Senior Cub Camp 2015
Max Learning to sew
Kea, Cubs , and Scouts have an exciting award scheme where the boys and girls can extend themselves to earn badges, such as collectors, swimming, biking, canoeing, entertaining, photography … and many more.
Receiving badges also motivates boys and girls to take pride in wearing them on their uniform, especially as they are encourage to sew the badges on themselves.
Here is Max, a Scout learning to sew his first Scout badge on, and planning on filling his arm with more badges in the feature.
Kea chalk drawings
Mystery night
Some of the Keas whom are soon to be flying up to Cubs, had the great idea that as one of the fun activities for Mystery night, they wanted create chalk drawings on the halls floor.
The Kea’s showed themselves to be great artists already, just look at their imaginative creations patch worked across the den floor.
Another Mystery night activity was blind mans bluff, played here with paper cut out Kea wings.
As part of her Caring Kea badge, Theresa gave a short talk, about the endangered Red Squirrels that live in safety, from the invasive Grey Squirrels, on Brownsea Island in Dorset England. Brownsea Island is also the location of the very first Scout Camp run by Lord Baden-Powll. Here is Theres doing here research on the computer at home.
Keas build rockets
Is it really possible that Kea’s could use their creative heads to build space rockets from all these cardboard boxes
Seeing these box rockets that look like they could take off for the moon, they answer is most definitely yes Keas can transform common junk into multi stage interstellar vehicles given half a chance.
We still don’t know the answer to just how the Kea’s build their rockets so high, perhaps they stood on each other shoulders, we don’t know, but they certainly impressed us.
The girls worked together to make the lovely luna lander module.
Whakanui Track walk
It was early Sunday morning, the day was still young at 7:45am when a group of St. Augustine Scouts, Leaders, and parents left towards the Wainuiomata to start a substantial walk over the Rimutaka Forest Park on the Whakanui Track.
Buddies were chosen as the safety rules were emphasized just before the start of the tramp.
And off we all went into the glorious moist New Zealand bush, green ferns, lush leaves, along with water dripping, water flowing downwards, ever downwards…
as we tramped, and tramped for what seemed ever upwards 550m or so. 
Until we burst out at the very top to take in the vast view. Over the hills and far away, we could espy Lower Hutt.
Time for a selfie to prove I’m here mum!
After the snow came a magical rainbow out of the blue, with its red, orange, green and purple shining all so fresh and so new.
Then like the water it was time for us to descend, whilst we tried not to slip and slide, with the mud squelching under foot, to the bottom of the valley to listen to the gurgling Orongorongo River.
All along the root “Miss Positively Twiggy”, found ways of placing roots, twigs, and even branches on unsuspecting, and even some suspecting trampers, much to everyone’s amusement.
The last leg we were met with a surprise, when out of the bush popped Tui and Daryl, not wanting to completely miss out on the walk, delved into the Rimutaka Forest Park from the pickup point to meet us.
All done, a great 8hr walk complete,
everyone showing smiles to the parents
whom have kindly come to whisk us all home.
Lets also not forget the smartest tramper that we have ever met, with his pin-strip shirt, and his profundity of knowledge on Kiwi’s that enthralled and rooted us to the spot, as he explained how he and many other volunteers help protect Kiwis in the Kiwi Release zone that we cut through.
Scout Zone Winter Camp Winnings
“Hello Everyone,
I have just come from Scouts where our Scout patrol that was competing in the Lower Hutt Zone Winter Camp last weekend, has just been awarded First Equal with a patrol from Stokes Valley!! They received their award from the Zone Scout Leader.
This is awesome news for our scout troop and group. Last year they came second to last and to move to first this year s is a massive improvement and shows the dedication and hard work of our scouts and scout leaders.
I wish to say a massive BRAVO to the patrol who won:
Renee Heathcote
Dane Pearce
Todd Wellwood
Jackson Taylor
Michael Edmeades
Daniel Sziranyi
and Leaders Tui and Donna. You have done St Augustines proud.
So between our cubs winning the Zone modelling competition early in the year and now our successful scout Patrol what can we do next!!
Yours in Scouting”
Stephen Keatley
Group Leader
St Augustines Scout Group – Petone
Group Leader
St Augustines Scout Group – Petone
Burden Gate – Eastbourne tramp
Scouts, reved up from last weeks hike up Mt. Holds worth, put their best feet forward again, along the stony shore path to Burden Gate, and had a swell time.
Scout aviation school
St. Augustine’s Scout Atom Ashley (right of photo) was luck enough to take full advantage of the National Aviation School, where he learn to fly and took the controls of a microlite, a glider, and the Cessna shown below.
Scouts can apply for the school via the Scout New Zealand’s website.
Kea night hike to Petone Beach
Kea’s from St. Augustines discovered how different their local surrounds are at night. They set off excitedly extending out behind Kea leader Gavin, with their torch lights waving frantically at each other and over the expanse of Petone Rec. Escorted by parents, and bring up the rear Stephen and Chris were the red tail-lights of the Kea train.
At the beach Kea’s called out landmarks such as Somes island and Petone Wharf. Some recognised the flashing light house lights far away on the horizons that keep ships safe in storms and guide them home to port.
Thanks to all the parents that help with the Kea night hike to Petone Beach.
Back at the den, there was still enough time to take a look at the results of the grass growing project.
