Venture Wellington - Open your eyes

Monday 11 January 2010

Well it’s all over! After 10 days of full-on adventure, extreme experiences and many new friends, Venture Wellington came to a climatic end last night. The day’s activities continued as usual yesterday with most people taking full advantage of the last day of activities. Dinner set the tone for the night with party food: fish and chips and jelly and ice cream.

Around 6.30pm the rain started (the first rain during the Venture) and stayed with us for most of the rest of the night. But it didn’t dampen the final night party spirit. At 8.30pm the whole Venture crammed into the party marquee for the closing ceremony that started with an audio visual presentation of our time at Venture. MC Edward Cook then thanked all the supporters and providers that have helped make Venture Wellington possible. Then came the top 5 lessons of Venture:
5 If your gear list says you need a pack, sleeping bag and hiking tent, then you really do need a pack, sleeping bag and hiking tent!
4 Breakfast finishes at 9am but don’t worry because hot pies are ready at Rover Café from then!
3 Just because paint is described as water based paint doesn’t mean that it can be washed off in water, soap or meths!
2 Bus drivers don’t wait!
1 Windy Wellington and aluminum tent poles don’t mix!

Camp Chief Cory Lang had some farewell remarks, the flags were paraded out, and the Venture flag was awarded to Chris Stagg of Whenuapai Venturer Unit for outstanding leadership by a Venturer.

Then the moment everyone was waiting for. Programme Director Dave McCarthy announced Midnight Youth as the closing night band and the marquee erupted in mad euphoria. And what a concert – it was awesome and a fitting end to a very memorable and happy Venture.

The first people were up and away home at 5.30am this morning. By 11.30am everyone was offsite with just a small group of volunteers left to do the clean-up.

Our unsung hero award today is a joint award to the Venture Organising Committee who have spent the last two years making Venture Wellington happen; and the Programme Team that delivered an awesome, flawless programme over the last 10 days. Congratulations everyone; a job very well done.

Thanks to everyone who came to Venture and made it such a fantastic event. The spirit of Scouting was strong throughout and this made it a very unique experience that will live in all our memories for many years to come.

This is our last blog. We hope that you have enjoyed the daily logs and that they have given you a bit of an idea of what has been happening at Venture Wellington. Thanks for your feedback, it was much appreciated.

See you all in 3 years time at the 12th New Zealand Venture.

Sunday 10 January 2010

Even though today is the last day of Venture Wellington everything is still all go – although we noticed a lot of Venturers were a bit slow getting out of bed today! Sadly the weather is overcast with drizzle and a bit windy again so Gliding and Baywatch had to be cancelled (again!). And there is not much appetite for the pool or beach onsite either. But not to worry, there are plenty of other things going on and it is great for the Organising Committee to see so many kids taking the opportunity to “open their eyes” and try new things. Everyone seems to be making the most of their last day.

Face painting has become a cult activity on site. The team at the Music and Expressions base has been doing all sorts of weird (but fun) creative activities including painting big VW eyes on anyone who passes by. Yesterday they were in to painting footsteps on hands, legs and arms. Rock Band, Diggers and Paint Ball have also been really popular and there has been a steady stream of people off the abseiling tower.

Last night was the Region vs Region competitions and a fun time was had by all. Participants from each New Zealand Region were asked to dress in their region colours (reflecting the Super 14 franchise colours) and the Aussies were all dressed in green and gold (of course). Face paint, hair dye, wigs, balloons, banners and other coloured paraphernalia completed the picture. Each Region put up a team of 20 people who completed a series of activity challenges. These included: robbing the nest, golf chipping, frozen chicken throwing, finding clues in a mud hole and solving the puzzle, frozen T shirt thawing and wearing. Needless to say there was plenty of chanting from supporters with “Go Kiwi Go” and “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” ringing around the hills surrounding Brookfield. The competition culminated with a Kiwi vs Aussie tug of war which the New Zealanders started with a very impressive haka. An outdoor movie night followed the competition.

Earlier in the evening a Kiwi vs Aussie Leaders Paint Ball Battle occurred. Great fun and lots of bruises were reported and apparently “the convicts” won.
We were also delighted to be visited yesterday by the Reg Williams, Chief Commissioner of Scouts Australia, and David Jones OAM, Chairman of Scouts Australia. They just popped over from Sydney for the day (where they are attending the Australian Jamboree) to see how things are going at Venture Wellington. Thanks for visiting guys. Over the last few days we have also had Stuart Fleming, National Commissioner of Scouts New Zealand onsite with us, and earlier in the week we had a visit from Murray Charlesworth, National Secretary and National Development Manager of Scouts New Zealand. Thanks to you too for your interest.

