Ngati Toa Sea Scouts: Atiwhakatu Beginners Tramp

Holdsworth is a great place to go tramping and while it is about 2 hours drive away, it never fails to make it feel worth while. This year we had a smallish group of scouts wanting to learn the skills and experience the feeling of an overnight in the bush - some were experienced, but for others it was a first time.

The trip over was an experience. I have a scout play list in my car, given to me by the Venturers. The scouts I had in my car loved it and in a lot of cases were singing along (despite some of the songs being Taylor Swift - Sorry Harvey)

Some of our more experienced scouts lead off and set a good pace. We did the walks in and out in very short times. We were in to the hut quite early and did the usual of dropping our packs around the hut and heading off to collect firewood. A LOT of firewood was collected for such a small group. We had teams on collecting, breaking up and also packing the firewood into the stores at the back of the hut.

Dinner was whatever each group wanted to make with the ingredients that they had. Cous cous formed the based and most went with adding some of each ingredient for interest sake. Peppers, Chorizo, Cheese, Tomatoes, etc, all in one pot. A standard feature of these hikes since we discovered it a few years ago is Chocolate Mouse desserts. Whip it up and leave it outside in the cold and Voila! You have dessert.

The evening following dinner was about the fun games and exercises that Nick had prepared. Lots of learning while still having fun. A family with a small baby were sharing the hut with us and also took part in the fun.

Next morning was breakfast of porridge and fruit. Some scouts find this a challenging meal for some reason.

Tidying up and packing up took the best part of an hour or two before we could set off back to the parking lot. The hut looked spotless and all the scouts played a huge part in making it so.

The walk back was brisk with no issues. Even swing bridges were just fun. We stopped at Donnelly Flats for lunch and retired to the the river where it runs close to the track to have it. The river bank was comfortable and dry and we all settled down a variety of wraps, noodles and soups according to each groups desire.