From the Desk of Mr David Bolton – Head of Grade 5
The excitement for this year’s trip to Camp Discovery was palpable. After a short ride on the bus, we arrived at the destination and met our councillors. Once we completed our orientation, the fun began with a game drive where we saw golden wildebeests, black impalas and other beautiful animals the bushveld had to offer. Thereafter students took part in team-building activities, where communication and cooperation helped them learn about themselves and their peers in tricky situations.
After a hearty lunch of fish and chips, the learners took on the muddy obstacle course. Learners had to wade through the murky ‘snake pit’, a semi-covered canal. Next they climbed a rope bridge over ‘crocodile gorge’, and then finally swung into ‘hippo falls’ using a rope swing. Covered in mud from head to toe, the Grade 5s hit the showers and got ready for an evening of soccer and netball games on the camp courts. Dinner was served and the evening ended with a drumming session under the stars before lights out.
Students woke up early to the calls of hornbills around camp and ate a tasty breakfast sausage with pap and gravy for the big day ahead. Starting with something artistic, students used bits of nature (twigs, stones, etc) to build beautiful shrines that displayed their love for camp. A scavenger hunt was next on the agenda, no one was done until every item on the list was ticked off. As a sunny afternoon appeared behind the clouds this meant water fun, a pool party! After splashing each other, the students dried off and headed back into the obstacle course for more technical team challenges. Dinner consisted of delicious braai chops with pap and pumpkin fritters which preceded an evening walk back to the dorm rooms. Thank goodness for our torches, else we would have missed the sleepy nyalas bedding down for the night. Tired from the adventurous day, we crept into our dorms and slept.
After breaking our fast with scrambled eggs and toast, we then hurriedly cleaned our dorms and tried hard to get the sleeping bags back into the carry bags (camping makes you buff). Tired but not beaten, we climbed onto the bus and headed home, taking with us fond memories of our awesome stay at Camp Discovery.
Getting dirty!
Working together to get across the divide.
Muddy fun
