as always:
Building the patented "Taylor Hoist" at the Taylor Plains ended with a fun result. The Hoist had a very interesting capability once ready to lift those heavy objects. It could be used as a "Merry-go-round"!
Even some of the adults got to have a go
"The Mill" was a great favourite, making swords, shields and flags for the next days activity. At this stage they had no idea what it was. So there were some very interesting weapons made.
"Dunnetts Diner" proved once and for all that scouts can cook great meals given the opportunity. They prepared popcorn, followed by a very interesting looking bean stew called "Fart & dart" beans followed by sherbet apples to finish up. It all looked and tasted very yummy.
At the end of the days organised activities, the scouts had about an hour or so of free time to do whatever they wanted. Some went to the trampoline, some played football on the parade ground, while those who still were wired towards more activities took on the the obstacle course and flying fox. Glenn organised races on the Flying fox to everyone's delight and two teams were made to race off against each other.
That evening all the groups spilt up and the exhausted keas and cubs went to bed, while the scouts had a campfire, and the venturers did what teenagers do best and "hung out".
For the venturers, it wasn't all just "spilling the T" as they say. There were plans afoot. When the venturers awoke the next morning, they were all wearing very cool shoes. Literally. Their leaders had removed all their shoes from outside the lodge and left them over night in the fridge.
The venturers had also had plans of their own however. When the scouts awoke on Sunday morning, their shoes had all been removed from in front of their tents and put in a big pile at the end of the deck! Some rather gruhumpy scouts had to look quite a while to find them.
The cubs and keas also woke up to a venturer surprise. Little bags of lollies had been left outside the doors of each of the cub and kea cabins.
SUNDAY
Sunday started after breakfast with a flag break parade and awards ceremony. The following keas scouts and leaders deserve great credit for the achievements they have made. |
| Ellen receiving her Chief Scout Award |
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| Four Keas receiving their Gold Kea Award |
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| A long line of dedicated leaders receiving "Years Service" awards. Well over a century of experience in that line up. |
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| Kate receiving her Gillwell Woggle |
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| And Aldo receiving his Gillwell Woggle |
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| A shorter line of leaders receiving their BRAVO awards - a big Scouting "Thank you" |
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| And long overdue in my opinion - Neil receiving his Medal of Merit. |
The "Brookfield Gold Rush". The fields of gold had been found by Stinky Pete the previous day at the top of the Brookfield campsites. All that had to happen was to go and find it, but if only it were that easy! Bandidos, Corrupt Sheriffs, Random water pistol shooters and scouts stealing gold from each other was the order of the day. The jailhouse was kept constantly busy and had no shortage of prisoners and even had to deal with an escapee.
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| Criminals kept in solitary confinement |
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| Nurse Kym kept the hurts away with her patented snake oil jelly beans |
I came down to the building to get the trailer towards the end of the game to collect all the equipment and could still hear the scouts screaming and running around.
The camp was a roaring success and the scouts and leaders alike thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I have heard expressions like:
- "physically exhausted ... but .. emotionally recharged"
- "a weekend at group camp re-energises me"
Thanks you to the parents for doing the heavy cleaning while we were away having fun.
Many more photos are available here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3t1WCpUPp5ViCBDz6
