The 1st Randburg Scouts’ success at this year’s Kon Tiki competition was not built in a weekend.

It was the result of months of planning, training, and teamwork that culminated in an impressive second-place overall finish in Benoni.

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Kon Tiki is one of the most demanding events on the Scouting calendar, bringing together more than 50 troops to test their pioneering, cooking, and water-based skills. The competition is divided into two sections: the land competition and the raft competition, with final rankings determined by a combination of both scores.

For the land challenge, Scouts use ropes and poles to construct large pioneering projects while also competing in a cooking competition. The raft challenge requires teams to design and build a raft capable of carrying eight people and serving as their home during the event.

Group leader Lindsay Engelbrecht said his Scouts delivered an outstanding performance.“When I look at them not only as Scouts, but as young humans, then I am extremely proud because it means that whatever they’re learning and experiencing here, they’re taking out into our society.

“They did their best. We’re one of the smallest troops, but the kids worked well, they are organised and are everything that a Scout should be. They are respectful, disciplined, and focused.”

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Randburg excelled in the land section, where their preparation and attention to detail were evident. Their pioneering structure and cooking efforts impressed the judges, earning them second place in the land competition. That strong foundation carried through to the overall standings, where they secured second place among a highly competitive field.

The achievement reflects not only the skills demonstrated during the competition, but also the commitment and hard work that took place long before the Scouts arrived in Benoni.“We did well against bigger troops. I mean, we’ve got a total of 22 Scouts.

The winners this year, Bryanston, are a bigger troop, and they have more resources and that type of stuff. But what was encouraging for me was that even in the preparation, we only had two camps before we went to the competition.

“From the very first prep camp, this group was fantastic; they were gearing up, they were working hard for a top-five finish.”

The 2026 Kon Tiki competition was won by the Bryanston Scout group.

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