2021 - Online Scouting - Week 2 (Weather Rocks)

From last weeks online scouting I got two pictures of peoples Weather Rocks.  Both of them very impressive:

Ellie sent in this picture of her Rock on her post box

Alex and his Rock on his Post Box

Well Done guys and keep up the good work!

2021 Kapiti Coast Cossgrove course (NTSS edition)

By Ruby:

"Last weekend a few of our scouts went on Cosgrove - A course designed to help scouts become practical scouts. We participated in lots of challenges, such as building A frames, axe and knife skills, orienteering, learning how to set up tents and care for them, and cooking. We stayed at the Pukerua Bay scout den, and spent the first night in the den and the second night in tents. One of my favourite activities was the  campfire. We sung heaps of songs, performed skits, listened to good old campfire stories and most of a had so much fun! On the second night Grant had a great idea, to make everyone run around the block to warm us up before we hopped into our sleeping bags, and sure enough it did make getting into our cold sleeping bags much easier. 

Everyone learnt so much and had heaps of fun!"

Ruby & her watch on the walk

Ellie has fun on the swing

All of us at the Pukera Bay lookout

Rose, Ellie, Ruby, Quinn and Sam having dinner they cooked on a fire

The tents for Saturday night

Ben, our Zone Scout Leader, supervising Alex on the swings

More pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/daDBA7zzPqunLJKA8

2021 Learning new Vertical Skills

Some fun was had last night at the Leaders lead evening and some parts of the "Vertical Skills" badge were learned.  We had a cargo net up to climb and scouts we learning how to make harnesses, belay and what risks and equipment are needed for climbing.  Some pictures below:

 

2021 Season Results and Prizegiving

Second Place

With great attendance numbers this year we celebrated a year of on the water events and fun.

Hard to believe that in a year with 24 events at 7 regattas, we ran SECOND in 19 of them!  Notable victories this year were from the Scouts who put in a couple of good results in both Cutter and Sunburst events.  Most notable of the year is the Open rowing victory won by Grant and his team at the Hickson Regatta at Evans bay!

Video courtesy of Matt Short

This years results are recorded in the certificates below.  Event results grouped by regatta:

Overall results by event type:

However, this is what we are aiming for next year:

2021 - Tramp to Atiwhakatu

Cheerful exhaustion

What a great weekend full of food and chatter and learning.  We challenged the scouts to each write a paragraph about the tramp and the experience that sticks most clearly in their mind.  Below are some of them:

From Connor:

"Atiwhakatu Tramp. A tramp. My first tramp with a big bag on my back. And sure was it a difference. Instead of carrying a light day bag, you are carrying all of your stuff. At first, I thought it would be hard. But it was surprisingly easy. My favorite part of the tramp was the cooking. I love cooking with the gas stoves. Although we made an explosive out of one of the gas cookers, I still enjoyed it. For dinner, we made macaroni and cheese. For breakfast the next morning, we made yummy porridge. Our group's porridge was the best of course. Nick made some sloppy watery porridge for his breakfast, because we are so amazing and kind we gave him some of our lovely porridge. There is even a photo of me feeding him it."

From Ella: 

"It was really cool. I enjoyed the walk and really really liked the sleeping quarters. I learnt that u can go without a lot about stuff e.g., a pillow.

When I came to the scout hall, I realized why you needed a lot of space left in the top of your bag because you had to carry your own food in your pack. I then had to switch from my tiny little bag to a decently sized tramping pack. Then (after I had put all my clothes into the other pack) we were called to sit on the floor to be sorted into our car groups. When we got to the car park, we had lunch there. Then we set out on the tramp to Atiwhakatu hut. My favourite bridge was the bridge that had the wired floor, The one that swayed really hard. I got a shock when I saw Derrick throw Rosie’s group’s gas cooker out the window. I marvelled at the gas cooker on fire outside.

The weekend was really fun. I hope we do something like it again."

From Amelia:

"Atiwhakatu tramp was so much fun. I think my favorite part was  the actual  walk. The views were amazing and the weather was nice. I loved the bridges and the scenery. It was a pretty easy track with a few hills but mostly flattish. I'm very happy I got to do the tramp, I might not have been able to do it as  I hurt my ankle. Overall it was tons of fun and I'm grateful to Nick for organizing it and the rest of the leaders for helping us with the cooking and stuff."

From Trinaya:

"The lengthy car drive to Halesworth Carpark was to be honest, pretty monotonous. But since I had never been on an overnight tramp before, I guess the excitement for me started when I reached the hut. My favourite part of the tramp was probably the swing bridges. The first swing bridge from the carpark swung so much that my hands were gripping the railing super tightly! Once we reached the huts, the first thing we did was collect firewood. After that we got to choose our bunkrooms and start unpacking! By the time everyone was sorted and unpacked, We were told to start making dinner. We did this in our watch groups. Basically everyone was making Mac' n' cheese the first night! 🍲 After dinner, we had this tramping quiz that Nick had put together for us. It was really fun!!! In the morning we walked back. Surprisingly to me it felt like half the distance of walking to the hut! It was a really fun tramp and I can't wait until the next one!!!!"

From Hannah:

"My favourite part about the Atiwhakatu tramp was the actual walk. The scenery was gorgeous and the swing bridges were so cool.  At the start of the walk, I was excited because I hadn't been on an overnight tramp before. When we were on the last boardwalk we saw the white roof of the hut, and we started running. Everybody was so happy and relieved when we got there. The bunk beds were so cool cause you got to be around all your friends. It was an amazing tramp! Thank you Nick for organizing it!"

Some more pictures here.