Lord Baden-Powell Society
Caelen & Charlotte’s AJ2019 Adventures
With support thanks to the Lord Baden-Powell Society, Caelen and Charlotte were able to have the time of their lives at AJ2019!
Charlotte, Queensland
To everyone associated with the Lord Baden-Powell Society and everyone else who supported me, I would like to begin by thanking you all for your assistance and support which allowed me to achieve one of my wishes – to attend the Australian Scout Jamboree held at Tailem Bend in South Australia. My attendance at the Jamboree provided me with a wonderful opportunity to learn more about myself as a Scout and a person.
During the Jamboree I was fortunate to meet Scouts from all over Queensland, Australia and from overseas. My troop hosted a group of Scouts from Essex in England. I made many new friendships during the Jamboree which I hope will remain friends for a long time. I also had a chance to reunite with other Scouting friends that I had met at other large events.
I learned a number of new skills during the Jamboree including leadership and resourcefulness. I learned skills to successfully lead a Patrol. I understand the importance of ‘leading’ a Patrol and not dictating and also polished up my communication skills. These new skills will allow me to solve many issues in the future. In particular I will be able to be a good Patrol Leader in my home Unit, lead activities and hikes and interact with all scouting Sections. I worked out that when it is hot and your patrol needs to cool off, you can be resourceful and make a pool using a trek cart with black plastic and duct tape. I guess it’s thrifty too.
During my time away in January we were faced with a number of challenges including the hot and dusty weather conditions. As a troop we were able to keep going and enjoy ourselves.
The thing I learned most about myself was that I can be adaptable when I need to. Things don’t always go exactly to plan but that is not bad if you have the right attitude. You just need to adapt, compromise and exercise patience. We didn’t all do the activities we wanted to do, but as a Patrol we compromised and everyone was able to do something they wanted, and the others were supportive. They even found they enjoyed the activities too. I didn’t know if I would like shooting. It was great and I would not have had the opportunity to have done this outside of the Jamboree.
The activities I enjoyed the most were ‘Metromania’, which involved exploring Adelaide and it was great. The entertainment was awesome, but my two favourites were ‘Bang’ and ‘Gliding’. (Both of these were my first time).
Everything we did at the Jamboree contributed to earning the new Camping Stage 4 component of the new Outdoor Adventure Skills. This is very exciting because it is the area we will focus on in Queensland this year.
Once again I would like to thank you all again for your support in allowing me to attend the Jamboree. I had a wonderful time and enjoyed myself so much.
Yours in Scouting,
Charlotte
Caelen, Queensland
The Jamboree kicked off with a bus ride down to Brisbane, a two-hour plane flight and then another bus ride to the campsite. On arrival, the Kawana Scouts were immediately greeted by a handful of other Scouts in our Troop, mostly from the Brisbane area. We spent the first burning hot, 40-degree day setting-up tents and shelters until 2am in the red dust.
The next day in the evening I had already fit in and made plenty of friends to spend the Opening Ceremony with. There were performances from Scouts and Rovers at the start, followed by a ceremony where they announced the new Scout logo. Following that, there was a fireworks show and a performance from a singer called “Ricki Lee”.
The next week was a blur of fun activities in and out of the campsite such as:
- Metromania, a day spent in the city
- Woodhouse, a sleepover in the mountains where we were given ration packs
- The Cube, a climbing and obstacle course activity and many more other great activities.
On the second last day, there was a Market Day where each Troop held stalls in order to earn ‘Jambux’ and the winner would get front-row seats to the Closing Ceremony. My stall was originally ‘giant pick up sticks’ but nobody was doing it so we just walked around selling giant bamboo sticks.
I spent a long time fundraising for the Jamboree throughout the year with things such as walking people’s dogs, doing sausage sizzles and applying for grants. It was definitely worth all the hard work.
I was able to meet Scouts from all over the globe reaching from Canada to Bangladesh. The overall Jamboree was a memorable experience that will always be a highlight of my Scouting experience. I have made tons of friends that I have continued to stay in touch with and we will always remember our shared experiences at Jamboree.
Thank you for helping me get to the Australian Jamboree in 2019.
Kind regards,
Caelen
