Camp Journal

Session 1 – Day Nine – Red Group

5th July 2016

Red Group woke up this morning at 1500m in the Alps to a beautiful morning at camping. After a hearty breakfast, the campers set off back down the mountain under the sunshine. After a quick rest and shower, Red Group went out on their excursion of the day which was outdoors rock climbing. The campers were all prepped with a climbing harness and helmet as well as climbing buddies. Though some parts were tough, Red Group all managed to get to the top of the climb where they could wave back down to their fellow campers and lovely group leaders. Back at camp, 4th of July celebrations were in full swing and the campers enjoyed burgers and brownies in their decorated American style canteen. Dinner was followed by an evening of American sports such as baseball and dodge-ball which Red Group all thoroughly enjoyed.

Ready to climb!

Outdoor climbing!

Big smiles after a fun day of climbing!

Tags: Rock Climbing

Session 1 – Day Eight & Nine – Green Group

Sunday

After a well deserved good night of sleep at the camping cabin and a nutritious beans and toast breakfast, the Greens were ready to hike back to camp. It was a sunny and clear morning, so everyone got to enjoy the mountains on the way. The once at camp we had lunch and headed to the respective language lessons.

In the evening we played around the whole campsite a reversed hide-and-seek called Sardines, where one hides and the rest look for them. Some pople turned out to be very good hiders. We followed this with a few games of wink murderer to test the campers detective skills and a bit of free time to relax before beds. What a very complete day!

Monday

Today it was Aquaparc day! The excitement filled the air as we were doing the daily kit check. At the Aquaparc it was nonstop fun. There were so many slides to go down and pools to swim in. We had a picnic outside and then continued with playing.

At 16:00 we headed back to camp for the 4th of July American style dinner. We had burgers, fried chicken, chips and brownies! After dinner we had an American Quiz which really challenged our brains.

Session 1 – Day Eight – Blue Group

4th July 2016

The Blue Group started off the day with their language lessons which included lots of fun interactive games. At lunch time backpacks were at the ready to begin their hike up to camping in the sun. Once arrived and shown their bedrooms for the night, we played games and had snacks whilst the BBQ was preparing.

The evening ended with a camp fire (with a massive help from all the children who collected all the wood). Lots of songs were sang including the Irish National Anthem, Adrien’s French rapping and Micheal Finegan.

Session 1 – Day Seven & Eight – Yellow Group

What a busy couple of days! On Saturday we took official camp photos bot in colour groups and as a whole camp and we took some pretty funny ones! The campers all looked very fancy in the red Camp Suisse shirts. It was also end-of-the-week room clean and inspection day so each room had to be tidied and swept. We also exchanged our bedding for clean ones. The campers all had a great time doing this…..not! They all did it though without complaint and were all helping each other out with smiles on their faces which was amazing too see. Who knew they could make tidying rooms into a fun team activity?! After this we had a delicious lunch then a kit check before setting off on a hike up to camping. Unfortunately the clouds were quite low so the views were non-existnet but everyone made it to the hut in good spirits. After a delicious BBQ dinner, it was time to set off again, this time to cross the French border! The walk was short but steep, proving a little challening for some, but everyone made it to the top and most importantly back down again. We sat around a camp fire and enjoyed chocolate bananas, hot chocolate and a singing contest! It was great fun.

The next morning we woke up to some stunning views of the mountains with clouds down low below them in the valley. The walk back down to camp was more gradual and gentle and everyone got back to camp in time for a shower before lunch and an afternoon of langauge lessons.

In the evening, the Red and Blue Groups were away camping so the Green and Yellow Groups made the most of having camp to themselves with a giant game of sardines, hide and seek and later a game of wink murder. After 9 pm we set up the football for avid fans and a movie for others and for the rest just some time to socialise before bed.

