Cadets Climb to New Heights
The birds sang as the morning sun shined. Yawns could be heard from the cozy dormitories. The cadets slipped back into their uniforms as the clouds began to roll in. A little rain never stopped anyone, right?
John Forrest's Bush Rangers Cadets braved the cold and rains early in July to explore Manjedal Activity Centre for their second camp of 2019. Located in Karrakup, on the Darling Scarp, this camp provided many opportunities to strengthen team bonds and learn new skills. Some of the adventurous activities undertaken by the cadets included:
- Aerial Runway: The rain held out on the first day for the Aerial Runway. The zipline, over 200m long ran over a scenic valley providing stunning views, even providing a glimpse at the ocean! The return hike back was equally stunning!
- Challenge Zone: Cadets (and instructors) made their way across various close-to-ground obstacles, without touching the ground. It lived up to its name with cadets having to rely on each other to cross various obstacles.
- High Ropes: Some cadets are always up for the challenge, even when it involves winds, cold water and heights. Cadets battled an obstacle course some 8 metres above the air, in a very impressive show of determination.
- Vertical Challenge: Cadets worked cooperatively to climb to new heights in these activities. A ladder-like wall with different shaped notches saw cadets race to the top of the climbing tower. On the other side was a series of logs, set out on varying angles to perform a separate ladder. Well done to everyone who made it to the top!
Camp provided a wonderful end to the busy semester. Here are some comments from the cadets themselves:
"Going to camp was a great experience, there were lots of fun activities to do, and everybody here was wonderful. On camp, I talked to some really nice people I had never interacted with before, they were so kind and supportive and when I was panicking, they were very helpful I loved going on camp because everyone is really nice and it's a great way to try new things."- Emma
"Camp was well organized, with highlights being damper making, aerial runways, plenty of climbing challenges and rain! All the activities were met with enthusiasm and the cadets got to know each other a little better, despite it being the wettest start of July in ages! Overall, this camp was amazing, full of team building, wrapped in the warm memories of playing 'Ninja' and singing by the campfire"-Ashley
"Sun to rain, rain till night and the cycle continued. The activities were fun, and food was amazing. There is so much more to say but so little space to write. Everyone enjoyed camp although most of us got soaked, we enjoyed time in the pouring rain with our best friends!"- Danish
A special congratulations to Ashley Tan on being selected as the 2019 Head Cadet at John Forrest!
Thank you to everyone who put their time, energy and resources into making one of the best camps we've seen yet!
Rama Sugiartha
Year 9 Bush Ranger Cadet