From our trivia file, there have been around 300 bus movements for programme activities during Venture. That’s a lot of coming and going without any buses getting lost and no-one being left behind. Thanks Womble and team for a great job.

Great things are planned to wind up the Venture tonight – but they are a secret so we will tell you all about them tomorrow.

Our unsung hero award today goes to the Unit Leaders. There are 79 of them and each one has responsibility for a Unit of Venturers and Rangers. The Unit Leaders camp with the young people and have day to day responsibility for keeping an eye on everyone in their Unit, including (and in particular) the welfare of their Venturers. They are also helping with the running of activities during Phase 2. The Unit Leaders at Venture Wellington have been a great bunch who have been really positive and done a really super job. Thanks ULs for helping make Venture Wellington a once in a lifetime experience for your Unit.

Saturday 10 January 2010

We can hardly believe it – today is Saturday which means there is only one more day left at Venture. It’s all going by so quickly.

Phase 2 continues today with the offsite activities leaving bright and early this morning. Gliding is operating today for the first time – the weather has been too windy the last couple of days. Sadly, sky diving has been cancelled due to low cloud. But the feedback from all the other activities has been great: High Ropes, Fergs kayaking and climbing, canyoning at Dry Creek, beach activities, golf, bowling, go carting. One group came back to site yesterday on a real high after a obviously having a great day offsite. When asked what they’d been doing to have had so much fun they answered – SHOPPING!

And everyone going on City Slickers (the day trip to Wellington) seem to be having a good time too. Yesterday a whole bunch visited Te Papa to visit the Pompeii exhibition and came back raving about it. We have been surprised to see so many Wellington Zone Venturers eager to go on City Slickers – until we learned that many of they are popping home for a shower and clean clothes. Who said Venturers aren’t smart?

The weather at Brookfield yesterday was hot and sunny and we had a great Open Day. Around 150 visitors joined us at some point during the day and it really added to the buzz of the day. It was great to see you; thanks for coming. And thanks for your gold coin donation which is going to The Friends of Brookfield – a group of volunteers that supports the development of Brookfield.

Last night was American Gangster Casino night. The main events marquee was turned into a casino for a night of blackjack and roulette. Most of the participants dressed up in gangster costumes - we understand the OP Shops in Wellington have been cleaned out over the last few days. Local band The Hypnotics played some really great cover music all night long and everyone got into the spirit of the evening; the place really did feel like Las Vegas for a few hours. Everyone was on such a high when it finished that it took a couple of hours to get the camp to bed.

Our unsung hero award today goes to the Rovers. Rovers from throughout New Zealand (and some from Australia) are here helping run Venture and they are doing a really awesome job. Many are Unit Leaders, some are helping with running programme activities, and another group is running the Rover Café (and they are literally running - back and forth to the chip fryer) The Café itself is a great advertisement for Rovering, as is the work ethic, behaviour, and role modeling of the Rovers themselves. Last night for example, we needed to take down the casino and take all the tables and chairs back to the dining marquee ready for breakfast. The call went out and within seconds 20 or more Rovers arrived and within a few minutes the job was done. Thanks Rovers for helping make Venture Wellington such a fantastic event. Oggy, oggy, oggy, ooi, ooi, ooi!

Friday 8 January 2010

Today is a fine, hot and sunny day at Brookfield. There has been quite a bit of wind here the last few days so it is nice to see summer return.

Today is Open Day at Venture Wellington so we have given the place a bit of a spruce up and are looking forward to sharing the awesome experience we are having with our friends, family, Scouting and Girl Guiding community, and our suppliers and supporters. We really appreciate all the help that we have got from our many supporters – without your help the Venture would not have been possible. So we hope that you will come out today to see what it is all about.

Yesterday was the first day of Phase 2 Activities. Nearly half the camp went on offsite activities so there was plenty of buses coming and going all day. Onsite all the activities operated as planned with a lot of the Venturers using the day to relax and chill. But Paint Ball and Car Bashing proved very popular for those wanting something more active. Car Bashing is breaking a steady supply of sledge hammers so there is plenty of steam being let off!

