Great Scot April 2019 Great Scot_156_April_2019_Online | Page 35

Ten days jam-packed with adventure Experience of a lifetime for seven Scotch Scouts In early January seven Scouts from the 1st Hawthorn (Scotch College) Scout Troop, along with Scout Leader Andrew Garde (’97) attended the 25th Australian Scout Jamboree, held near Tailem Bend, South Australia. A Jamboree is an experience of a lifetime — 10 days packed solid with adventure, activities, fun and lifelong friendships. It’s also a mini-city, with 12,000 participants from all over Australia and the world, which is so big that it has its own hospital, post office, police station, newspaper and even a radio station. For the 10 days, the Jamboree site was actually South Australia’s 12th largest town. The Scouts from 1st Hawthorn combined with Scouts from Bentleigh, Horsham, Narre Warren and Warracknabeal to form Troop D753. With temperatures soaring between 35 and 40 degrees the campsite was unimaginably hot, dry and dusty, with not a blade of grass in sight. Using plenty of elbow grease, ingenuity and teamwork, the Scouts soon turned what looked like an unworkable moonscape into a nine-bedroom campsite, complete with kitchen and eating area for the entire troop. There were many activities to choose from each day. The most popular activities were ‘The Cube’, a giant cube-like structure for abseiling and rock climbing, and ‘Metromania’, in which busloads of Scouts converged on Adelaide and then had to make their own way to Port Adelaide, taking in significant landmarks along the way, before finishing up on a dolphin cruise in the Port of Adelaide. Each night there was entertainment on the main stage, featuring performances by Scouts and concerts by pop stars. Other adventure-filled activities on-site included ‘Splat!’, a very large obstacle course that involved getting very wet, and a hi-tech area, where you could learn about metal detecting, programming, amateur radio, drones and robotics. You could even take a ride in a race car or go for a flight in a glider. Badge-swapping is always a Jamboree highlight. It’s a great way to make new friends and meet people from all over the world. Enquiries about joining 1st Hawthorn Scouts can be made to the Group Leader, David King: [email protected]. ANDREW GARDE — SCOUT LEADER www.scotch.vic.edu.au Great Scot 35