Camp Journal
Biking, Lakes and BBQs !!
13th June 2017
The week is flying by and it isn’t a wonder given how much fun we are cramming in to our week here at Camp Suisse.
After some much needed sleep last night we woke up, filled ourselves with breakfast and set off for a long day of activities. We got on our bikes at the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) and followed the Rhone River all the way to Villeneuve on the shores of Lake Geneva. Here we ditched the bikes (don’t worry we just put them on our trailer) and went jumping off the diving boards into the Lake. The water temperature was a welcome relief after cycling in +30 degree heat! After swimming we walked along the shores, passing the famous Chateau du Chillon and some very impressive real estate, to Montreux, location of the famous jazz festival and the resting place of the one and only Freddie Mercury.
With another decent fix of vitamin D in our system after a long day in the sun, it was back up to Camp Suisse for a BBQ night in the forest. A shower and bed never felt so good. We are all going to need our energy tomorrow as we are due to set off on a challenging hike to Lac du Taney, a Swiss natural heritage site. Another awesome day ahead!
Ecole Moser Testimonial
12th June 2017
“Camp week had arrived! We were met early at school and headed off to Camp Suisse for our much anticipated class trip. After a spot of lunch, we found our rooms and roommates for the week and got ready for mountain biking in the afternoon. Mountain biking was awesome. Headed up by a team of Camp Suisse Activity Leaders, we got divided up into groups and headed off down and up various tracks. The whole afternoon was filled with biking and it was really great to experience biking on real and exciting forest trails.
After shower hour and dinner, we then had sports on the football pitch as our evening entertainment so we could run out any left over energy for the day. Tomorrows activities await us. We have archery in the morning and then a long hike up into the mountains for our exciting overnight camping expedition, camp fires and marshmallows!”
Culford meet the Huskys
Culford Prep decided to test their alarms, and physical abilities, and woke at 5.45 am to a beautiful morning with ominous clouds to the north west. With temperatures still unseasonably high from yesterday’s blistering heat, we headed to the gorgeous glacier covered in sun cream from head to toe, for our rendez-vous with the much anticipated husky dogs.
As we headed up, the high cloud cover came into play which unfortunately dampened the majestic view of the Alps. However the dogs were almost as excited to see us as we were them, and after being whizzed around the glacier on the dog sled- we then had our turn at sledging on bum boards. We couldn’t believe how much there was to do at the glacier as we then headed off to the Alpine Coaster, a roller coaster at 3000 m. Then after lunch we headed up to the Tissot Peak Walk, a large suspension bridge between two peaks that brought out the campers courage and daring!
After a long day at exciting heights of 3000 m, we headed back to Camp Suisse for a few sports games on the football pitch, dinner and a much needed DVD and hot chocolate evening.
Bananarama !
11th June 2017
The Culford Prep summer trip kicked off with a cracking day down on the shores of Lake Geneva for some crazy Banana boating. As the summer sunshine beat down, temperatures soared into the mid 30’s and we felt more like we were on the Caribbean coast than the famous Swiss lake!
In between sliding down the giant slide, kicking the rugby ball on the grass and swimming in the lake, we all had a chance to get dragged around the lake on the inflatable banana. As the boat sped round, some found it harder to stay on the banana than others and some found it even harder to get back on than others…..
With a good dosage of vitamin D we headed back to Camp Suisse for shower hour and dinner and then, without a moment to wait, it was off to toast marshmallows on the camp fire. It will be a busy week ahead if today is anything to go by and the 6.15 am breakfast for tomorrow’s glacier trip should test even the loudest of alarms!
Marvellous Mexican Burritos
10th June 2017
The day had come for the best of British Culford Prep students to be introduced to some Alpine Fun! The excited teens arrived after an anticipation filled day of travelling and were greeted by the shining mountain views of the camp valley and some marvellous Mexican burritos for dinner.
To make the most of the lovely weather, our committed camp leaders took them to play some football and unsurprisingly competitive games of Bulldog and Manhunt. Who won…. we’ll never know. As the evening approached, and the prospect of some action filled Banana Boating the next day became an exciting reality, the campers began to wind-down. There were some chilled out games of ping pong and even a bit of piano playing before they headed to their rooms to get some much earned recuperation. Stay tuned for some banana extravaganza tomorrow…
Another fantastic week
9th June 2017
We woke to another beautiful and sparkling day here at Camp Suisse this Friday and despite some weary people after the Year 6 disco and Year 4 camp fire last night, our enthusiasm was still brighter than the summer sunshine. This morning’s antics saw Year 4 on the climbing wall with Steve and Frankie. The session culminated in a hard fought competition of tennis ball basketball…. if you can imagine such a game. Meanwhile the Year 6 pitted their wits against some of Camp Suisse’s sternest team building challenges and, amongst streaks of laughter, all the teams came through the challenges brilliantly.