The Rover Café has also proved to be a great hit. This is a chill out area with soft couches and relaxing activities. But the real hit is the café which is selling hot chips, toasted sandwiches, drinks, ice creams and confectionary pretty much as fast as they can make it. So glad we spent all that money on our catering budget!!!!

Last night was Carnivale night. Mr Fungus and Vinyl Burns performed magic and comedy routines for a couple of hours in the main events marquee. A large portion of the Venture participants crowded in and enjoyed the entertainment. Most of the rest tackled a giant inflatable commando course that took up the majority of the “flag pole” field. Who says kids grow up? In addition there were the street performers, fire jugglers and candy floss stalls. But perhaps best of all was how everyone got into the spirit of the night by dressing up in a vast range of costumes reflecting the carnivale (and carnival) theme.

Our unsung hero award today goes to the Health and Welfare team. This team is responsible for feeding the camp, providing medical services and running the leader’s retreat lounge (amongst other things). The medical team has adopted a MASH theme and is kept busy with a steady stream of minor ailments. They run a 24 hour roster and get to deal with unusual things at unusual times. Their favourite to date is being woken up by a Venturer in the wee hours asking for help to change his socks! Needless to say the sign on the first aid post defining what an after hours emergency consists of has been changed. But the good news is that we know that at least one Venturer has changed socks since he left home!

Time is rushing by – only 2 days to go after today.

Thursday 7 January 2010

Oh what a night! Last night was the “Welcome back to Site” party. It was unbelievable, awesome, amazing, amped – pick an adjective. Imagine 780 ecstatically happy people inside an enclosed arena with 1500 bottles of fluro paint (375 litres worth) in white jump suits, smoke, lights, uv, lazers and Ministry of Sound DJ General Lee from ZM and you start to get the picture. But only just – it is really impossible to describe in words; so go and check out the photo gallery. Needless to say everyone had a fantastic time; although it may be a few days before all the paint is washed out from weird places on the body! And some clothes may never be the same again. A huge thanks to ZM for providing General Lee who did an awesome job.

Everyone got back to site safely yesterday after their expeditions. It is great to be back together again and the camp is a very happy place today. Dinner last night was spaghetti and meatballs and breakfast today included cereal, eggs, and toast – and no one is going hungry that is for sure. Eurest is keeping us well satisfied.

Phase 2 is in full swing today. A quarter of the Venturers are off on City Slickers for the day – a free-roam tour around Wellington; and once again junk food seems to be the order of the day. The rest are involved in a variety of onsite and offsite activities. Rock Band is proving very popular as are the diggers and inflatables. The group that has gone to the High Ropes course are having such a good time they don’t want to come back!

Now that everyone is here on site the laundry service is operating. Huge bags of fairly dirty (and very smelly) washing are finding their way to the Venture Office today. Just as well they are going to commercial operators for cleaning!

On the health front, everyone in camp is healthy with only minor ailments being dealt with by the medical team. No-one is in hospital or even the sick bay!

Our unsung hero award today goes to the site services team. They spend their days (and most of the nights) cleaning toilets and showers, emptying rubbish bins and numerous other site work. Last night they managed the washdown of everyone after the fluro party and today have the aftermath in the showers to sort. Thanks Ian and team – we’d be all blocked up without you.

Wednesday 6 January 2010

All expeditions are returning to Brookfield today and will start arriving here from around 12 noon onwards. The day is designed to be primarily a rest and recovery day although a few expeditions have some final activities planned before they come back to site, including SX Units which are tubing down the Otaki River. The Sailing Expedition is also going to spend the day on the water to make up for the first couple of days that were affected by bad weather.

Last night was the final night of the expeditions and they all had final night parties. Junk food seemed to be a common theme! But before that they all had busy days doing their thing:

