Posts Categorised by 'Green Group'
Upper Mountain Camping To The Banks Of Lake Geneva
10th July 2012
In the depths of the Alpine wilderness you will find the Green group awakening to the fresh air of the upper strata of the Rhone valley.Green group stayed their night in the Ski Refuge – an alpine outpost a respectable hike away from Camp Suisse HQ. Here, Julie – Camp Director, explains more about the outpost.
A trip that truly embodies the spirit of the young adventurer, the campers had the chance to indulge in an alfresco breakfast before setting off back down the mountain…
No time to squander, Green group were en route to the valley floor where they discovered the visual delights Lake Geneva and all that its backdrop presents. Even though Lake Geneva beds the valley floor it remains 62 m (203 ft.) above sea level. The children take a ride on the banana boat at the Geneva end of the lake – the aim being to remain on the boat (or off if you prefer the wilder side of the ride) Despite the periodic bouts of dull weather, the lake water is warm! And besides which we were lucky to experience a sneaky peek of the sun just as we were drying off.
Many creative greats have graced their presence upon the vibrant bank of Lake Geneva during the world renowned Montreux jazz festival. So on their return around the lake, the Green group relished the chance to saunter around, the various quirky stalls with the back drop of live music and vivacious atmosphere while indulging in the wonderfully rich gelato on offer (Gelato is the Italian word for ice cream and according to some, the slower churning rate is what creates the intensity and richness of flavour)
Camping – Green group
9th July 2012
Waking up to a beautiful sunshine was just the start of a great day for the green group. After morning lessons, we set off on the long hike up to our alpage (mountain refuge) where we were to spend the night. We walked happily the sun beating down as we were led by activity leaders Sarah and Toria. Despite the heat, it was hard not to be amazed by the breath-taking views looking over the Rhone valley! Keen to get some shade and a sit down we plodded on until the welcoming sight of our alpage emerged as we turned our final corner. Once inside, we were shown to our beds and given time to explore. Next up we went out to collect firewood for our campfire before sitting down to a yummy BBQ dinner. An evening of songs and games around the fire and we were all knackered. What a wonderful day, better get some sleep in for banana boating tomorrow.
Happy Hiking
7th July 2012
A previous thundery night had cleared the sky for bright Saturday in Torgon. Languages and sport preceded an afternoon hike for the whole camp. Everyone took the chairlift up the mountain, with the Yellow groups buddying up with some of the smaller members of camp.
A swift pace set by activities Jim ensured good progress was made, and we were soon at the half way mark for a well-deserved water break. Scaling fields, mud, rocky paths and occasional cow in an opposite field, the group, before long, gathered as a whole for afternoon tea on the football pitch where a great sense of achievement was felt by all.
Following shower hour and dinner, the campers had time to prepare for the forthcoming talent show – ideas ran wild, so who knows what awaits the audience tomorrow night!
Olympics days dawns on us tomorrow so our campers had better be recharging their batteries for some gold medal performances!
Green Group
6th July 2012
The Green group awoke early to a cold and rainy day at camp. Campers filled themselves with a good breakfast to prepare for the day ahead. First stop languages or sport; today we played hockey and climbed on the indoor climbing wall. This was greatly enjoyed by all and gave campers the opportunity to build their confidence and skill before facing the afternoon climb. In language classes all campers are working hard to learn new vocabulary to show off to their parents at the end of the session.
Lunch time! Campers were treated to a lunch of fish finger sandwiches with chips and salad, much needed after a busy week. After lunch it was time to climb, campers caught mini-buses down the mountain to enjoy an afternoon climb (in the rain). This was great fun and all campers challenged themselves to climb higher and higher. After a small, rainy wait for mini-buses to take us back to camp we enjoyed dinner of lasagne or roast vegetable curry.
It was now time for the fun to begin. Children played Olympic scrabble, a twist on a classic encouraging children to run about and have some fun. After an active and energetic afternoon and evening, children were glad to see their beds to rest their heads in preparation for another action-packed day at Camp Suisse.
Greens Put To Work Their Best Bow Hand In Archery
5th July 2012
Yesterday we started the day bright and early, as the children were awoken at 7.30 to make sure they were all prepared and well equipped for the day ahead! We started with a yummy breakfast before heading to either their language lessons or sporting activities which was the choice between football and tennis. During the sports, all children were interacting and taking part in all the different games such as team building and skill improvements. All children had great smiles on their faces whilst they played with their new friends.
We headed back for lunch, which was a wonderful healthy jacket potato with the choice of different toppings and salad bar. Once everyone was quite satisfied, it was time to head to the Green group meeting point so that we could start our afternoon activities.
Archery and climbing were on the agenda and we presented our best bow hand in the face of the challenged to hit the bull’s eye. Many games were played and the campers’ favourite required us to hit the balloon on the target. The green group headed onto the climbing wall where they had the opportunity to try all different levels of climbing routes. Some of the group scaled all the way to the top even while blind folded! The group expanded their horizons and learned of many talents and skills they never knew they had.
Once shower hour had taken place, all children headed for dinner. For dinner, there were two choices of either a vegetable bolognaise or sweet and sour chicken, which left the children were racing for seconds! Finally, before bedtime all children had another opportunity to tackle more fun activities.
Extraordinary Day Of Adventure For The Green Group
4th July 2012
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!
Green Group Go On A Day Of Woodland Adventure
3rd July 2012
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!
