Camp Journal

An Enjoyable Escapade In The Sun For The Entire Camp

22nd July 2012

Once again, the campers at Camp Suisse were greeted by a glorious day in the Swiss Alps! After demolishing breakfast, the campers attended either a language session or sports session. Half of the group enjoyed tennis training with Oli in the sun on our tennis courts. The other half flexed their footy skills with Chris and Kirsty at the football pitches. 

All campers thoroughly enjoyed sports session and had worked up a real appetite so lunch was a treat with nearly all children opting for second helpings. After lunch all groups reconvened for group and entire camp photos. Check out more of our wonderful photos on our Facebook page International Camp Suisse. Towards the end of the afternoon, all groups were thrilled to visit the top of the mountain after a chair lift with a million dollar view. After enjoying the panoramic view at the summit, they followed hiking trails and trekked across mountainous clearings to reach the football pitch where all groups met up for afternoon tea and a game of footie. Duncan from the Green group expressed how much he loved the lift up and enjoyed the beautiful views on the descent the walk and of course the beautiful views.

An evening of suspicion and investigation bookmarked the day as camp in to six teams to investigate the Murder Mystery.  Poirot, Scooby Doo, Marple, Sherlock, Columbo and Frost sought clues from the suspects through various challenges to come to put together the pieces of the case and discover who the murder was and their motivaition. Marie’s team, Poirot, successfully uncovered the mystery of the murder – Beth was found to be Toria’s killer and the offending weapon was a cake, Dun Dun Dun…

Wir sind die Champions

21st July 2012

After a wet start to the morning the Blue group took on some intense basketball sessions and of course enjoyed their language classes. Once the morning was up the calories from breakfast had already begun to dissipate, but luckily for our campers a warm and filling lunch of hotdogs, beans and chips was ready and waiting.

After refuelling the Camp Suisse Olympics beckoned and it was time to split up and mix with other age groups to represent the 10 international teams who would compete to be crowned champions of the afternoon’s activities. First of all though, teams were tasked with patriotically painting their faces, creating a flag and coming up with an alternative national anthem/dance. 

Once no more unpainted faces could be seen it was time for the opening ceremony. A prestigious event that begins with the lighting of the Olympic beacon and where teams from across the globe parade their flags and sing along to the official national anthem, promoting their superiority in a bid to psych-out the other competitors. 

After a very competitive few hours involving egg and spoon races, tug of war and skittles, Germany were crowned the victorious champions. With the aid of hefty amounts of soap and plenty of elbow grease at shower hour the face paint came off and we were able to recognise the campers once more.

Dinner time was upon us once again and we scoffed on a selection of BBQ chicken, burgers and sautéed potatoes.With just half an hour before the event was due to begin some last minute talent show preparation ensued. Blue group acted, danced and sang the night away and after what seemed like no time at all it was bedtime. With the camp photos looming tomorrow let’s hope the campers get their beauty sleep.

Hiking tomorrow as we enter the start of the session 2 week 2. 

Red and Blue Group Together

19th July 2012

Thursday saw the Red and Blue groups team up for activities and the afternoon session. The regular morning routine of languages and sport was enjoyed by all, particularly the energetic game of football on the stunning pitch in the forest. Campers were not quite so keen on the walk to and from, but this is surely good training for next week’s camping!

After a quick packed lunch we boarded the coach and headed down the mountain towards Lake Geneva. Unfortunately the weather was not quite nice enough for Banana Boating, but the substitute of a trip to the Aquapark was more than enough compensation! The sights of numerous slides had all the campers giddy with excitement, and after a quick safety briefing we headed into the wavy delights! General consensus seemed to mark out the pitch black slide as the favourite, but all were much appreciated by the happy campers, as was the stop for sweets on the way out!

A delicious dinner of Fajitas was followed by an incredible evening of karaoke, with some real hidden talents emerging. With the official talent show approaching on Saturday hopefully we will be hearing some of these young Lady Gagas/Bruno Mars again. Approaching the midpoint of the session it has been a great week so far, and we are excited for upcoming adventures like Olympic Day and Camping.

Bushcraft Hike -Blue Group

What a gloriously sunny day at Camp Suisse! After a spot of languages and sport, the Blue and Red group headed off to Lake Geneva for some water sport fun while the White and Yellows prepared for archery and wall climbing. Meanwhile, the Green group set off into the beautiful mountains of Torgon. 

After being split into two groups, half of Blue group set off on their Bushcraft hike, which was led by either Calum and Kirsty or by Tom and Rachel. Group one built animal shelters of which some even had a swimming pool! Meanwhile Tom shared his expert knowledge in the natural delights surrounding us including the antiseptic properties of moss. He claims that Reindeer moss was used during the Crimean war as a natural packing agent for wounded soldiers on the battle field. It can also be used as a make shift filter to make water potable and so after a short demonstration the group were required to build their own water filter using a plastic bottle, rocks, twigs and the moss.

After a lengthy period in the woods, Blue group headed back to camp for a swift shower and plentiful helpings of Mexican Fajitas. After campers eagerly scoffed up their pineapple upside down cake, the cameras started rolling in the 3 minute film after dinner activity. Our aspiring Spielbergs directed and acted a 3 minute summary of their favourite movie using what props they could salvage in their surroundings.  Be sure to keep a check on our YouTube channel – Campsuisse1 to see how they got along. 

