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Camp Journal

Beaches and bushcraft

19th July 2019

Another busy day for the Red group, who started off this morning with some archery. Within minutes the campers were straight shooters, hitting targets and even getting the occasional bullseye! Next, the Reds spent some time in the forest playing games. Their favourite involved using the trees to hide as they tried not to be spotted.

The Blues trekked deep into the forest for their activity this morning. Bushcraft, learning how to survive in the woods with no resources, was something new to most of our campers, except Gabriel, who was able to teach the instructors a thing or two! The Blues practised consulting shelters, before popping popcorn over fires they built themselves.

After a hearty lunch, the Reds and Blues then joined together for language lessons, followed by an exciting ghyll scramble! The cold mountain water wasn’t enough to put the brave young campers off, they really threw themselves into this activity, some very literally! The evening activity was a tasty one, as the Red and Blue groups went to a local restaurant and try some Italian pizza. The children spent some time playing in the playground before returning to camp for a well-deserved sleep.

The Greens had their language lessons in the morning, before departing for the lovely Villeneuve beach. This excursion had something for everyone, as some campers chilled out with cards or a book at base camp, others treated themselves to an ice-cream or pizza at the café, and the rest got their adrenaline rush jumping off the 7m diving board! Everyone enjoyed a turn of banana boating in the wonderful and warm Lake Geneva. The campers were in the perfect state of mind to return for an intense to battle it out in a game of campers vs. staff football. Unfortunately, their battle was ultimately in vain and the staff took home the trophy once again!

Snow-balls and sledding

18th July 2019

Glacier 3000 was on top form today, and the Reds and Blues took full advantage, embarking on an action packed trip that lasted almost all day! Highlights included husky-dog sledding around the glacier, tobogganing on the fresh snow, and a bridge walk between two peaks. It was a big day for many of the group, like SeAurel from Gabon, who got to experience snow for the very first time! New and old-hands alike all enjoyed the snowball fights and snow-angels though. The campers finished their trip at an amazing height of 2971m, overlooking views of Lake Geneva and Gastaad, before returning to camp for a movie and hot chocolate. Overall, it was a wonderful glacial day at high altitude.

The Greens spent their day at camp, enjoying a morning of languages followed by group photos. In the afternoon, the Greens enjoyed an action-packed climbing session. After familiarizing themselves with the wall and the necessary safety measures, the campers participated in several climbing games. Teams competed against one another in a drawing competition and a relay race. The campers will be putting this learning to practice later in the week when they try outdoor climbing! After a delicious chicken fajita dinner, the Greens got creative and worked in smaller groups to make 3-minute movies. The Greens are excited to go to Lake Geneva for banana boating tomorrow!

Yellow blog post 18/07

The yellows started the day with a hearty breakfast and headed off to their language lessons for the morning. The range of topics varied from group to group; some were busy learning about different nationalities, some about food and drink, whilst others were getting to grips with the sounds animals make in Italian thanks to Old Macdonald!

After lessons it was time for photos. The bathrooms were full as campers made sure they were looking their best. After some serious, and some not so serious photos, it was time for lunch. Being on site all day meant campers could enjoy a hot lunch and refuel for the afternoon.

After some relaxation time playing ping pong and chatting, yellows headed into the woods for bushcraft. Here they learnt how to start a fire and build a shelter. It’s safe to say they are now ready for anything!

This was followed by time to shower and call home before dinner. The evening was spent playing unihockey, after which everyone was ready for a good night’s sleep!

Chalk and Cheese

17th July 2019

After their fun language lessons and chalk colouring in the camp square, the Reds went up to Plan de Croix for mountain biking. Some of the campers were masters of biking and had a great time going through the obstacles in the grass, whilst some of the Reds were still mastering the skill of riding and balancing on a two wheels bike. Everyone did a great job and really progressed in their skills! The Reds enjoyed their afternoon tea looking out to the mountains in the gorgeous Swiss sunshine and made their way back to camp riding down the mountain. They ended the day with a delicious barbecue and a yodelling lesson!

The Blues spent their day in camp, trying their hand with a bow and arrow at the Camp Suisse Archery Range. They were really enthusiastic learners, and everyone managed to make more than a few shots! Their language skills are also progressing well. Isabelle’s class are loving making posters about their hometowns. The Blues also made their voices heard at the BBQ tonight, yodelling louder than anyone else!

The Greens started the day earlier than usual in order to secure their spots on a gondola ride up to Glacier 3000. Glacier 3000 is a spectacular sight, featuring sledding, an alpine rollercoaster, a peak to peak walk at +3000m, and husky-dog sledding. Upon arrival at the glacier the Greens enjoyed sledding on the freshly packed snow. Then they each had a turn riding around on a dogsled pulled by 10 magnificent huskies. Later, the Greens enjoyed a thrilling ride on the alpine coaster. After lunch on the sunny terrace, the Greens made their way up the steep steps to the hanging bridge between two glacial peaks to cap off the day at the glacier. After a sleepy bus ride back to camp, the Greens enjoyed a cookout dinner at a picnic area a short walk from camp.

The Yellows had their language lessons incorporated in their excursion. The day started in the amazing Cailler Chocolate Factory, where the campers were brought on an audio tour through the factory in the language they’re learning at camp. The afternoon saw them visit the Swiss town of Gruyère, famous for it’s lovely cheese. where many campers enjoyed fondue, crepes, or ice-cream. This evening they joined the rest of camp for a BBQ and a yodelling session, further up the mountain.

