Australia Day 2011

Today, Akela took Wilbur with her to the Australia Day celebrations at Carisbrooke Reserve.  Mawson Lakes Scout Group was doing the flag rising at 9:30am. We also were getting a donation for ensuring the reserve was kept clear of rubbish as well as any of the cans and bottles for their deposits. The day started at 8am and finished around 4pm for the scouts, although the activities finished at 3pm for the general public.

Akela and Wilbur did the morning and left just after lunch as they were once again going to the cricket at Adelaide Oval. It was the One Day game (50 over a side) between Australia and England.  Due to our morning commitments, we got seats saved for us by Akela’s cousin and uncle….on the boundary. It was very close to the action and I think Akela spent some time checking out the players from both teams (they are very tall! Especially Kevin Peterisen, the English player).  Australia lost the game, but it was a good night out though…..a long day and Wilbur was very tired when he got home.

Day Eight 21st and 22nd January

Today was our last day in Canberra. True to form, Akela was up early again. Here’s hoping she gets some sleep on the bus home this evening!

It didn’t take long for everyone to get everything packed, both tents and their personal gear. Group nine managed to get somewhat organized the previous evening, by getting the cubs to pack everything except what they needed for today. After having breakfast, and cleaning the dining area, the next task of packing the buses was done and in true scout fashion.

This morning saw the South Australians load onto the buses and leave Camp Cottermouth for the last time. It was with some sadness we said goodbye to where we had been staying for the past week.

This morning saw us arrive at Questacon (www.questacon.edu.au) around 11:30am and we quickly had lunch before entering. Questacon was brilliant. Certainly a highlight for the Wilbur and he enjoyed being taken round and seeing everything that was happening.

After a very pleasant 3 hours looking round, the cubs were rounded up and boarded back onto the buses.  Tea was had at Wagga Wagga and it was certainly a appreciated stop. We ended up spending two hours at tea break instead of the assigned hour. This put us behind for the rest of the trip. But it wasn’t really noticed a great deal as most of the cubs were soon quickly asleep. A few woke up each time the bus stopped, but overall it was a trip in which most of the cubs and many leaders slept through. Akela made sure though that she got her Farmers Union Ice Coffee at the 1^st chance she got in!

It was certainly good to get home and back to our own beds. Akela and Wilbur both had a nice bath/shower and went to bed for a few hours in the afternoon. We are pleased to advise that Akela’s 5:30am getting up has come to a stop and she is back into a normal routine.

We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our adventures on the road with Akela and the rest of the South Australian Cubs and Leaders who went to the ACT Cuboree. It was certainly a experience and one that those who are able to attend shouldn’t pass up

ACT Cuboree trip - Day Seven

Today proved to be another full day of activities for the South Australian cubs and leaders that I was with.

Today’s morning visit was to the National Museum (http://www.nma.gov.au/index.html) The National Museum of Australia is a social history museum. It also has a focus on Indigenous histories and cultures, histories of European settlement and the interaction of Australians with the environment.  

One of the points that captured the interest of Group Nine was the radio room, where there group spent considerable time.  The down side was that there was not enough time to see everything or spend the time going through the shop – there were certainly some good bargains in there and Akela was disappointed that she didn’t get a chance to spend more time going through there to check out things as much as she would have liked. It was certainly a good visit and the areas where the kids could do stuff was also good.

After eating lunch at the museum, we headed to the CSRIO Discovery Centre. It was noted that Akela fell asleep on the drive – in fact, she fell asleep this morning as well, before we had even gotten onto the Cotter Road! How bad is that? Yet, she still can’t seem to sleep in the morning pass 5:30am, no matter what time she goes to bed. Bet she’s looking forward to getting home!

CSIRO Discovery Centre (www.csiro.au/places/Discovery.html) was another interesting to visit.  It is a unique public science centre showcasing current Australian research and technology from CSIRO, Australia's largest research organization.  The cubs certainly had a great time doing the hands on activities and being able to handle several insects and animals. Some of the leaders were also able to have things crawling all over them as well.

The time here was short, and it didn’t seem like we had been there long before we were heading to the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (www.cdscc.nasa.gov).  This is certainly a place we would recommend people visit when they visit Canberra. This was place while not huge in physical terms was huge in being able to capture the minds and imaginations of the cubs who were there. The talk was fascinating and certainly a enjoyable place for us to visit. There are a number of former cubs in staff, including one who was a youth member in South Australia and earned his Queen Scout Award. The talk certainly held the attention of all there.