Yellow Group

Session 1 – Day Seven – Red and Blue Group

3rd July 2016

The campers woke up to a misty morning and enjoyed chatting with each other over breakfast. After breakfast they were faced with the super fun activity of cleaning their rooms! After a quick clean (which they all did with no complaints) it was time for the real fun to begin as it was Olympics Day! The campers were divided into three teams and had to get creative with their own imaginary country, national anthem and flag. After multiple rounds of various sports and games (such as egg and spoon race, splat and tug of war) ‘Team Jafados’ came out on top followed closely by ‘Marslandia’ and then ‘Rainbow Zeus’. Congratulations to all the athletes who participated with such enthusiasm and joy!

The evening activity of the night was Casino Night, where the kids got to enjoy the glitzier more glamours side of Camp Suisse! It was then an early bed for Red Group as they have a long day ahead of them tomorrow with a hill walk and camping!

Face Painting!

Getting our new countries flag face painted on!

Ready to represnt our new country!

Team Rainbow Zeus

Session 1 – Day Six – Green and Yellow Groups

This morning we got up bright and early for Glacier day! We ascended up to over 3000m via a James Bond-esque cable car journey! After a chairlift ride we enjoyed a short walk along the snow until we reached Remy and his dogs. Everyone enjoyed a sleigh ride and a cuddle with the friendly dogs afterwards. Making the most of the snow the Green and Yellows had more fun sledding.

Not to be forgotten was a whirl on the Alpine Coaster – a roller coaster at altitude. In the evening everyone spruced up for Casino night – 007 style!

Husky Dog Sledding!

Fun in the snow!

Getting cuddles from the cute friendly dogs!

Group Photo!!

Sledging!

Session 1 – Day Six – Red and Blue Groups

Today the Red and Blue Groups had an amazing day! We got on the bus and headed down to Lake Geneva where we went banana boating! We had so much fun trying to stay on the banana boat and eventually falling into the lake. We had some time to chill by the lake and make the most of the beautiful weather.

Big smiles!

Trying to stay on!

Hands up if your having fun!!

Taking a dunk in Lake Geneva!

Fun times on Lake Geneva!

Session 1 – Day Five – Green Group

2nd July 2016

Today, the green group had another fantastic day. After a very good breakfast they headed off into the climbing wall. The activity leaders taught different climbing skills and techniques to the campers and they learnt them very quickly. Most of them reached the top and rung the victory bell.

After lunch, it was time for language lesson in which they created projects about different cultures and played some fun games. Dinner was tomato soup, chicken pie and cookies and ice-cream for dessert.

Finally, they ended the day with a well deserved rest. They played some board games and some of the more energetic took part in Zumba and Salsa classes.

Scaling the wall!

Concentrating hard in language class!

Big smiles at Camp Suisse!

Session 1 – Day Five – Yellow Group

1st July 2016

The weather in the Swiss Alps can have its ups and downs. We have been lucky to have lots of sunshine so far, but unfortunately the rain clouds took over the skies today. So our planned trip to the glacier was postponed until the next day. Instead today we spent the morning at the football pitch playing a variety of sports. Despite the field being slightly slippy, every single Yellow Group camper happily joined in on the fun and we played capture the flag, tag rugby, cricket and football (soccer). After a well deserved hot lunch we had language classes which everyone seemed to really enjoy. We had chicken pie for dinner and then had cookies and ice-cream for dessert (which is everyone’s favourite).

Finally the group spent the evening winding down during much needed ‘Social Club’ – some downtime with a movie and board games. Then an early night to get ready for the glacier the next day!

Big smiles!

Making it look easy!

Session 1 – Day Five – Red Group

Today Red Group had a blast at Aquaparc as we were able to spend the whole day trying out all the slides. We also enjoyed many (and I mean MANY) laps of the lazy river thanks to the giant jets. Every hour the biggest pool turned into a wave machine and we all enjoyed the sensation of the sea. As if they were not already tired enough, Red Group spent the evening playing sports together! After this we headed to bed to get plenty of sleep before our big day of Banana Boating the next day.