Pizza and Games for the Yellows

All yellows had an amazing time today. They took part in some activities in the morning, either indoor climbing or archery, depending on the activity they did yesterday. After lunch, they had the second language lesson of the session in which they played many games inside and outside the classroom. Then, they organised their laundry and gave all their dirty clothes to their group leaders. Afterwards, they had some time off during shower hour and we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. The pizza was delicious (of course, the owner and the cooks are from Napols!) and we had a different and nice meal all together! Finally, we played ultimate freesbe and they all went to bed after an exhausting and awesome day at Camp Suisse 🙂

Languages and labyrinths

15th July 2019

Today, the Reds and Blues set off for a jam-packed trip to Labyrinth Adventure Park. The Blues were over the moon to explore the park in their small groups, while the reds got to experience it al under the supervision of their group leader. The campers were able to spend the entire afternoon roaming the park and trying as many of the games and attractions as they could. The labyrinth was the highlight of the day, a huge maze with lots of fun games and play equipment inside to keep the fun alive even when they were terribly lost. The frustration when reaching dead ends really demonstrated how determined they were to get back for afternoon tea! Finally they turned the final corner and burst out of the maze with loud woops of joy, they were out! To top off a fantastic day, after dinner the Reds and Blues were transported to Las Vegas for the famous Camp Suisse Casino Night!

The Greens had an exciting day in-camp! After breakfast, they headed into the forest for a morning of bush-craft with the activities staff. They practiced shelter building – (some shelters were more water-tight than others!) and fire building. After a hot lunch, the campers met their language teachers and had their first language classes. In the afternoon, the Greens worked in teams to design bottle rockets that would aim to fly above the trees. A delicious dinner was followed by an busy evening of sports and dance. The Greens are excited for a day at Glacier 3000 tomorrow!

Meanwhile, the Yellows started their day with Archery and a session in the Camp Suisse climbing wall. They were broken into smaller groups to allow the instructors to give each camper quality teaching time at their new skill. Their first in-house hot lunch of the session included paninis, hot dogs and jacket potatoes, and went down a treat, setting the campers up for an afternoon of languages and team building games. All the Yellow campers had a great day and are excited for tomorrow’s adventures.

First Day at Camp for the Greens

The Green Group had an action packed first day at camp! After a language placement quiz in the morning the group headed down the mountain to the nearby town of Aigle to go to Parc Adventure. This high ropes course built into a forest is thrilling and challenging. Campers enjoyed several courses of varying difficulty complete with zip lines and other obstacles. Campers returned to camp for shower hour and dinner. The evening was capped off with a game of capture the flag on the football pitch.

Kat Newcamp, Green Group Leader

Sunday 14th July

14th July 2019

The first day of session two was incredible day of outdoor adventure for the Reds. The morning started upstairs in the sports hall, where both the Reds and Blues played games to get to know each other. After the language tests, the Reds had their first in-camp lunch consisting of panini, hot dogs, salad and jacket potatoes. In the afternoon, the eds were on Bushcraft with James, Dec and Katy. It started with Shelter building, where the group tried their hand at making shelters from natural materials. With a little help from ex-session 1 campers Violet and returning campers Barry and Maya, both team Dec and Team Katy managed to make incredible shelters that evening the coldest campers could spend the night in. This was followed by Fire lighting, where each group learnt the elements needed to make a fire and learned to how to cook food. The campers roasted marshmallow and had the chance to eat popcorn cooked over the fires that they had made. All in all it was an incredible start to camp for a lovely group of red campers. there was plenty of learning both in languages and in the outdoors.

The Blues joined the Reds for some games this morning, before taking their language quiz with the Camp Suisse teachers. This will help the teachers to design curriculums and lessons that will most benefit the campers’ needs and abilities. After a hot lunch in Camp, the campers were excited to have their first adventure- mountain biking! All the Blues participated, and improved their biking skills during the session. The campers were given the opportunity to show off on our obstacle course, and Chloe was able to show off her brand new skill of riding a bike! The instructors were really impressed with everyone and it was a great first day for our Blue campers.

Saturday 13th July

13th July 2019

All groups

Today was a busy day at Camp! With children arriving from all over the world, the centre was primed and ready to welcome them. Campers arriving early were lucky enough to get to try climbing on our indoor climbing wall, followed by games and activities throughout the day. The campers were glad when bedtime came and they could take a rest from long days of travelling. Everyone went to sleep tired but excited for a session of adventure and learning!

12th July 2019

The last day for most of the reds! We took the bus to Callier Chocolate Factory where the children were taken on a tour teaching how chocolate begun. They then learned how to make chocolate and got to taste, feel and smell the ingredients. At the end of the tour the children got to taste 8 different types of Swiss made chocolate! Then we made our way to a quaint little Swiss town called Gruyère where we looked around the shops and the reds played around an old castle.

The Greens and Yellows spent their day at the Camp Suisse Olympic Games! The campers were given the enormous honour of representing 10 different countries at several events throughout the day. Painted faces and homemade flags were paraded around the centre, and the campers were able to show their competitive streak in a range of events, the favourites being 3-legged football, and tennis-golf.

The evening ended for all our campers with our classic Camp Suisse Prom! Going to Hollywood was the theme of the evening, and the children enjoyed the homemade burgers and special treats on offer. They danced the night away, while making promises to visit when they all go home tomorrow.