“The next day we drove to Mystery Creek and met up with the rest of the troop which consisted of 20 Scouts from different suburbs in Tauranga, plus five Scouts and a leader from Waipukurau.
“We were named the Red Warriors. Each troop got to make up their own names and a badge which they would then swap with other troops. Every troop was meant to include 36 scouts and eight or nine leaders but the Fijians who were coming couldn’t make it so we were down to 30 scouts and eight leaders.
“First we set up 10 sleeping tents, a storage tent, and a hang-out tent. Luckily the dining marquee was already set up for us. We had already had two pre-jamboree camps so we knew everyone in the troop and how it would work.
“Every day we did different activities in our patrols of five Scouts. There were six activities — Vertemerge (rock climbing, abseiling, emergency), Duty, Camtrambike, Adventure (challenge valley, diggers and inflatables), Environment, Community, and water base.
“My patrol included Scouts from
Waipukurau and one from Te Puke and I had got to know them all well.
“We started at the rock climbing base where we did zip lining and climbing on real rock walls. We then went through some first aid basics like how to help hypothermia, tend to certain injuries, make a sling, and even how to make a stretcher out of a couple of sticks and rope. At the end we got to abseil down a 20-metre rock wall. At the time it was raining which made it even better!
“That night was New Year’s Eve and there was a massive party in the events centre with 3000 Scouts jumping around and yelling.
“They had a couple of DJs and big strobe lights rotating around the place. I was with a group of people from our troop and others. We managed to lose a couple of our mates at that party but hey, we were all back in camp at 1am in the morning. It was great. I made many good mates there.
“The next day was a rest as some of us were tired and that way we could just hang out or go swap badges and meet new people. Every troop had their own custom-designed badge that we were given 50 of to trade and try to get ones you liked. There were cities that sent two troops so they had badges that connected and made a set. This was a great way to remember people who were there and where they were from. I collected about 80 out of 100 different badges. I also had about six different sets with one set of four badges. Swapping was a part many Scouts enjoyed.
“The next day my patrol was duty team which meant we got up at 6am to make the troop breakfast. We had this kitchen trailer with a hot plate and two burners, plus a sink and boiler. There was also an adult leader from our troop to help. We made these little sausages and spaghetti on toast. We arranged a few cereals on the table as well.
“Once breakfast was finished everyone would make their lunch with the buns and fillings given and then get ready for the day. My patrol could then move on to everyone’s washing and refilling the water drums before we were able to relax for a while. At 3pm we went to a kitchen and using instructions and the staff’s guide made a small portion of the dinner we would be making that night.
“That way we already had some experience with it and hopefully we wouldn’t burn everyone’s food. That night we cooked butter chicken in an efficient manner and it was one of our favourites for Jamboree. That day was good for us as it helped all our cooking, laundry, and dishwashing skills, of course.
“On the third day we had what they called the Camptrambike activity and it was my personal favourite as we got to go around an eight-activity cycle.
“Our first one was the drift trikes where you pedal along a track and turn to drift. Then we had archery at targets before we got to use the foam arrows to shoot each other on a battlefield. All the leaders who got to do that loved it. We then moved on to these little quad bikes and raced around a dirt track, zooming past patrols from other troops.
“Another favourite for many was getting these big sledgehammers and axes and bashing up old cars. The engines were good fun. Next we raced against another patrol to change a car’s tyres. That was interesting. Our second-to-last activity was bike racing on a track.
“And lastly we had rifle target shooting which we weren’t bad at, if I do say so myself.
“The following day we got up, ate breakfast then headed off to learn about neighbourhood support, and civil defence, then came back for our lunch at our troop’s site. At 1.30pm we went down to the challenge valley wearing old clothes that we would throw out after going through this mud obstacle course.
“This challenge was all about working in a team and getting muddy. First we commando-crawled through a pool of warm mud then through a tunnel, across a beam, and helped each other over a muddy wall. All the while there were team challenges like carrying a wooden chest while standing on poles, plus all of us had to be touching it at all times. That was another highlight for a few of us but we did enjoy a shower afterwards.
“The next day was similar to the day before. We had breakfast and got ready then walked to a site where we learned about the environment and all these native animals and plants. We came back to the site for lunch and then went to the diggers which we got to have a five-minute go on to try to pick up a ball and put it in a bucket. It was an amazing experience.
“After that we went to this place with all the inflatables. There was an obstacle course, dodgeball, jousting on cushioned poles, bubble wrap balls, and boxing in an inflatable ring with massive blown-up gloves. We stayed there for over three hours till it closed.
“Finally, on the last day, we took a bus out to Lake Karāpiro and spent half the day kayaking, paddle-boarding and sailing and the other half playing human foosball, bottle rockets, and three-person slingshots shooting tennis balls at annoying guys on kayaks.
“My patrol really enjoyed the sailing as we had some cool young fullas and we capsized the boat so the mast was vertical underwater. The water was warm so we had a nice swim and were jumping off the capsized boat. We went over time though because it took a few goes to get the boat back the right way. But the whole thing was good fun.
“At the end of jamboree we could trade some of our Red Warrior T-shirts for a different troop T-shirt. We were also able to trade four of our troop’s scarves. I traded two T-shirts but not a scarf.
“Jamboree was a really good experience and I loved it. You meet lots of new people and learn heaps of things including cooking, rock climbing, and even a bit of sailing.
“There are so many opportunities and things you can try and I would love to do it again.”
See the Mangapapa Scout Group Facebook Page for more information.