As someone, somewhere, once said…all good things must come to an end. As we sang our final camp song and said our goodbyes, it was the end of another fantastic week at Camp Suisse for LCIS.
Mountain and Forest Fun
8th June 2017
Blazing sunshine and bright blue sky….a busy day was planned at Camp Suisse for LCIS.
Year 4 had a special treat today. Cyril, Camp Suisse’s resident ‘guide de moyenne montagne’, came in to take us on a hike high into the mountains to look for mouflon and introduce us to various other forms of flaura and fauna found in this amazing region that we are so lucky to live near. The rest of the day was then spent deep in the forest with Toria as we brought to life much of what we had learnt at school about living and non-living things and the life cycles of plants and animals. A long but great day was had by all and was finished off by the camp fire singing camp fire songs.
Armed with new found skills and knowledge in yesterday’s climbing wall session, Year 6 hit the rock climbing crag with passion. The skill level and determination of everyone was amazing and just when it looked like Mr Smith was going to be the only one to climb the difficult route, along came the afternoon climbers to match his prowess with their own set of skills and raw ability. In addition to the climbing, throughout the day we learnt different skills essential to survival in the mountains in emergency situations. This included how to build shelters, light fires and different techniques for filtering water. Thursday was Year 6’s turn for the disco and everyone was very excited to see Ms Leithead cut a few shapes and Steve strut his stuff on the D floor!
Arrival Day 2!
7th June 2017
The rainy return to winter-like weather broke on Tuesday night, just in time for the arrival the Year 4 and Year 6 classes from LCIS on Wednesday morning. Both classes arrived full of energy and anticipation of the great times and activities ahead. After the excitement of finding out rooms buddies and a spot of lunch, it was action all stations. Year 4 commenced with mountain biking and Year 6 attacked and conquered the climbing wall and the archery range.
Year 4 had a huge effort at mountain biking. All of the students made it down the mountain unscathed and thanks to Andy on the beginner tracks, everyone benefited greatly from this session and developed their own personal biking skills enormously. Year 6 honed their skills on the archery range and although the competition was close, in the end there was only one clear winner with 22 points out of a possible 30 points. (NB neither winner was Ms Leithead or Mr Smith!!). Led by Siobhan and Steve the climbing wall was a great ‘craic’ and focused on preparing everyone for the challenges of tomorrow when we will go outdoor climbing on crags.
As ever, the fun never stops at Camp Suisse and after dinner Year 4 partied the night away at their disco as Year 6 went to the camp fire to sing songs deep in the forest.
Stay tuned!
Final Friday
3rd June 2017
Sometimes in life things don’t live up to the hype….. this week at Camp Suisse, however, this could not have been further from the truth. The energy and positive attitude of the Year 6 classes from LGB this week has been infectious and culminated last night with the world famous Camp Suisse disco…. a disco, which to be frank, not only lived up to the hype; but smashed it out of the ball park. We were cutting shapes, grooving, moving and dabbing long into the night.
This morning, with a case of temporary post-disco blues, 6A and 6D had their long awaited turn at archery and wall climbing lessons Camp Suisse style! The sessions were attacked wholeheartedly until the very end, as if they were the first activities of the week. As it was Friday, and time to return to Geneva, classes 6B and 6C swung by for a visit to the Cailler Chocolate Factory as their activity and last taste of the Camp Suisse experience in 2017.
It has been an amazing week. We have experienced new activities, made new friends, gained a deeper understanding of our fabulous charity Atlantic Pacific and above all: had an amazing time. Adios, au revoir, auf wiedersehen… until we meet again!
Mountain Edventure Challenge Day
2nd June 2017
After our briefing at the BBQ on Wednesday night we were all set for our Edventure Challenge focusing on our charity Atlantic Pacific.
The brief was simple….due to reasons beyond our control we were leaving home on a long journey, with an unknown destination and we had to choose six things we could carry to take with us.
Throughout the journey we were inevitably going to face a number of challenges; having to create maps to navigate our way to food, water and shelter. Boiling water, lighting fires to keep warm, performing first aid on injured team members, crossing rivers and building shelters out of whatever we could find in the forest. All of this whilst keeping spirits high, singing our new favourite camp fire songs all day long and saving enough energy to get our groove on at the disco.
Challenge accepted!!
Another great day was had by all. It was a steamy, humid day in Torgon and the songs, screams and laughter continued to ring out long into the afternoon.
After arriving back at camp very much wiser to the challenges people less fortunate than us face on a daily basis it was time to shower and get prepared for the Camp Suisse Disco Extravaganza.
As students, teachers and Camp Suisse staff strutted their moves on the dance floor I think it is fair to say that Camp Suisse and the Year 6 class from LGB have shared another amazing week together.
The fun however is still not finished…. Friday sees Class 6B and 6C heading to the Cailler Chocolate Factory for a tour of this famous Swiss delicacy whilst 6A and 6D finally get their turn at archery and Super Steve’s famous climbing wall sessions!
