As well as going out to dinner, how better to celebrate our year as Venturers than go on a camp! Despite the questionable weather, we had lots of fun playing cards (literally for hours!), joking around, exploring, and, of course, lighting campfires and roasting marshmallows.
The Venturers decided to celebrate their last night of 2016 by going out to a buffet dinner at the James Cook Hotel restaurant. Christmas hats, crackers, and jokes were shared and our leader Terry discovered the joys of taking ‘selfies’
Over 300 youth and leaders arrived at the Lower North Island JOTA JOTI camp at Brookfields on Friday evening with the knowledge rain was coming, so setting up the camp sites was a priority and was mostly completed before the heavens opened. Some outdoor activities the next day were curtailed.
One room had electronic kits with plans for simple (to more complex) circuits – which occasionally worked!
Roast pork was beautifully cooked by Venturers Arthur and Taine (with a little help from Terry). While waiting for dinner Daniel showed no shame in modeling a flower pot, before trying to auction it off for a profit!?
Brooklyn had the honour of co-organising the main campfire, helping to plan the program and coordinating over 10 skits and songs.
Sunday dawned fine so we began to dry out, squeezing in a quick kayak before dealing with muddy tents and heading home
Cheers
John
SCOUTS AT TUROA
An enthusiastic team of nearly 20 scouts and leaders enjoyed a full first day at Turoa on Saturday 24t September The soft snow did not deter the experts or the beginners and a number of scouts rode the chairlift for the first time and conquered new trails. Led by senior scouts, a delicious burger meal followed on from a sampling of traditional Ohakune kai – no, not carrots, but chocolate eclairs. Although the weather forecast for Sunday and Monday is for wet windy weather, all are keen to have more time on the slopes.