Camp Journal
The Greens hit A wall
17th July 2013
After a sunny morning of sport and language lessons the green group split in half to take on archery, indoor climbing wall and some team building games.
Action on the climbing wall included timed ascents and the guided whilst blind folded challenge.
Carma was spider woman choosing the more difficult routes, while campers such as Lorenzo and Giorgio and Jenna endeavoured to climb completely in the dark. Once afternoon tea was devoured half the group took on a variety of team building games, some proving to be more difficult and making the teams work as a one unit. The other half of the group went over to the archery in the rain, attempting to win some of their dinner cutlery by hitting different colours on the target. The day ended with lasagne and waffles with ice cream followed by an energetic relay race and some giant scrabble!
Blues get the waves
Such an exciting experience for all those involved in the excursion to the Aqua Parc today. After enjoying a morning session of sports coaching and language lessons, we boarded the bus and were on our way. ‘The Devil’s Finger’ (a vertical drop water slide) was amongst some of the favourite rides, spreading giggles and thrills on the faces of kids and group leaders. Those that preferred a more relaxing experience chose to float about on the ‘lazy river’ and splash about in the wave pool. To finish up the day the kids were treated to a hot chocolate followed by Movie Night, where they could all chill out on bean bags. An eventful time was had by all.
Yellows go mountain biking!
16th July 2013
Another sunny day at Camp Suisse turned out to be the perfect setting for the mountain biking exercises at Plan du Croix and final descend back to Camp Suisse (although some went a bit further and had to ride back up again). High up in the mountains, surrounded by the beautiful Alpine peaks, the afternoon started off with activity leaders JP and Craig explaining how to become professional mountain bikers who can tackle any type of path, from the really simple to the more difficult ones. Multiple obstacle courses were laid out and (eventually) mastered by all campers. Then it was time for the descend from the mountain.The yellows were divided into two groups. The ones with more experience made a long descend down to the church and had a steep climb back up again to Camp, whilst the other group first “got more to grips” with the mountain bikes and then rode back to Camp Suisse along intricate paths in the woods. The day ended with the realisation that it is easier (and more pleasurable) to go down hill than going up.
Greens learn how to navigate
Another fantastic day at Camp Suisse began as the sun rose over the mountains and the campers arrived at the centre for breakfast, woken up by the morning team playing some fun tunes to start the day. In the morning sports and language lessons took place: I joined in on the basketball and we played a small staff team against some of the greens, whites and yellows! Both sides did very well resulting in a win by the campers… but only just! The green group were set for a superb day: the team were split in to two groups for the afternoon to make the most of the activities. Matt, Alex and Marie-Claire’s groups headed down the valley driven by Kev, the Camp Suisse bus driver, to our favourite climbing spot at Collumbey. Taff, Ian and Marie lead the demonstration and explaned everything the campers needed to know to be able to climb safely and successfully! Also Rayne and Helena helped the other Campers how to tie in, and belay: a great help to the campers who had not done it before!
Katie, Shona and Simon’s group went ghyll scrambling and orienteering! It was a lovely sunny day so even though the water was a little chilly, everyone had fun in the sun drying off before returning to camp to begin their informative orienteering session run by Sarah and Gemma. After dinner which were delicious fahitas, fresh salad and a fruit dessert we all played bingo!
There were Camp Suisse prizes to be won for a complete line or a full house! Tomorrow we will be taking on the Indoor climbing and archery, where we will have the opportunity to improve our sport climbing techniques and learn how to get a bull’s eye! – Nicky, Group Leader
Red and Whites go high!
The Red and White groups had an early start to the day as they looked forward to visiting Glacier 3000! Some tired members of both groups were quickly brightened up by the sun that continued to shine all day- perfect weather for the days activities off site. Staff and campers jumped on a cable cart to head up the mountain where a husky ride was waiting for them. The groups got to enjoy the company of the huskies as well as a fast pace ride around a track. Campers were then shown the stunning view from the top of the glacier prior to lunch. This view of the glacier provided the perfect spot for activity leader Chris to inform campers about Glacier 3000 and to explain how glaciers are formed. The groups then left the glacier and headed back down the mountain for a relaxed afternoon in Villeneuve which entailed swimming in Lake Geneva and the outdoor pool. Whether they were jumping off the diving board or spending time sunbathing, both the Red and White group enjoyed every bit of Villeneuve along with the rest of the day.It appeared that they may have found it their most exciting day at Camp Suisse yet!