• Beach Base got to the beach for a while and held penguins. An after dark quasi- nudey run was also reported!
• Diving reported a fantastic day’s diving although the visibility was poor.
• Dance had their end of expedition performance to show off what they learnt. It was absolutely, positively awesome!
• Hanging About went bouldering at Baring Head. We are told that one Venturer proposed to a lifeguard but got a firm NO – get used to it mate.
• Digging went rafting, canoeing, abseiling and caving as well as getting a visit from the Aussie HQ team. They invited all their instructors to join them at the party last night.
• Pedal Pushers began their day with Bob the Aussie waking them all up with pot bashing. After their long coast road ride for the day they went to Naenae pool where they set a record for a train of 35 on the hydro-slide.
• Windy Wellington had a great game of wind soccer and spent half an hour chasing a cuckoo around their hall after it got in by accident. Last night was Pizza Party time!
• Sailing spent the day on the water with some capsizes and sinkings all part of the deal.
• Amazing Race chased clues again all day – this time through the Wairarapa. It turned out to be more difficult than expected after a kind member of the public picked up some of the clues in a public park thinking they were litter! They spent the night at a Marae in Masterton and had by a visit from the Camp Chief in the evening.
• QC, Sounds and Explorer finished their Marlborough activities and joined together at the Picton Scout Hall for a combined 3 expedition party last night. A look around Picton is planned for today before hopping back on the ferry for Wellington.
• Southern Crossing camped at Otaki Forks and had fresh food delivered for their dinner last night – there is only so much dehi you can put up with!
• Survivour “survived” their last night and are tramping out this morning.

The weather is fine but not too hot today which is nice – there was plenty of sunburn yesterday. Washing and sleeping are the order of the day before Phase 2 kicks of with the fluro party and DJ General Lee tonight.

Our unsung hero award for today goes to all our Phase 1 providers. Thanks everyone for providing our expeditions with fantastic, unforgettable experiences over the last four days which “opened their eyes”. B R A V O

Tuesday 5 January 2010

The sun shone brightly at Brookfield yesterday and around most of the expedition sites yesterday. The expeditions continued in full swing with all activities proceeding as planned.

Pedal Pushers headed off over the Rimutaka incline to an overnight camp at a farm in the Wairarapa (where they had a great night – but what happens in camp stays in camp so we can’t tell you about it). The plan is to check out the seals on the Coast Road today.

Hanging About went free-form rock climbing at Titahi Bay along with some abseiling and “beach blobbing”. At the Beach Base the other half of the expedition spent the night on Somes Island with awesome weather to view the harbour by. Windy Wellington took advantage of the evening weather with an expedition barbecue at Oriental Bay – all 90 of them.

Meanwhile in Marlborough, the Sounds and Explorer expeditions continued their sea kayaking and other activities. Explorer had “an epic” 4 hour kayak with no capsizes! They also tried biking with one wheel when a leader found a wheel operating independently from the rest of the bike. QC reported a great day with lots of sun and heaps of good food. They spent the night at Mistletoe Bay.

Out in the bush, Survivor returned to the Khandallah Scout Hut in the Orongorongos and reported that the river was going down – not that it mattered because they were on the right side of it and hadn’t crossed it anyway. The Southern Crossing expedition tramped from Alpha to Kime Hut along the razor back track yesterday. Sadly the mist was down so the view wasn’t great but everyone was stoked at having completed this tricky part of the tramp. They spent a happy and boisterous night at Kime last night and are heading down to the Otaki Forks today to complete the crossing – well done everyone; you can tick that off for your Queen’s Scout Award. Rafting is planned for tomorrow.

Dive, Dive, Dive spent some time above the water yesterday – and are planning greater elevation with a trip to rock climbing today. Still plenty of diving going on amongst it all though!

Dance is having a ball learning various dance styles and techniques. They toured all the studios at Avalon yesterday and had a group photo taken on the Lotto set. They have a performance today which a number of the Venture Organising Team have been invited to attend.

Digging found some water in some of their caves after the rain which added to the adventure of the base. They also did some abseiling and awarded the “cabbage award” to a Venturer who kept on abseiling even after he was on the ground!

Sailing spent the morning sailing the harbour in a 50 foot yacht in moderate winds. By all accounts the boat got to a fair speed, and everyone on board got to helm for a period. The afternoon was spent at the Maritime Museum. Today it is back to the small boats at Evans Bay.

Amazing Race spent the night last night at Fielding having chased clues around the Manawatu for the day. To date no damage to the vans has been reported but we are not sure we can say the same for the Unit Leaders who are driving with 8 Venturers simultaneously yelling out different directions!

Today is the last day of expeditions (man that went fast) with them all returning to Brookfield during the day tomorrow. The Phase 2 programme staff have come on site over the last day or so and our numbers are swelling again.

Our unsung hero award for today goes to the security team who are operating 24 hour security at Brookfield (and some expedition sites). Thanks guys for the fantastic job you are doing!

