Cubs and Scouts of the 1st Fourways Scout Group participated in their first annual Kontiki raft building challenge.
Held at Homestead Lake in Benoni, Kontiki is one of the most eagerly-anticipated activities on the Scouting calendar.
According to Dave Osmond, the regional Scout commissioner for Gauteng, the event attracted a record of 62 entries from Scout groups all over the province. Sandton was well represented with Cubs and Scouts of 1st Bryanston, Rivertrail, 1st Peter Place and 1st Morningside, the eventual winners of the event.
This year’s theme was Star Wars, and the Scouts were encouraged to incorporate this into their raft design and construction. Teams arrived on Friday afternoon to set up camp and to start working on their rafts. To ensure safety, the rafts were inspected continuously until they were ready for launch at noon on Saturday.
A team of Scouts then had to spend 24 hours out on the lake on their rafts, which had to be equipped with the necessary cooking and safety equipment. During this time, the teams also had to complete a number of tasks to test the mobility and seaworthiness of their rafts.
Despite the wet and cold weather, spirits remained high among the competing teams.
On Saturday morning, more than 500 Cub Scouts descended on the campsite to participate in the Beaver Challenge. Cubs caters for children aged seven to 11 who are too young to be Scouts. The purpose of the Beaver Challenge is to provide them with an opportunity to visit and experience what the raft-building competition is all about. In addition to seeing what the Scouts get up to, a host of fun-filled activities was also provided to keep everybody busy. Activities ranged from chariot rides, to light sabre duels and lazer tag.
By all accounts, a fun-filled and exciting weekend was had by everyone.
Scouting is an outdoor-based educational programme which aims to equip young people with the skills and self-confidence to become future leaders in the community. Membership is open to both boys and girls.
The latest addition to the Sandton District, 1st Fourways, was started more than a year ago to meet this growing interest in Scouting. Meetings are held at the Crawford Fourways Preparatory School.
Anyone wishing to find out more about Scouting, or the Fourways Group itself, can contact Charlie Haines.
Details: charliehaines@gmail.com
Read more:
Brescia House pupils dance to nationals
Dainfern College pupil is awarded with red blazer
Pupils celebrate National Pizza Party Day