White Knuckle Climbing Experience

Shooting hoops was the name of the game in the morning for White group.  So after lunch, they took a short trip down the mountain to the outdoor rock climbing wall where they met with climbing specialist activity leaders Jim and Sara. The group, fitted out with harnesses, were taught about the required knots for climbing and safety techniques required when belaying another climber. Lou lou, Theodor, Katherine, Matthew and Camille showed particular aptitude and were able to complete all four climbing terrains. Their good form continued during their abseiling descent; however Katherine, Theodore, Lou lou and Mathew were the only daring campers keen. Following dinner the children started preparations for the Saturday night talent show. 

If you go down to the woods today…

18th July 2012

Another gloriously sunny day at Camp Suisse, Yellow group once again prepared themselves for another jam-packed schedule at camp. From the class room to the courts, Yellow group commenced with perfecting their linguistic rhythm and then their racquet strokes. They showcased their talents in a Wimbledon – worthy game of doubles. 

A fresh lunch consisting of jacket potatoes with beans, cheese, tuna and salad was just what was needed before our Ray Mears wannabes set off to explore the beautiful Alpine woodland areas surrounding Camp Suisse HQ. In search of knowledge and techniques vital to wild survival, the campers discovered, under the guidance of Tom, many natural delights in the woodland. They tasted edible plants such as woodsorrell (which surprisingly tastes like apples) and learned how to filter water to make it potable. After their forage in the woods, campers were brought back to civilisation to enjoy a delightful meal of either vegetarian burgers or Pork and Apple stew. After which they exercised their musical knowledge in the music quiz, cracking out their own rendition of One Direction’s song Beautiful. They await with anticipation the results of the winning team … 

Red Group Hit The Target

After yesterday’s early start at the glacier the Red Group was pleased to return to ‘normal’ breakfast times, and the group again gorged themselves in preparation for an active day. Language lessons – with many a Nogrot won for good work – was followed by hockey in the Patinoire. Callum coached the group through a series of games before a round-robin tournament resulting in a win for the ‘Snowballs’! After a delicious lunch of jacket potatoes with a variety of fillings the campers enjoyed their first experience of the tuck shop, purchasing unique Camp Suisse goodies and sweets!

The afternoon was split in two. They started with Archery on the tennis courts. Thanks to Sarah and Danni’s expert instruction all were soon hearing the satisfying sound of arrows nestling themselves into the target. The session concluded with a final challenge – to ‘win’ the right to use certain pieces of cutlery at dinner! Many earned the full quota but a few were worried about how they might be eating soup with two forks!
The second part of the afternoon was a return to the Indoor Climbing Wall, much enjoyed by all. After some practice going up the various routes some challenges were put up, including writing their name halfway up the wall, climbing up blindfolded, and drawing a picture while hanging many metres above the ground! All the campers showed amazing signs of progress in scaling the dizzy heights.

Much appreciated pizza and chips for dinner was followed by Games Night, with options of Twister, Jenga, Blackjack and Snap. Following some hilarious situations on the Twister mat all the campers headed for bed, exhausted but happy with their day’s exertions.

A Snowy Scorcher – Blue

Wow! What a day for the Blue group. An early 6am start was more than worth it for a morning of husky dog sledding at Glacier 3000 where they experienced the stunning panoramic views of the Alps including the Matterhorn. For some, Ore and Anthony among others, it was their first experience of the snow, and what a wonderful time they had, whizzing around on the sledge. 

Despite their snowy morning, though, temperatures were soaring down at the lake a scorching afternoon was spent by the fabulous lake side swimming pool at Villeneuve. Many of the steely nerved group members jumped off the 7 metre diving boards into the lake, while others remained firmly on land to enjoy the beaming sunrays.

The campers were spoiled for a choice of chocolate mousse or ice cream before embarking on their evening entertainment. Kin Hubbard once said ‘the safest way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket’. The campers were nevertheless prepared to put on their poker faces for the Camp Suisse charity casino night in support of the Andrew Woinarski foundation, Camp Suisse’s chosen charity. By 10pm, after such a long and exciting day, campers wearily headed to bed with barely any energy left to complain, within minutes the only sound that could be heard was that of contented sleeping campers. Banana boating tomorrow! 

Nature Education – White Group

Since the Red, Greens and Yellows were away for an early morning visit to Glacier 3000, the White group enjoyed a peaceful breakfast before setting off for language lessons and tennis training.

After a morning of both mind a physical stimulation the campers were well prepped for the bush hike led by Calum. Their creative tenacity was first put to test in the bid to create the most lavish shelter for a small woodland creature. The group was split and the campers were given 40 minutes to use the natural materials around them to construct the shelter.  Despite the fierce competition from all groups, the outstanding winners as voted by Oli, Kaity and Calum, was Matthew, Conrad and Marius’ team. 

During the descent back down the mountain, Calum educated the group about the origin of the Alpine mountainous region. He told them about the role of glaciers in the occurrence of U shaped valleys and V shaped valleys in this particular region.  They learned about the properties of moss and how it can be used to filter water. The groups were then given 2 water filtering bottles with moss inside for the purpose of filtering dirty water. The campers were awed to see that the water did actually exit the second bottle clear

Stream Scrambling With The Blues

17th July 2012

Time flew by for the Blue group during the sun soaked morning. So after a healthy dollop of ketchup along with their hotdogs and potato salad, the Blues were more than ready for the afternoon activities, which were for the first part Ghyll Scrambling and for the second part orienteering. After gingerly entering the water and despite several shrieks and gasps from the campers due to the very cold river, it did not take long for the Blues to get stuck in to the rope walking, tyre crawling and dunking challenges. After a quick bite of afternoon tea and a change of clothes and it was orienteering time. Compasses at the ready and they were off.. though not always in the right direction! After dinner, a music quiz was the evening entertainment and then time for bed in preparation of our glacier trip tomorrow!