KonTiki scouts enjoy their weekend of adventure
PARKTOWN – The 1st German Scout group had great fun participating in this year's KonTiki competition.
This year’s annual KonTiki scout event saw 59 scout groups participating at Arrowe Park Scout Campsite in Benoni on 18 to 20 May.
Kai Sluis-Cremer, who acted as the patrol leader for the land crew guided his troop to take first place for their campsite. The 1st German Scout Group was placed in 12th position overall for both land crew and raft crew combined.
Some of the new recruits from the 1st German Scout group had so much fun and learned a lot about building their raft on which six members of their troop of 29, spent 24 hours as part of the challenge. The raft includes a sleeping area, cooking area and even a toilet.
The rafts are also graded throughout the weekend, to ensure that they are built correctly and adhere to strict safety standards. This also forms part of the ‘Raft Safety Awareness’ competition in which the 1st German Group placed 3rd due to their great attention to detail and safety awareness.
“KonTiki was very fun. It was my first time. I had a lot of fun when building the raft and the beaver challenge was fun and challenging at the same time. I hope next year will be just like this year and I hope I will be on the raft,” said first timer, Pabi Mphuthi.
Scouts who stay on the raft need to complete a number of challenges including a cooking competition, while those who remain on land work on their campsite ensuring that it runs smoothly and efficiently, as it is their home for the weekend. There are a variety of other challenges to keep all the participants busy and entertained throughout the weekend.
“Camps such as KonTiki give children the opportunity to take initiative and learn to be responsible and independent. They also form life-long friendships in ways that cannot be achieved elsewhere,” said Caitlin Balt-Helmrich, assistant troop scouter.
Thomas Helmrich, a troop scouter said preparation for this event took hard work, dedication and good planning. “An event like this takes months of prior planning. Our senior scouts were an asset to us, taking charge of the planning to make KonTiki 2018 a great success.”
Have you been part of a scouting event? Tell us more about your experience on koketsor@caxton.co.za
Related articles:
