Camp Journal
Glorious Glacial Visit – Yellow Group
4th July 2012
Glacier day is finally upon us! This meant an early start for the Yellow group….. 5.30 wake up! Ouch! However, it was worth it, as it was a glorious day in the upper echelons of the Swiss Alps. After catching a cable car up to Glacier 3000, it was time to meet the world’s friendliest dogs, who took us for a sledge ride and a play in the snow. Once the huskies were all tired out, I think I would be too after pulling 50 campers around; there was a tour of the glacier lead by Rosie which entailed a walk up to the viewing point from which there was an amazing view of the surrounding valleys, sadly though the Matterhorn and Eiger were obstructed by clouds. There was then just time for lunch on the glacier before catching the cable car back down the mountain and we then headed off to the Villeneuve pool, which sports a 7m diving board into Lake Geneva. By the time we left there everyone including the staff were tired and ready for dinner to help refuel. After a wonderful curry it was time for the Torgona hunt! This is a quiz where the campers need to find answers to cryptic clues, which are located in various parts of the centre and Torgon. Bedtime… time to recharge the batteries ready for tomorrow and another day of fun in the mountains.
Extraordinary Day Of Adventure For The Green Group
Yesterday morning, the green group were woken bright and early by their group leaders to greet a beautiful day at Camp Suisse. After eating breakfast in their groups, the children either attended a language session or a sports session. They were given the choice of tennis with Oli and JP or basketball with Aimee and Sarah. During these sports sessions, the children were taught skills required for each sport through the use of group and paired games. They had lots of fun playing these games and were able to demonstrate what they had learnt.
After the morning session, the campers had lunch with their group and were eager to share their morning activities with one another. The afternoon session began with JP and Nathan taking the green group for orienteering. We were taught how to write co-ordinates, how to recognise symbols on a map and also how to use a compass. The campers (and group leaders!) found this session really beneficial as we were not confident in our map skills. JP and Nathan then divided us into groups of six and set us a challenge of finding words hidden throughout the woods beside the football pitch, using co-ordinates and distances written in metres. Once we had collected all of the words, we had to make sure that these could be read as a joke. The joke was ‘what did the monkey say when he cut off his tail? It won’t be long now!’
The green group were treated to banana loaf and juice for afternoon tea and were provided with a helmet for our next activity. We had to walk from the centre to our next activity, Ghyll scrambling. For this activity, the children had to walk up a stream and go through an assault course set up along the route. Although the water was freezing, the campers loved getting wet! At the end of the activity, the campers were given the opportunity to nominate a member of staff to dunk into the freezing cold water. Instead of only one group leader being dunked, all four of us were! We couldn’t wait for shower hour after Ghyll scrambling! We had such a fantastic day and are looking forward to all the activities and excursions organised for the green group over the next week!
Banana Boating Fun On Lake Geneva For The Blues And Reds
3rd July 2012
Another misty mountain morning wasn’t enough to put the Red and Blue Group off the prospect of a day at the lake tackling the banana boat. Their enthusiasm paid off, as when they arrived they were greeted with one of the warmest, sunniest days they had ever seen here at Camp Suisse! A quick change and it was down to the boats, where even the most timid of camper got in on the fun.
While the sun shone we piled onto the back of the inflatable yellow boat in our groups of ten and some of us didn’t quite know what to expect. Would it go fast, slow, up, down, side to side or all over the place? Turns out we were all right. Every single rider ended up in the water at some point and soaked to the skin, it all became so much more fun! When we piled off the boat, the fun continued at the pool, with ice cream and slushies left right and centre. Not too much though, as just after four o’clock it was back on the bus to the Camp, for another quick change and some of the finest Camp Suisse grub. And as if the day wasn’t good enough, it was fajita night!
What could top that? Only some awesome Goup Leaders hosting the world renowned Camp Suisse music quiz! Prizes galore and the perfect way to round off the perfect day.
Roll on Wednesday!
Outdoor Climbing With The White Group
Day 4 at sunny Camp Suisse saw the White group descend the hill upon which Torgon rests down in to the valley where they scaled an outdoor rock face. Some campers were a little apprehensive about climbing at the uppermost height, but with the help and encouragement of our fantastic instructors everyone managed to put in their best effort and had vastly improved their climbing skills by the end of the session. The campers also managed to take lots of photos as a souvenir of a great day out. Certainly one to remember!
Green Group Go On A Day Of Woodland Adventure
The kick-start at Camp Suisse this morning was like any other, dragged out of bed by our group leaders (who always seem far too happy at 7.30am!), and up for a scrummy breakfast.Then it was off to language lessons and a very competitive (and noisy!) dodge ball tournament, while the rest of us sweated it out on the tennis courts.
However, something exciting and out of the ordinary took place this afternoon… we learnt how to become future survival experts! We set off from Camp Suisse on a hike into the forest while the sun started to break through the pesky clouds, which seem to have swallowed Torgon over the last few days. First of all, Chris and Nathan (our tour guides and Camp Suisse’s answer to Bear Grylls) told us all about the rocky, carboniferous, mountainous landscape surrounding Camp Suisse. We were amazed to learn that Torgon had once been under the sea. Then we went on to learn about the amazing properties of… moss! ‘What’s so great about slimy moss?!’ I hear you say! Well, we learnt that not only did lost explorers survive form eating only reindeer moss, but moss was even used to pack wounds and help save lives during the Crimean war! Then we were given our own survival challenge – to clean stream water using moss and rocks… and it worked (for most of us)!
