Tonight the Cubs tried their hand at a variety of knots. Some young people really enjoy the challenge of learning knots – others get themselves all tied up in knots!

Tonight the Cubs who undertook the walk into Turere Lodge last weekend shared their experiences with the rest of the Pack and answered questions about what they got up to. It’s always fun to hear their reflections and to learn about what they saw as highlights!?

Last Weekend (25th – 27th February) we had a very successful combined event. Our Scouts (10-14 year-olds) walked into Turere Lodge from the Catchpool Carpark, arriving in the dark. There were some surprised faces the next day when they awoke to see the view from the Lodge!

On Saturday we headed off on a day-trip to South Saddle (looking down to Palliser Bay), with the option for the keener ones (who were enjoying what was a pretty steep scramble), to tackle Mt Mathews (the tallest peak in the Remutaka Forest Park, and visible from Wellington City!). My phone tells me I did 26,000 steps (19 km) and climbed 650m vertically! Five Scouts made it to the summit, just before a Southerly change bought in cloud.

The Cubs (7-10 year-olds) headed into the Lodge on Saturday afternoon, and had taken over the place by the time we returned at 6pm. Everyone cooked their own dinner, and by 10pm most were in bed. The Cubs woke up ridiculously early, and everyone prepared their own breakfasts and before we all headed back to the carpark – with the Scouts taking the slightly more challenging Cattle Ridge track – after Gary had ensured they had wet feet from crossing the river five times (which we actually didn’t have to do!).

Thanks to Gary for organising a successful trip, and for the support of our adult helpers.

Tonight Scouts who had experience in rock climbing facilitated a session to achieve some Level 3 Vertical Skills sign-offs, before we split into four groups. Each group familiarised themselves with various aspects of the Climbing Care Code, before presenting what they had learned back to the whole Troop.

Tonight the Keas explored how to read weather maps/ forecasts and then created their own maps, trying to find ways showing/ drawing wind and rain etc.