Monday 4 January 2010

The last 24 hours have been pretty windy and rainy for most of the expeditions. A large amount of rain fell over night across the greater Wellington area as the weather front went through. This was accompanied by some strong, gusty winds which started yesterday afternoon. All of the expeditions have indoor accommodation options and most took advantage of them overnight. The evening and morning contacts confirmed that everyone is safe, well, dry and in good spirits.

Despite the weather all the expeditions continued with their planned programme yesterday with only some minor modifications necessary. The Sounds Explorer expeditions, for example, were able to safely continue with their sea kayaking but covered a lesser distance than originally planned. These expeditions also went to an (contingency planned) alternative campsite for the night with warm showers and more enjoyable facilities.

The Beach Base continued pretty much as planned despite the weather. This base includes a range of activities other than lying on the Beach so the programme was adapted to accommodate the conditions. As planned, half the expedition spent the night on Somes Island Matiu and are doing small service project there this morning. The other half will spend tonight on the Island.

The expedition most affected by the weather was Sail Away With Me. The dead calm and then stormy weather meant that the expedition was unable to get out on the water at all yesterday. However, they were up and off early this morning and are spending a good portion of today on a 50 foot sloop sailing Wellington Harbour.

The Southern Crossing Expedition spent the day at Alpha Hut playing hut games and getting a first hand lesson on safety in the mountains. The weather on the tops is clear this morning and the expedition is heading off to Kime Hut today which will be a highlight of the trip.

Today has dawned much brighter with sunny, relatively calm weather in Wellington and the Hutt Valley. So everything is running as planned today and we expect Brookfield and the various expedition sites to dry out as the day goes by.

Here at Brookfield the fine weather is allowing us to move full steam ahead with our site preparations for Phase 2. Work is underway on the arena fencing for the fluro party, as well as to complete the onsite Beach, and the final preparations on the paint ball field and the air rifle range.

But what really matters is that the Venturers and Rangers are having a good time and all the feedback from the NZ and Aussie HQ teams which visited most of the expeditions yesterday indicates that this is definitely the case. And there are plenty of stories to tell too:

• The Beach expedition created a Wellington Venturer record by all simultaneously jumping of the Days Bay wharf. They also proved that unsinkable kayaks can indeed be sunk!
• Dive, Dive, Dive have all passed the rigorous theory exam and also proved that flippers can be dangerous in confined spaces – there are some bruises to prove it!
• Dance got into body mechanics (no grease was required). The Venture film crew that went to record it was so blown away they forgot to film it! Dance spent the afternoon LOTRing it at WETA workshops. There is more of the same planned for toady followed by a visit to Avalon Studios.
• Hanging About spent the day canyoning at Dry Creek. One Venturer learnt that when it is time to go it really is time to go when he was left in the Portaloo when the bus left. (The bus captain was on to it and rescued him).
• Windy Wellington has got into the agriculture business and now have two blow up sheep – one called Gary (after the Aussie Contingent Leader) and one called Baaaabara. The Expedition Leader also reports that some Units have taken interesting approaches to making jelly. On a more serious side a typical day yesterday on this base was reported by Windy 2. They spent an enjoyable morning at a hot and sunny Wellington Zoo, got drenched in a downpour of rain at lunch time in the city, and then spent the afternoon surfing at Titahi Bay. Even the uninitiated surfers had a ball.
• Digging Deep (caving) spent the day on high ropes and underground in caves. They also now have a “cabbage of the Unit” award.
• Pedal Pushers had an awesome day on mountain bike tracks in the Hutt Valley yesterday. Our spies tell us that there were some spectacular “offs” that were greatly enjoyed by all and a few independently mobile pedals were seen, but no injuries occurred.
• Explorer got the privilege of a detour to Anikiwa overnight and are back on track as planned this morning.
• Amazing Race continued their race with clues taking them to various places yesterday including Tatum Park. The spent the night at Scoutlands in Whanganui so they are racking up the kms on those vans! A (non-alcoholic) cocktail party was in full swing when we talked with them last night.
• Southern Crossing told us the storm was “very breezy” but the custard was great. We are not sure how related these two messages are!
• Survivor is all well and are enjoying the survival challenges of the weather. Planned river exercises have been cancelled due to the raging rivers and so they are off to Big Bend today
• QC are enjoying the way that the boat takes their gear every morning and brings it to the other end of the day’s walk. Those who don’t feel inclined to walk for the day are also being transferred by the boat. Now that really is tramping easy!

