The biggest Scouting competition took place this past weekend, attracting hundreds of enthusiastic teens from Gauteng and Mpumalanga to the Arrowe Park Scout Centre, Lakefield.
Kon-Tiki is an annual competition within Scouts where troops build a raft from drums, rope and poles.
Various Scout groups arrived on May 17 and began setting up their camps and building their final rafts.
Incorporating this year’s theme ‘Ship Wrecked’, the Scouts used the theme in both their raft design and construction.
By midday on May 18, before the 47 rafts could set sail on Homestead Lake with a maximum of six to eight Scouts on each raft, the rafts were monitored to ensure they were built correctly and adhered to strict safety standards.
Raft captains in each raft ensured the safety of team members while Sea Scouts in rowing boats went around and patrolled among the rafts for 24 hours to monitor the safety of Scouts. A medical team was also on-site for emergencies.
According to the regional team coordinator Scout programme, Hilton Goodhead, the team of Scouts cook, eat and sleep, on their rafts for 24 hours.
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“While on the lake, they participate in activities such as mobility, speed and a cooking challenge. Scouts who are not on the water also participate in activities on land,” Goodhead said.
Tumisho Kunene, who has been part of Scouts for seven years, said participating in the competition is a brilliant experience.
“We were excited about launching our raft in the water. Though we knew it was going to be cold, it would be worth it because we were planning to have the best time of our lives.
“These activities teach us a lot of things like learning discipline, and respect and open our heart and mind to think broader while learning new skills,” said Tumisho.
Patrol leader Cade Cloete from 1st Blairgowrie Scout Group said the youngest Scout he had on board their raft was his 12-year-old brother.
“In previous weeks, we had a preparation build to make sure we knew how to put the raft together. We started building the final raft on May 17,” said Cade.
1st Rivertrail was crowned the winner of Kon-Tiki 2024 with an overall point of 2 165. In second place was 10 Arcadia with 2 093 points and Harmelia Gardens Air Scouts followed in third place with 2 043 points.
