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Adam Schafer's Article on the Troop Camp 1996

The Troop Camp officially started on Wednesday 25 September. The day dawned grey, and rainy, but it would take a lot more than a winters day to dampen the group of 18 Scouts' spirits.

Once we arrived at Hawequas (the Scout ranch near Wellington) our first priority was to get our tents pitched and get out of the rain. Setting up camp took up the remainder of the day.

The second day saw a slight improvement in the weather. The Duty Patrol prepared breakfast for our happy campers. After everyone got themselves cleaned up, we went down to the river for a Black wattle hack. Whilst this was taking place I volunteered myself to set up 10 points for an orienteering exercise which was to take place after lunch. The orienteering exercise tested the Patrol's ability to work as a team and to a time limit. Supper was a Chicken potjie and Apple pie prepared by the Patrols themselves (much to our surprise none were burnt). We were joined by Mr. Naidoo who helped us in the running of the camp.

Day 3 produced glorious weather which held for the rest of the camp. The main activity was a 6 kilometre hike around some of the higher ground on the ranch. We were not surprised to see snow on the mountains (the previous night was Siberian). Games such as Volleyball and Cricket were enjoyed in between other activities.

After supper we held a night program which consisted of making a raft to float a tin with a small fire in it across the dam. After this event (which took one Patrol, no names mentioned, longer than others) we held a wide game in which in order to win one team had to capture the others tyres and retain their own. This was followed by a stalking exercise and hot chocolate.

Our last full day was every bit as good as, if not better than, the previous one. This was probably to do with the commando course which was set up by the Patrols before lunch. A definite crowd pleaser! After this was done we held a training session in which time they were taught how to accurately estimate the height of an object.

Once lunch was finished the Patrols were taken through the course and timed. The fastest Patrol turned out to be Seagulls, but not by very much since the other two Patrols also gave a good performance. The rest of the afternoon was spent at the river cooling off and enjoying the last rays of sun. Tonight the responsibility of preparing supper went to the Scouters, who produced a culinary delight known as "Chicken a la Scouters". Desert was a David Shelly Trifle, which has nothing on the legendary John Salway special, but it was good none the less. That night saw the Patrol Leaders run a camp fire which signalled the end of our camp.

Our last day was a bit of a disappointment as it was overcast and we had to strike camp and leave what was a great event behind us. We were all packed and ready to leave by 10:30am.

On behalf of all the Scouts I would like to thank: all parents who helped transport us to and from Hawequas, Mr Naidoo for helping on the camp, David and Ian for organising the menus and buying the food , and finally to Nigel for giving up his holiday to be with us.

Adam Schafer (Troop Scouters Patrol)