1st Umbogintwini Scouts make history
The weekend camp, led by senior scout Shawn Collins, took place at Mnini Dam.
THE 1st Umbogintwini Scouts made history when its scout group became the first in the KwaZulu-Natal region to have four scouts sleep on a raft they had built themselves.
The concept stems from a popular scout raft-building competition held in Gauteng and Cape Town, called Kon-Tiki. The 1st Umbogintwini Scouts’ assistant troop scouter, Adele Wilson, said, “The Kon-Tiki expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl.”
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Shawn Collins of 1st Umbogintwini Scouts initiated the Kon-Tiki camp as part of his Springbok: Living Outdoors activity.
“I wanted to complete my scouting career with a Kon-Tiki, as this was the first event I attended as a young scout in Gauteng,” said Shawn.
The weekend camp, led by Shawn, took place at Mnini Dam. Patrol leader Aarushi Bhoora led the building of the raft as one of her pioneering projects for her Pioneering Scout Craft badge.
Ten scouts, between the ages of 11 and 14, helped build the rafts. “Weeks of planning and practice went into this project, as safety and quality were of utmost importance. It took them about four hours to complete the raft. Once complete, the two patrols competed to see who could paddle 26m out and back the quickest. Later that night, the Land-Team Scouts had to figure out a flashlight morse code from the Raft Team,” said Wilson.
The Gauteng competition is held at Arrow Park in Benoni, Gauteng. The first event was held in 1985 at Murray Park.
The Cape Town competition is held at the Sea Scout Base on the banks of Zandvlei and was first held in the early 1980s.
For more information, contact Adele Wilson on 083 306 2668.
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