Once we finished here, it was time to return to camp for our final night at Camp Cottermouth. Once tea was completed, it was time to relax and watch a movie.  A relatively early night for Akela – we’ll see how it goes tonight with sleeping in past 5:30am!

Day Six - Wednesday 19th January

Today was the second day of sightseeing.  Getting up and ready for breakfast was more relaxed, even though we still had to be on the buses as a particular time.  But one thing was for sure; everyone was wearing their uniforms today!

The first place to be visited today was the Australian War Memorial (www.awm.gov.au).  Our first activity while at the Australian War memorial was, as a contingent was to visit the Unknown Soldier. We had a talk from a veteran, which was then followed by 4 cubs laying the wreath and one reading the ode. It was something all the cubs took seriously and their behavior was quite good, considering their age and the seriousness of this service. It is certainly something that they wouldn’t have been able to have done if they had stayed home in Adelaide!  It was certainly a experience and even though we were there for around 3 hours, the time went all to quickly and certainly more time is needed to do the venue properly.

After finishing at the War Memorial (which also included lunch), we headed to Parliament House (www.aph.gov.au).  Here, we had a guided tour, which saw us visiting both chambers. From here, we had a chance to wonder and this included a chance to go onto the roof – and have a look at the huge flag pole (which was also a fascination for many cubs).  There was even plenty of time to visit the shop as well, which seems to be a compulsory part of visiting different places around Canberra.

Tea was at had at the Campsite and many people took the chance to change out of their uniforms. Tea was eventually had in two parts as after having main course, it was time to get back onto the buses and head to the National Dinosaur Museum. (www.nationaldinosaurmuseum.com.au). For those who want to know more, from the following is from the website “Starting from humble beginnings in 1993, the museum has grown from just a small collection to housing the largest permanent display of dinosaur and other prehistoric fossil material in Australia. With 23 complete skeletons, and over 300 displays of individual fossils, the museum continues to grow and expand our collection and our depth of information.”
Again, the Cubs enjoyed the visit as well as the chance to explore something different. 

 Having it done in the evening was also a change to the routine. Many Cubs headed straight to bed once back at the camp site, opting to miss dessert. A sure sign a cub is very tired when they start missing chances to eat!

Day Five – 18th January 2011

Today was the last day that we were with our Canberra packs. We attended Breakfast (our last meal) together and then attended the closing ceremony together. It was quite sad to think that we now had to say goodbye to our Canberra friends, as they packed up their gear and pulled down their tents.

After the closing, the South Australians headed off site for a few hours to have lunch and to start our sightseeing. Lunch was at Hungry Jacks – we had placed our orders earlier and the leader in charge of the six went up and collected it. It worked rather well. Akela wishes she had a chance to go do a bit of shopping as she was simply hanging for some Ice Coffee.

Once lunch was done, we were back onto the buses and went to the Royal Australian Mint (www.ramint.gov.au) The Royal Australian Mint is a prescribed agency within the Commonwealth Government portfolio of the Treasury and is the sole supplier of Australia's circulating coinage. Besides making the national coins, the Royal Australian Mint also produces coins for over seas countries as well as medals, medallions, tokens and seals for private clients – both within Australia and internationally.

After spending several hours at the mint, we headed back to the camp site, where the main task was to shift people’s tents to be closer to the main dining area. Lucky, group 9 was basically already in place, so no shifting of tents was needed. It gave our cubs a bit extra free time, and a chance to go have a shower with no rush (or lines to wait in as we were previously). It was certainly apparent that the Cubs needed and appreciated the free time after being on the go for so long. They were certainly noticeably more freash afterwards.

Evening entertainment tonight was a movie for the cubs and leaders. Certainly appreciated by many the chance to sit down and relax.

Day Four 17th January 2011

Today is the last day of the onsite act ivies. The bases we did today were the Research Office and the Transport Office. The morning one saw the leaders get dunked on the dunking machine and everyone got a go on the water slide. It was also one of the coolest days there, although it was still warm. Akela dried off really easily. It was definitely a highlight for the cubs to be able to dunk their leaders!

Tonight’s entertainment was a Beach Themed disco and the cubs were all certainly having a good time getting up and dancing.  It was defiantly a hit with everyone and leaders teaching the Cubs several dance routines as well, such as the Nutbush.

Tea tonight was also extremely good and by far one of our favorites! Every meal has been brilliant while we’ve been hosted by our host pack and we certainly are not sure what to expect once we join up with the rest of the SA Contingent.

