Scouts & leaders jostle for 'most fun in the US' title

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 555, 27 September 1994, Page 6

Scouts & leaders jostle for 'most fun in the US' title

It is hard to decide who had the most fun - the scouts or the leaders on the recent Scouts trip to the USA. Whether it was axethrowing, archery, blackpowder shooting or claiming a front seat on every roller-coaster from San Francisco to Los Angeles, the Ohakune scouts who have just returned from three weeks in California had a blast at the International Rendezvous they attended. The camp in the Sierra Nevadas attracted 180 scouts from the USA, Russia, England, Hong Kong, the Phillipines and the four leaders and eight scouts

from Ohakune, Raetihi and Karioi who made up the entire New Zealand contingent. The weather was hot with temperatures Teaching 38°C during the day while plummeting to only 5°C at night. As it hadn't rained in camp for nearly nine years, dust was into everything. This was the first time in the USA that they have allowed girls to attend a boy scout camp, and by all the reactions to the two New Zealand female scouts, Kelly Evans and Louisa Mackay-Wood, the experiment was an unqualified success and the Santa Clara Council will extend the in-

vitation to other overseas countries in the future. The Ohakune scouts were in hot demand to accept invitations for homestays in San Jose as they became extremely popular around camp with their confident display of scouting skills, their athletic prowess (they won both the international soccer and volleyball competitions), their custom-made New Zealand t-shirts, their badges and their 'try-anything-once' attitudes. All-in-all, they were excellent ambassadors for scouting, New Zealand and the Waimarino. Each have their own special memories of special

places (such as Yosemite Valley) and special people (like gold-panning instructor Ron Masuda). It would be easier to name the things and places that they 'did not' visit in San Francisco (such as a baseball game thanks to the major league players being on strike) and once they arrived in Los Angeles the pace intensified with dinner at a medieval jousting arena (where one of the leaders who was quietly trying to not let on it was his birthday suddenly found himself being knighted 'Sir Frederick') and visits to Disneyland, Universal Studios and Knott's Berry Farm. Several learned things they had not expected, such as what types of pain-kill-ers to avoid (Kelly), just how easy it is to catch gold fe ver (Loui sa) , that catamarans are easy to sail but hard to stop in a hurry (Grant and Fred), it' s hard to light a fire with a flint and steel if you are bleeding all over the tinder (Kieran), you need 'long' fingers to set a beaver trap (Brian), to make sure the guy holding the torch during your concert item can actually read music (Warwick and John), the archery arm-guard you wear should actually be worn where the string hits your forearm (Laureen), and that the Miami Stunt Show is not a musical item (Jason).

All the scouts said they had thoroughly enjoyed their experience of a lifetime and some will surely develop a rather expensive 'travel bug' following this trip . All the leaders are keen to take another trip away overseas if and when the opportunity arises. By all accounts, there are several young scouts saving already for the possibility of the next scouting adventure.