ANZAC Day 2013

Today is Anzac Day. It is a very important day in Australian and New Zealand History. Akela and I went to the Dawn service at Smithfield.

 Once we had been to Dawns Service, we headed home for breakfast before heading into Town to watch the ANZAC Day March through town.

 For those of you who are not Australian or New Zealander, the following information should be able to help provide some information from the Australian War Memorial Site

Australian War Memorial - ANZAC Information

Woodhouse Camp with Playford - Final Day

Today’s weather was not as pleasant as yesterday. In fact, it was the complete opposite. We woke to rain and there was also lots of fog. This really but a spanner in the works (Australian saying meaning it messed things up). The activity Akela had planned, for a walk around Woodhouse, answering questions and taking photos, was a little hard to do!

The activities ended up being games of Celebrity heads, Hang Man and other such games. This was in between packing up the wet tents and bringing the personal gear underneath the Veranda to ensure it didn’t get wet. We also made sure the toilet area was swept out and cleaned out. It wasn’t too bad really.

It wasn’t long before the parents were arriving to pick up the Scouts and Cubs to go home. Overall, it had been a good weekend and everyone had a good time, despite the lousy weather on Sunday.

Looking forward to the next camp in a few weeks time.

Saturday at Woodhouse

Today’s weather was perfect. The Scouts and Cubs were up really early (but not as early as some others have been known to be on Camp!). Breakfast and clean up was done in a very timely fashion.

 Then it was time for the 1^st of today’s walks. As a group, we headed along the Hysen Trail towards Arbury Park, walking through the Mt Loft Gold Course. Certainly some good photo opportunities.

 Once back on site, it was time to start a team activity, called build the bomb. There were two teams – Team Cub and Team Scout. It was run by Baloo, the Group Leader. Both Skip and Akela were the shop keepers, handing out much needed supplies.

 The activity was taking longer than expected, so there was a break for lunch, sitting in the sunshine before the bomb building continued. Another break followed as everyone went over to Challenge Hill to try things out. This was a great couple of hours with everyone having a go on the equipment.

 We then headed back to the Lones hut for a break before tea and getting ready for a night walk to Mt Lofty. We were joined by a local Venturer Leader and his girlfriend for the walk. The weather was ideal and we made it all the way to the top of Mt Lofty for a look at the city lights. Many of the Cubs and Scouts agreed it was worth the walk to see the view.

 Soon it was time to head back to camp and it was a late night. Many of the youth will be sleeping well tonight

Playford Group Camp arrvial

Today, Akela packed me into her gear again for another Scout Camp. This time, we went away with the Playford Cubs and Scouts on a Group Camp at Woodhouse. We were located next to the Lones Hut. I think we are in for a great weekend. I saw the weather forecast and the weather really looks great for tomorrow.

Upon arrival, the tents were put up quickly and the scouts and cubs quickly stowed their gear before we headed for a walk around Woodhouse. When we got back, it was time for supper, warm drink and then the scouts and cubs headed to bed.

Certainly a lot of excitement about being away for the weekend.

Geocaching Journey

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=gc2g941

While on camp at Victor Harbour, one of the activities we did was some geo-caching. Akela went for one that was a little obvious, so that she could make it a bit easier for everyone (it was her first find and the first exposure that some of the Cubs had with geocaching as well)

Above is the link to the cache and below is a picture of myself at the cache

Sunday at Victor Harbor

Today, the Cubs were up later than Saturday. Not only did they sleep longer, they also got a extra hour sleep due to the clocks going back. So that they slept until 7am, was a really good effort.

We  were soon up, had breakfast and cleaned up, it was time to head over to Granite Island, so that we could do some Geo-caching. We found two caches while we were on the island and several of the cubs were appreciative of the finds.

 Once we had were done, we headed back to the Scout Hall and started to clean up, with a break for lunch. All too soon, the parents arrived and it was time to head home.

 It was a great weekend, and we had brilliant weather. I am really looking forward to the next camp we have and hope it is as great as this one was.

Victor Harbor Camp - Friday Night

Today was sure busy! Akela had to go shopping for camp food and then head to camp at Victor. Of course I got dragged along to go shopping with her and two of the assistant leaders.

We left early enough and arrived at Camp around 7:30pm. The site we were staying at was at the Victor Harbor Scout Hall and it was certainly spacious. They have a heap more land than we do for a lot of things, including setting up tents in the grounds.

 Once tents were up, and the gear was placed in the allocated tents, it was time for a quick walk around Victor to give the cubs a chance to settle before heading to bed. It wasn’t the earliest of nights, but the cubs did talk for a while before settling down to sleep.

 

Saturday at Camp, Victor Harbor

Today, was a very good day. Weather was perfect and the Cubs were very well behaved overall.

It was an early start, as was to be expected on the first day of camp. After having breakfast and heading to the playground, where our first activity was a boot camp style activity. It was certainly once way to get moving and certainly ensured the cubs got moving. While Bagheera and Baloo were running this activity, Akela managed to get a few shots of the beach and Wilbur in before we needed to head to the next activity.

 We had morning tea before heading over to Granite Island for our booked in Penguin Feeding session t the Penguin Centre on Granite Island. This was a most interesting aspect of camp as it allowed the cubs to hear how numbers of penguins on Granite Island have dropped from 2000 in the year 2000 to 126 last year. The number of New Zealand seals has increased over this period and it is certainly food for thought that there may be a link. I think the Cubs were very good and to be commended.

 After lunch, we headed to the National Trust museum and had a look around there as well. Here, we split into two groups and half started one way and the other half started the other and crossed over in the middle.

Then it was back to the hall and time to have some free time before we headed to the beach for a swim prior to tea. It also allowed the cubs to sort out their tents, as they were rather shocking.

 Tea was followed by a walk before going to bed and pretty much all the cubs were ready to crash early after much walking and not so much sleep the previous day.

 For those who don’t know much about Victor Harbor, we can provide the following information: Victor Harbor is a city on the coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, about 80 km south of Adelaide, South Australia. The city is the largest population centre on the peninsula, with an economy based upon agriculture, fisheries and various industries. It is also a highly popular tourist destination, with the city's population greatly expanded during the summer holidays.