It was a relatively early night tonight, compared to other nights and didn’t take long for the cubs to fall asleep.  

Day Three - 16th January 2011

Today, Akela was up early again. She is having difficulty sleeping past 5am!  This is getting really bad as I am starting to feel really tired from lack of sleep here Akela! You really need to address this issue….

We received responses to the post cards that we wrote. It was noted that we were getting them from the same person each time. One leader h ad started to work it out and was soon proven right when her person found her on an activity base today!

We went again to the morning ceremony, where we were entertained by Peter Harris and his entertainment team. Then it was time for the first activity base. Today’s 1^st base saw us heading to the Translation Office. This was certainly something that was worth doing.

But one that was certainly interesting was the History Office, as we traveled through time and visited the different ages that went before us. Akela got a bit sick of the Dr Who theme music though by the end of the time on the base though!

Today saw a beach themed disco happening at the main entertainment tonight and it was certainly enjoyed by all those who attended. Even the leaders were up dancing and showing the Cubs the dance routines!

ACT Cuboree - Day Two, 15th January 2011

Today was the 1^st day of activities. The activity bases were for 2 ¾ hours each and our first base was the Media Office. It was a good chance for the Cubs to show off their acting and singing skills. While our host pack was in the Signallers Depot (sub camp), we were placed into The Red group for the activity rotations. Lunch broke up the activity bases (we were able to have morning and afternoon tea at the bases).  In the afternoon, we were at the Foreign office, learning how to play with Drums and do the dance of the indigenous New Zealanders. It was quite cool really!

It was also the day we received ‘mail’, having written postcards to our mysterious pen plans the night before. It was quite exiting to get mail everyone got one (I shared Akela’s as it was easier). It was certainly a new experience for Wilbur and many cubs, as they have never received post you can actually handle and read. Must have been like this in the old days, before email and sms each other!

Akela and I had a late night tonight as we sat around talking with the other South Australian Leaders and one of the Canberra leaders late into the night.

ACT Cuboree Trip - Day One 13th to 14th January

Wilbur has recently been to the ACT 2011 Cuboree with Akela. It certainly was a fun trip and an enjoyable time was had by all. Wilbur certainly had a lot of photo opportunities (109 in total) of the different activities that were undertaken while he was away with Akela.

They left on Thursday 13^th January and rode on the bus through the night. They had a lot of people on the bus from other groups – Wilbur and Akela were in SA Group 9, which was made up of cubs and leaders from Whyalla and Murray Bridge.  

They arrived in Canberra after some delays due to minor flooding on the roads.  They were also late for Breakfast, at MacDonalds. As you can see form the photos, Wilbur certainly enjoyed his breakfast!  The lateness didn’t deter them and just added to the adventure.

After a quick visit to Campsite it was off to a local scout hall, attached to a local park, for some much needed time to stretch the legs and burn of some energy. Lunch was much welcomed as was the playground equipment. From there, we headed back to the campsite, to meet our hosting packs and put up our tents. We had some free time before having a BBQ tea.

It was not long before we headed back to the hosting packs, to met the cubs arriving on site and head to the opening ceremony with them. It was time for a early night after a long trip over from Adelaide.

Cuboree Preperation

This is the camp logo for the camp that we are attending later this week. We thought we would share what it looks like in perperation for our trip. We are really looking forward to the trip to and from Canberra and know that we are really going to have a lot of fun while we are away.

This is a site seen from the campsite where we are going to be staying while in Canberra for both the Camp itself and for the touring afterwards.

Toowoomba Flood 2011.01.10

This video from YouTube is of some of the floods that are affecting Queensland, South Australia. We dont live in Queensland, as we live a fair distance on the southern coast, in a city called Adelaide, South Australia. But we thought that if there are people reading our blog from overseas, they may like to have a look at this clip on the issue

Twenty20 Cricket Game - SA vs Victoria

Wibur went to the Twenty20 Game tonight - SA vs Victoria and SA won. Photos below.

Earlier in the afternooon, Wilbur had his photo taken with the Sunflower plant that he is growing and thought it would be a great way to show how big it is compared to Wilbur!

Plant Life

It's been a while since we have been and updated everyone on our plants. We took some photos yesterday afternoon. The bottom one is of our Sunflower seed and the top is our pumpkin plant. they are certainly doing well and we may even get some pumpkins this year, maybe!

We hope everyone is having a good start to the new year and we are pleased that Wilbur had a great time away in Wool Bay. We look forward to him getting home so we can get ready for the Canberra trip, which we are due to leave for on Thurday next week.