Navigational Blues
Today was a scorcher at Camp Suisse. All settled into our sports courses and language classes, we were really able to build on our skills. Goals were scored, baskets shot, climbs conquered & languages improved. After a busy morning another epic buffet lunch got us ready for a busy afternoon of orienteering and ghyll scrambling. We started with Activity Leaders Sarah & Gemma showing us how to read & draw maps. After mastering the art of grid references, it was then time to head outside and really test our navigation. Once at the football pitch, Sarah tested us on bearings and had us heading all over the place! Thankfully we had our newly acquired map & compass skills to ensure that we made it back safely to the centre for afternoon tea!Helmets on and pockets emptied, we then headed to the ghyll. The mountain water was cold and clear, but super fresh (we are only 15 miles from Evian as the crow flies!). After a bit of a splashing from the staff, we were all used to the temperature and set off up stream. We went under logs, over rope bridges and across stepping stones which was challenging but good fun. Nikita was the first to fall, in to much laughter and applause from everyone, but was soon followed by numerous others. Ami & Anthony started a water fight with group leader Jenny who fought back hard, but with Franka, Nikita, Guido, Luca, Max, Kate, Aleena, Adam A and Joe on-side, the campers definitely won that battle! We were very grateful for the warmth of the sun on the way back to shower hour! After our busy day, a game of giant Scrabble in the sports hall was a great way to calm down in the evening after our delicious nachos, fajitas & fruit salad!
Green Group hang by a wire
15th July 2013
After a yummy breakfast, we found our language and sport classes situated around camp. Football, tennis, climbing and basketball are the fantastic range of sports on offer and many different levels of language class ranging from beginner Spanish to Advanced English.
The green group were served the five-choice lunch first and then we hopped on the coach with our bus driver Kev and headed down to Parc Aventure! Swinging from the high ropes course and leaping from tree to tree, whilst tied into a secure harness and two-caribeena connection device. We had a break after a few climbs for some afternoon tea, then headed down the valley to discover a bit of Jazz at the Montreux Jazz fesitval. The stall of bracelets and souvenirs pleased the girls and the goal shoot and trampolines kept the boys entertained!
We then all said our regretful goodbyes to Montreux to return to a late dinner of chicken pie followed by peach crumble. MMM YUM!
White group scramble up the river
It was another warm and sunny day in Torgon and the White Group were learning about the vital skills of orienteering by using pacings, compasses and maps. Everyone managed to hike their way to the football pitch, where the group experienced orienteering in heavy fog by using a group shelter as a blind fold. After some afternoon tea we headed off to do some ghyll scrambling. First everyone had to change into their water friendly clothing – after all you can’t survive this activity without being soaked. We put our helmets on and then it was time to hit up the river. ” Dont be afraid to get your shoes wet and no stepping on the green stones,” said our Activity Leader, Marie at the start of the river. After that it was tricky climb up with the help of some plank bridges and ropes. At the end of the climb people made sure no one had a dry t-shirt on. The climb back down was made even more wet by challenging everyone to go under the obstacles instead of over them. Harry and Duncan were more than excited about this and used the lagoon at the end of the hike as a paddling pool to have a quick swim. Before finishing we thanked the fish for letting us use their river by soaking our head underwater.
Yellows go hiking!
It was another glorious day at sunny Camp Suisse and all Yellow group were waiting patiently to begin this 3-4 hour hike around the mountain. But before they could begin all Yellow group participated in their langaguage and/or sports class. After all the campers munched down their food, it was now time for the Bush Craft Hike!
As they departed from camp many were singing and chatting away happily. The group leaders expressed their knowledge of the local fauna and flora as they continuted the hike. Kariem and Austin both showed off their nature knowledge as well, suprising many of the campers with their new facts.
Blues and their bikes
This morning was our first chance to get started with our language lessons. Equally we got started on our sports courses, with the climbers receiving their Camp Suisse log books ready to take on our indoor wall. Lunch from the Camp Suisse buffet bars refuelled us with the massive choice of pasta, hot dogs, sandwiches, paninis or jacket potatos all with a choice of fillings and/or salad!
After being fitted with helmets and gloves we headed in the minibus upto Plan de Croix – our special mountain biking venue. After testing our cycling skills with some tricky games and challenges (the bike control challenge being won by Ben!), we moved onto the off-road trails purpose built by our Activities team. With some campers zooming along with great confidence, others were a bit shaky to start, but a big shout out goes to Teni, Alana and Ava who all worked really hard and showed massive improvements throughout the afternoon. After all the practice, we headed on down the mountain to test out our skills on the mountain bike trails of Torgon. What an adrenaline filled day! After our chicken pie dinner and peach crumble, we had the great choice of Zumba or sports at the football pitch for the evening.