We then moved on to the mountain bush tucker which involved all of us sampling yummy wood sorrel. We carried on through the forest learning more amazing mountainous facts until, before we knew it, the Camp Suisse centre had emerged through the trees.
After dinner, it was time to glam up and put on our poker faces at the Camp Suisse casino, while the rest of us took part in a 5-a side football tournament. What a busy day for the Green group… I wonder what tomorrow has in store!
Archery And Climbing For The Yellows
The Yellow group began their jam packed day with a hearty breakfast before embarking on their language lessons whether they practised their best French, Italian, German, Spanish and English.
After a well-deserved lunch of hot dogs and vegetable bake, the yellows flaunted their archery skills against a stunning backdrop of the Swiss Alps.
They then tackled the climbing wall and surprised themselves at how well they could climb some of the most difficult routes.
Shortly after a shower and a rest, we all tucked into a fabulous dinner of Mexican fajitas which truly tickled their taste buds and then they enjoyed a casino evening before going to bed exhausted.
The Red and Blue Group Team Up
2nd July 2012
Today, the Blue and Red groups teamed up to tackle both the archery and climbing-wall activities. Their enthusiasm was such that they almost refused to leave! Despite the rain later in the afternoon, Camp Suisse staff were quick to fashion suitable alternative activities that were both enjoyable and also a welcome relief from the rain! A game of football, which was enthusiastically played by members of both the red and blue groups, wouldn’t have been amiss at the final of the 2012 European Football Championships! In the evening, they stretched their vocal chords during karaoke, belting out some of the classic tunes that are both well-known and well loved by all!
Roll on tomorrow!!
Green Group’s Day At Park Aventure
A drizzly rainy morning in the mountains did little to stop an enthusiastic Green group from getting stuck in to their morning activities. Language classes or basketball was on the cards due to the unfortunate conditions. While the rain drizzled outside, Aimee dribbled the ball inside teaching Green group the skills of the game required to successfully shoot those hoops, which they put to use in the all-important tournament. A trip to Parc Aventure in the afternoon, a high ropes course near to Torgon, comprised of a challenging course of zip wires, tight ropes and stepping stones. Everyone showed brilliant determination while suspended in the air (attached to ropes!) and faced the challenges well, encouraging the whole group to get stuck in with all of the thrills of the Parc.
Following a well-deserved refuel at dinner, the Greens then turned their ears to popular culture in the music quiz – giving the girls chance to flex their musical prowess in the questions about Justin Bieber and 1Direction! As bedtime approached some tired faces were ready to recharge their batteries in preparation for tomorrow’s activities.
A la prochaine!
The Yellow Group’s Activities Day 1 & 2
Day 1
Camp kicked off for the Yellow group with a real introduction to the mountain. It started with a lesson in orienteering and mountain navigation delivered by Tom and Sarah. The session involved learning how to read maps including pin pointing your location before moving in to the forest for a few games. Once the entire group had successfully navigated their way back to the centre and had refueled with afternoon tea, it was time to move on to Ghyll Scrambling. The team kitted up with helmets and despite overcast weather the group did not allow the rain to dampen their spirits and in any case they were about to jump in to a river! The next hour was spent splashing about in the refreshing mountain stream with an obstacle course to conquer the group were spurred on with the promise of warm shower at the other end. To round the day off campers chose to either play bingo or watch the football….. It was safe to say that most played football.
Day 2
The second day at camp got off to a flying start with morning language lessons and sports sessions. The afternoon’s activity involved a more in depth lesson into mountain survival specifically focusing on the eco-systems that can be found in this particular mountainous region. The bush walk took the group higher into the hills where Chris and Toria taught the group about the glacial period and how it contributed to the formation of the mountains. Throughout the walk, the group gained knowledge about essential survival skills, learning about where to find water and how to filter it using the moss found growing on the trees. They also experienced first-hand the gastronomic delights the mountain has to offer and tasted some of the edible plants including wood sorrel which is found in the wild. The evening entertainment consisted of the brilliant music quiz where the last question required the teams to compose a 30 second rap about Camp Suisse. With some impressive contributions, the winning rap received a resounding 10/10 and we will look forward to hearing the group’s performance in front of the whole camp at dinner time tomorrow!
White Group Go Ghyll Scrambling
The white group of campers had a busy and exciting Monday. After lunch, we kick started our day with orienteering organised by James and Sarah, which required our intrepid explorers to use their navigation skills to find their way through the leafy forest. They learned about pacings and utilised their compass skills to search for the hidden monkeys around the woodland.
After finding all of the monkeys, the group took a well-deserved rest and wet their whistle with freshly squeezed lemonade. Biscuits at afternoon tea and despite the drizzly weather the campers were prepped and ready to give Ghyll scrambling a go! Admittedly the water was a little on the fresh side however the campers bravely and enthusiastically climbed up a stream and back down again though they were faced with many challenging obstacles en route! We may have finished the day a little wet, but spirits were high and we all had a fantastic time.
