Nicholas Morton, a scout from 1st Margate Scout Group, has just completed his first class hike for his advancement badge. He had to plan and organise the entire hike and he had to get four or more other scouts to join him. The total distance of the hike for the two days had to be 25 km and the route had to be planned from scratch by Nick himself with no adult intervention or the use of an existing hiking trail. The hike took place on a farm in the Trafalgar area.
The scouts ranged in age from 11 to 17 years. The brave hikers were Nicholas, Ariana Smith, Caitlin Morton, Philasande Matshoba and Shane Davidson. They were accompanied on the hike by Earl Astor (scouter) and joined in the evening by Adele Morton (troop scouter).
Day one started at about 9am Saturday morning with a 13 km hike from the farm workshop with a mix of drizzle, rain and some dry spots, through sugar cane, bananas, macadamia trees and forests. With many winding paths going up and down and contouring they finally arrived at the designated camping spot next to a dam. Tents were pitched in a fortunate non rainy time. Later supper was cooked on hiking stoves and eaten just in time to get an early dash into the tents before the rain started again. All the tents, food, equipment and so on had to be carried by the scouts themselves.
Day two started with a beautiful sunrise even though partly cloudy. Breakfast was made and tents taken down and backpacks loaded up again. Then day two’s hiking started. It was a very warm and humid day with minimal wind and some occasional clouds and a distance of 12km to the end. The hills were a little steeper and some serious bushwhacking took place where no paths were available. The day ended at about 4pm with a bunch of very tired and exhausted scouts.
If anyone is interested in finding out more about getting involved in scouts feel free to contact Earl at 082 377 1971 for scouts (ages 11 to 18) or call Phyllis Ralph at 082 855 4708 for cubs (ages 7 to 11). Boys and girls welcome. Also looking for adults to assist please.