So if you are a friend or family member worried about what the weather is doing to your Venture participant – don’t be, everything is sweet. In any case the blue sky has arrived again and transmission has resumed as normal.

Sunday 3 January 2010

All Venturers, Rangers and Unit Leaders are on the second day of their expeditions today. Yesterday was a busy day during which the expedition activities got into full swing.

Hanging About spent the day yesterday at the Hangdog climbing centre learning the “ropes”. From there it was off to the Huia Pool in Lower Hutt and then to their campsite at the St James Scout Hall in Petone, which is their base for the week.

By mid morning Windy Wellington Units had begun their rotation of activities around Wellington City. This included surfing at Titahi Bay (OK – we know that is not exactly Wellington City but the surf was too rough at Lyall Bay so they went to Titahi Bay instead). Others went to Te Papa, the Cable Car and Weta Workshops among other places. The expedition is camping at Crofton Downs – a short bus ride from the centre of the city.

Ten van loads of Amazing Race (one per Unit) departed with much celebration yesterday morning and began their magical mystery tour. Yesterday’s race clues took them around the Wellington city area and involved a number of challenges. Two high value point challenges involved finding Programme Director Dave McCarthy somewhere in the city and photographing him; and catching a Wellington pigeon for a 500 point bonus (no animals were harmed in this activity!!!!!). One enterprising Unit managed a photo with Dave and the pigeon. Our spies tell us that McDonalds was also a popular visiting spot – what a surprise! Their day finished at Paraparaumu Beach where they stayed at the Scout and Guide Hall complex.

So You Think You Can Dance began their dance workshop at 10am yesterday morning. The expedition has been broken into groups each with their own dance tutor. Lessons yesterday included “negative space exercises” and interpreting words (like “family”, “city”, “public”) into movement. The afternoon involved a mystery cultural activity – which was so mysterious we can’t even report it. The night was spent at their base camp at the Khandallah Scout hall.

Sail Away With Me is based at the Evans Bay Yatch club in Wellington. They spent yesterday learning basic sailing techniques and getting used to the boats. It turned out to be too windy to sail yesterday but some rowing practice ensured boat skills were put to the test.

Dive, Dive, Dive started their expedition with a diving theory lesson. This included some classroom work followed by practical exercises involving tanks and other diving apparatus. The 14 people on this expedition are based at the Mana Dive Centre and the Ngatitoa Scout Hall which is just down the road. The Dive operators running the base are once-upon-a-time Venturers themselves and are Queen Scouts.

Pedal Pushers spent the day at Makara Peak mountain biking. They report that the bikes supplied by the provider are awesome. Injuries on day one were limited to a few grazed knees and elbows! These were soothed at a visit to Huia pool (which reportedly turned the pool brown!) followed by a night at the Belmont Scout Hall in Lower Hutt.

The Beach Base is located at the Eastbourne beach. Even though the weather was a bit inclement and chilly some were brave enough to venture into the water. The good news is that this base involves a whole lot more than just lying on the beach with a range of adventurous activities planned for today.

The Southern Crossing expedition is the hard tramp. The expedition left site at 0730 yesterday and after a bus ride started their tramp at Kaitoke. Day one involved the hike along the Marchant Ridge to Alpha Hut. They arrived there at 2145 last night after 13 hours of (mostly) up hill tramping – well it is supposed to tramping HARD. The scheduled radio contact last night reported that everyone was well and happy (although no doubt a little tired). The weather overnight at Alpha has been wet and a little windy and this morning visibility was poor. At the 0800 radio sched this morning the decision was made to stay in the hut today as the bad weather passes through. No doubt this was welcomed by the weary from yesterday. Everyone is safe and happy.

The Sounds, Explorer and Queen Charlotte expeditions all had a not too bad ferry crossing to Picton yesterday morning (no fish were fed). They arrive in the Marlborough Sounds to find the weather hot and sunny but a little windy. The QC expedition began the first day of their easy tramp in the afternoon and spent the night at a DOC campsite on the track.

