After a long night of driving, it was great waking up in our Baboon proof, 5 star room, complete with trap doors. Everyone was able to get a warm shower and a relaxing breakfast, before heading out on a safari.
The safari was the highlight of the day. We saw tons of animals ranging from zebras to lions and hippos to warthogs. And to complete the safari, we got to visit the movie set of The Lion King. We saw Pride Rock, the great stampede, and Timon and Pumba’s watering hole.
We arrived back at camp after this amazing safari, to a warm and fresh lunch. We ate quick, gathered our gear and still had enough time for a hike. My hiking group consisted of Charlie, Farrad, Mitch, Dawn, Doctor and myself.
Our goal was to walk an hour to the information building and back. Although reality hit in, and it only took us 15 minutes to walk there. The information building was a disappointment, so we left quickly and headed to the rendezvous location. On the way there, we came across an aviary and swimming pool. Being ahead of schedule as we were, we took a break. Dawn wrote in her journal and Mitch went and watched the birds. For the four remaining guys, we decided to strip to our boxers and go for a swim.
The water was freezing cold, but our bodies quickly numbed the feelings. We swam for what felt like two hours, but was only really a half hour because of the icy water.
We met up with the rest of the group, soaking wet. We grabbed our towels, dried off and piled into the vans. We headed off in the sun set to Johannesburg.
By Andrew Hart
Thursday, September 2, 2010
A Different Kind of Homecoming
Today, for most, started with waking up to the beautiful African sunrise as they still lay in the field where they slept. For the rest, it was the wake up call by Bernie that started their day. Either way, it was the first time all of us were able to view the SCENE Centre in Mafikeng in the day light. The centre has so much to offer the scouts of South Africa, it is too bad that we will be here for such a short time.
After breakfast and a brief tour of the centre, we set off into Mafikeng, to the local museum. This adventure to Mafikeng is ultimately like a homecoming for any Scout. This is where BP started Scouting and something that all of us are incredible thankful for. The museum was full of the interesting history of the town, the start of Scouting and even included some writings by BP himself.
After the museum we headed to the Mafikeng Game Reserve. Here we saw many different animals including wild boars, giraffe and rhinos. The difference between this reserve and the last was definitely how close we were able to be to the rhino, which made for some perfect photo opportunities. After the safari we hit the road for Pilanesburg, which proved to be quite the drive, and then went straight to bed to be well rested for our day tomorrow.
Yours in Scouting,
Bruce Hunter
After breakfast and a brief tour of the centre, we set off into Mafikeng, to the local museum. This adventure to Mafikeng is ultimately like a homecoming for any Scout. This is where BP started Scouting and something that all of us are incredible thankful for. The museum was full of the interesting history of the town, the start of Scouting and even included some writings by BP himself.
After the museum we headed to the Mafikeng Game Reserve. Here we saw many different animals including wild boars, giraffe and rhinos. The difference between this reserve and the last was definitely how close we were able to be to the rhino, which made for some perfect photo opportunities. After the safari we hit the road for Pilanesburg, which proved to be quite the drive, and then went straight to bed to be well rested for our day tomorrow.
Yours in Scouting,
Bruce Hunter
Goodbye to Welkom, and the best birthday ever.
August 22 was a significant day in our trip for several reasons. It was our last day with our friends in Welkom, it was the day we went to Mafikeng, and it was my birthday!
The first order of business of the day was packing – time to gather up the souvenirs and possessions scattered to the far corners of our new home. And figure out how exactly to pack a vuvuzelah. Good thing we planned to leave construction clothes and other items behind for donation where needed in the community! After sorting, stuffing, and figuring out who owned that extra sock, everything was packed in the vans and we were ready for closing. Gathering in the front yard with our local Scout friends and our camper guests, we knew it would be an emotional goodbye. To thank our hosts and as symbols of our friendship, we were ready with contingent and national neckers for our friends. We presented our friends with their neckers, a Scouts Canada flag, and signed pictures of our contingent in front of our home away from home. We were all honoured to be invested as members of the 1st Gilgold troop – and agreed we would be happy to help with any projects around the Scout hall and the community. Responsibility for travel costs to be determined. We were presented with a beautiful carving showing the flags of our two countries on opposite sides of a Scout fleur-de-lis. It was absolutely gorgeous and so touching, there were many wet eyes around the horseshoe. Although everyone had a lot to say, speeches were kept short to avoid breakdowns in the middle of the horseshoe. Hearing such heartfelt thanks reconfirmed why we came here that we had made a difference.
Once the gifts and thank yous had been exchanged, there was just one more surprise before we could close the camp. Singing Happy Birthday to me! It was awesome celebrating my birthday with Scout friends from around the world, and a perfect card and cake were the finishing touches on an awesome birthday surprise.
After all our goodbyes were said we headed to our first destination for our tourist portion of our trip – Mafikeng, the birthplace of Scouting.
It was a long, and often thoughtful drive as we contemplated the things we had seen and done in the last 3 weeks, and we were glad to reach our destination in the evening. After looking around we were all excited to see the museum, game reserve, and other amenities in the morning daylight. Although there were bunks for everyone inside, the open field, night sky, and beautiful were too tempting and almost everyone slept under the stars. The perfect end to a day! (and the best birthday I've ever had.)
Dawn Garden
The first order of business of the day was packing – time to gather up the souvenirs and possessions scattered to the far corners of our new home. And figure out how exactly to pack a vuvuzelah. Good thing we planned to leave construction clothes and other items behind for donation where needed in the community! After sorting, stuffing, and figuring out who owned that extra sock, everything was packed in the vans and we were ready for closing. Gathering in the front yard with our local Scout friends and our camper guests, we knew it would be an emotional goodbye. To thank our hosts and as symbols of our friendship, we were ready with contingent and national neckers for our friends. We presented our friends with their neckers, a Scouts Canada flag, and signed pictures of our contingent in front of our home away from home. We were all honoured to be invested as members of the 1st Gilgold troop – and agreed we would be happy to help with any projects around the Scout hall and the community. Responsibility for travel costs to be determined. We were presented with a beautiful carving showing the flags of our two countries on opposite sides of a Scout fleur-de-lis. It was absolutely gorgeous and so touching, there were many wet eyes around the horseshoe. Although everyone had a lot to say, speeches were kept short to avoid breakdowns in the middle of the horseshoe. Hearing such heartfelt thanks reconfirmed why we came here that we had made a difference.
Once the gifts and thank yous had been exchanged, there was just one more surprise before we could close the camp. Singing Happy Birthday to me! It was awesome celebrating my birthday with Scout friends from around the world, and a perfect card and cake were the finishing touches on an awesome birthday surprise.
After all our goodbyes were said we headed to our first destination for our tourist portion of our trip – Mafikeng, the birthplace of Scouting.
It was a long, and often thoughtful drive as we contemplated the things we had seen and done in the last 3 weeks, and we were glad to reach our destination in the evening. After looking around we were all excited to see the museum, game reserve, and other amenities in the morning daylight. Although there were bunks for everyone inside, the open field, night sky, and beautiful were too tempting and almost everyone slept under the stars. The perfect end to a day! (and the best birthday I've ever had.)
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