There is a number of Rally Camps across New Zealand each year
Check with your local Rally to see when your next one is on.
SENIOR NATIONAL CAMP
70 TEENAGERS – THE BEST INGREDIENT FOR A MARVELLOUS CAMP!!
And that’s what it was. The days leading up to camp promised wind & rain in full measure. But our God is All-powerful! We experienced some rain one night, showers another day, and the rest of the time, fine. So no changes were needed to the programme!
It was a long trip down the North Island for a bus load, and a very long trip all the way up from the far South for a van load; and varying distances for more local folk – we all met at Forest Lakes Camp, Otaki.
We found our beds, unpacked gear, paid fees and then acquainted ourselves with the camp buildings and grounds. After a yummy meal (roast dinner & apple crumble) we enjoyed singing & games. Of course it was the first of daylight saving so we promptly lost an hour of camp time!! Bed took a bit of settling down which is usual on the first night.
Spiritual:
Leaders took cabin devotions. A great opportunity for small group discussion & getting to know campers. We enjoyed some inspiring singing times and a couple of memory verse competitions. Our speakers were delightful and interacted well with campers - Andrew Bailey & Hayden Pritchard, both from Crossroads Bible Centre, Palmerston North.
Educational:
Some of the Activities were both educational & physical of course!
* Orienteering is a skill most struggle with, so it was good to learn to find our way around the campsite in a fun team situation.
* A quiz night was based around the last Olympic Games.
* Shopping (must be educational!). Had lunch at the Levin Adventure park & TV Prime News was there taking photos of some of us by “N Z’s best loo”. Don’t think any of us ended up on TV though.
* 3 girls missing at 1:30am – Leaders guessed correctly & found them immediately. Educational? Well, it sure showed campers that leaders were on the ball!
* Bonfire Night – included eeling. A leader (who shall remain nameless) brought out the hooks & lines from their car boot, promptly shut the boot with keys inside, and then couldn’t produce the required bait - as it was locked in the boot! Sausages from the camp kitchen finally made an acceptable substitute.
* We made a variety of hobbies – serviette holder, wooden game, candles & holders, photo album, beadwork, canvas art (with serviettes and/or paint) …
* Phobia night – Do you know what pediculaphobia, taurophobia, zoophobia, monophobia, acrophobia, dromophobia is? Well nor did most folk. But by the end of the night we were experts!
Physical:
Scavenger Hunt – Teams collected a variety of specified natural objects and then displayed them artistically – all activities gained points for the team.
Raft making – Using tractor tubes, plastic barrels, wood, string & nails. They could make 2 rafts per team. Wow! The end products looked super, engineering skills were interesting & the stability & manoeuvrability in the water was …. Varying!!
It was a lovely fine day beside the lake. Sue & Dale kayaked out to be ‘markers’ and the rafts raced around them. One of the smaller rafts fell apart but brave Sarah pushed her plank all the way round the course. Deserved the ovation.
Burma trail - Very dark & scary! A few (yes, females!) couldn’t make it. Great fun being a leader hiding along the trail though.
Sandcastles – Visited the beach & made awesome sandcastles – map of NZ, car, fish & traditional ‘castle’.
Camp activities – abseiling, flying fox, confidence course, backwards cars… some of these were also done as Team Challenges along with BB guns & Archery.
The Amazing Race – This was exhausting but fabulous. There were a series of activities in the morning & then others again in the afternoon. In teams, they had to complete each activity in order. Put a puzzle together; row a Canadian canoe, with all team members in it, round a marker; taking turns until someone hits the bullseye with arrow, firing a water balloon using elastic, to team member, who has to catch it without breaking it; push a vehicle around paddock or put Books of Bible in order; 1 team member to paddle kayak around marker; complete a sudoku puzzle; go down mudslide; Make a free standing structure from newspaper; abseiling; mini golf round with all team members taking a turn…..