The Sounds and Explorer expeditions are doing the same activities but in a different order so as to all maximum use of facilities, equipment and campsites. The Units in these expeditions have been broken up into three groups, each with their own itinerary. Yesterday they were met by the local guides and commenced their activities. Some went by water taxi through the bays and coves of Queen Charlotte Sound to Mistletoe Bay. From there they walked to Portage Bay (around 10km) and to their campsite at Cowshed Bay. Others went sea kayaking ending up at Kumutoto Bay where they spent the night – a campsite that is only accessible from the water.

Survivor tramped into the Catchpool basin in the Orongorongo valley yesterday and set up their survival base, including bivis, near the Khandallah Scout Hut. Contact through the regular evening radio sched advised that all was well and everyone is happy.

Digging Deep bused to Masterton yesterday where they will be based for the duration of the expedition. By late morning Units had begun the series of activities that they are undertaking on a rotational basis during the week including caving (of course) high ropes, kayaking and mountain biking. We are sending our spies out today to check it out so watch out tomorrow for a deep-er update.

Meanwhile back at Brookfield, the weather has continued to be wet and gusty but not too cold. It is a bit of a ghost camp with everyone away but the HQ team has spent its time securing the tents left on site and preparing for Phase 2. There are no medical cases on site and everything is going as planned (at least so far!). It has been great to see all the Kiwis and Aussies (and a few others) all come together as one Venture in the true spirit of Scouting. While the weather hasn’t been as summery as we would have liked it is not having any significant impact on the activities. The forecast is for improving weather over the next few days so we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Saturday 2 January 2010

Venture Wellington opened last night with a short but intense Opening Ceremony. Master of Ceremonies Edward Cook (a Venturer Leader from Kerikeri) welcomed all participants with plenty of fun and humour. The World Scout flag together with flags from participating countries (New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, United Kingdom and United States of America) were then paraded in. This was followed by the entrance of the Venture flag which was carried in by Nick Dowse, Chairman of the Lower North Island Venturer Council and member of the Venture Wellington Organising Committee. The entire camp, all dressed in their blue Venture “open your eyes” shirts then recited the Scout Promise – the oath that links us all in the worldwide brotherhood of scouting. Camp Chief Cory Lang then declared the Venture open amid much screaming and excitement.

The opening ceremony was followed by an evening of entertainment in the party marquee. This featured a live band – Johnny and the Dreamboats and much fun was had by all. All too soon the midnight curfew arrived and it was off to bed in the Unit tents that had been pitched earlier that day at the top end of the camp.

The night was dry but fairly windy (one Venturer was heard to say that wind was to be expected – after all the Venture is in Wellington!). However, no damage was done and a reasonable night’s sleep was had by all (at least for a first night).

Today started bright and early (well blurry and early actually) for some with the first expeditions leaving the site at 0630. The Sounds, Explorer and Queen Charlotte expeditions were first off so they could catch the 8am ferry to Picton. They were closely followed the Southern Crossing and Windy Wellington at 0730, Dive, Dive, Dive and So You Think You Can Dance at 0800, Digging Deep and Hanging About at 0830 and everyone else was on the road by 1000. By mid morning everyone was already doing their expedition activities.

The Venture site is now eerily quiet with just the headquarters staff left on site. The HQ team are monitoring the expeditions and providing assistance where necessary. Daily contact is being made with each expedition and all those in the bush are carrying mountain radio and PLBs.

The weather today is in huge contrast to yesterday when it was hot and sunny. Today is cooler with light rain at Brookfield (the Venture site). Gusty winds continue here but the weather is forecast to slowly improve over the next few hours.

Friday 1 January 2010

Over the last 4 weeks the Venture Organising Team has been preparing Brookfield in preparation for the Venture. All those preparations were finished on 30 December and the place looks great.

The 325 members of the Aussie Contingent arrived on site at 4.30pm yesterday and it was great to welcome them the Venture Wellington. Most of them had been on a pre-tour busing down from Auckland via a few days in Rotorua and National Park. Last night we had a combined New Year’s Eve party in the “party marquee” with an awesome DJ and sound to burn - not to mention Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!

Registration began this morning with the Aussies all registered at 9am. The other 450 or so Venture participants have been arriving during the day and the place is turning into tent city in a hurry.

The weather is sunny and hot so sunburn cream and lots of drinking water are the theme of the day. The nights are cooler so its time to wrap up when the sun goes down.

The main focus for tonight is the opening ceremony and preparing for expeditions tomorrow. Everyone is safe, well and happy. Venture Wellington is already rocking.