Camp 2 2018
Day 25
Date: 9/08/18
Writers: Ella O, Ryan T and Claudia
Today was Challenge day! YAY! We competed in a number of activities and challenges against other cabins. All the cabins have specific colours to dress up in so we all did that, some cabins more dressed up than others! Schultz was yellow, Richter was green, Greasley was black, Sewell was blue and Fielke was orange. It was a really fun and competitive day! Schultz was the winner of Challenge day with 31 points! (GO SCHULTZ) Sewell and Richter tied second place with 29 points, Fielke came 4th with 26 points and Greasley came 5th with 24 points. The points were allocated depending on what place your cabin came in each activity. 5th place (or last place) got 0 points, 4th place got 2 points, 3rd place got 3 points, 2nd place got 4 points and 1st got 5 points. At the end of the day after each cabin did their war-cries, we received prizes depending on our place. Each of the challenges tested us in different ways, and while we would love to tell you all about it – it’s a secret (sorry!)
We had sausages for lunch, and they were yummy. Schultz dressed up in yellow tutus, wings and hair accessories (we looked pretty good). Greasley (the Greasley bears) had little bear ears that they had made (which were adorable). Richter had bright green nail polish and green clothes. Fielke found whatever orange they could and Sewell wore blue shirts, pants, towels, clothes pegs and pretty much anything else blue they could find. The costumes really made challenge day more fun.
We are all looking forward to seeing our families in 2 short sleeps and can’t wait to eat some of the delicious food we’ll eat on family day. We all miss home a lot and are excited for you to see how much we’ve grown. The month has flown by and it has been an incredible experience, as much as we want to go home we will also miss Binga a lot as well. There isn’t much left to say now except for, ‘see you soon!’
P.S. Hi families, we love and miss you a bunch! <3 J
Day 24
Date: Wednesday 8th August
Names: Grace and Andrew
Today, the boys returned from solo and the girls did program activities.
The boys got back from solo about an hour ago, we all had very different experiences. Someone had a mouse crawl into their tent and sleeping bag and we almost all had a possum or two at our sites. For the most of the time, we read books and relaxed. We also had to do reflection activities. We filled in a worksheet and wrote letters. We had to write to one of the camp staff, a school teacher and ourselves (to receive when we are in year 12). I’m sure we will be interested in what our past selves were thinking and doing. We were then picked up by the troopies. We had a bumpy ride with all of our packs back to camp. We all shared our solo stories and were glad to speak to other real life people (and not the possums).
Today was really fun for the girls as we got to do Lilly-pads, service learning and a trail ride. Lilly-pads is a really fun high ropes activity where you jump across metal plates that are stabilized by people using ropes below you. After we finished Lilly-pads, we did a team initiative called Spiders Web, where ropes were strung in a frame, and you had to get everyone through, using each hole only twice. It was really fun and we managed to do it in about five minutes, using the wheelbarrow technique, lifting and even on some occasions (cough, Dayna, cough) diving through. For service learning, we went to an avocado farm that we hiked through on the 2 day hike and helped pick advocadoes and lay mulch around trees.
Tomorrow is Challenge Day, so everyone is pumped for that (Schultz is DEFINITELY going to win (I hope) Andrew disagrees, apparently Fielke will…? He’s dreaming). We will probably be doing Trivia tonight for the first event, and if it’s the same as the last camp, the winners get a sleep in!!!!
We still need to write a devotion. So bye
Day 23
Date: Tuesday 7th August
Names: Charmaine and Hannah
Today all the girls came back from Solo and swapped with boys. Most of us reallyyyy wanna go again.
Yesterday, when we arrived to our campsite, which was a paddock full of cows, we first set up our tents. Some of us chose to use a tarp as there were not enough tents for all 25 girls. It was a windy day, our tents and tarps were almost blown away while we were setting up. We were given a reflection sheet about the experiences in these few weeks. We were also told to write a letter to our future self, a letter to a teacher and a letter to a Binga leader. After that, I (Charmaine) was writing my diary for the whole afternoon until it started to rain. There were a few showers followed by more rain for 10 minutes while I (Charmaine) was cooking and I (Hannah) was going to the toilet!!!! Most of us made 2 minute noodles for dinner. For me (Charmaine), it was the best dinner ever as the noodle was cooked in the rain water J. We were SOOOOOO full but we still had some baked good left. We had some YUM milo cupcakes (with some VERYYY sweet icing) which were proudly made by baker Charmaine (aka Me), slightly burnt chocolate brownies that were made (with love) by Hannah, some LOVELY afghans made by Jackie and (also slightly burnt) honey muesli biscuits with a hint of cinnamon made by Emma. At around 7:30 p.m., most of us heard a helicopter flying REALLY CLOSE to our campsite. We were FREAKING OUT because we got Tomorrow When The War Began vibes and we thought the country was getting taken over. Fortunately, it was just an ARMY PRACTISE. -_- We woke up every two to three hours at night because it was SUPERRRRR windy.
On the way back to Binga, we were so excited and we kept talking about our experiences with each other. Once we arrived, we were put into three different groups. One group did service learning, which was picking avocados in John’s farm. As a way to give back to him, for letting us hike through his farm. One group did the lily pads which was one of the high rope activities. The other group did the horse trail ride, I (Hannah) rode Sammy again.
We are having Nachos for dinner and fruit crumble for desert! So exciting ~~
P.S. Hannah – It feels like I’m writing an assignment, doing the blog. Hi everyone!! I’m excited for Family Day on Saturday :D
P.P.S. Charmaine – This is the last Tuesday!!! Cherrie, drive safely on Saturday. It took three hours to drive here and the roads are quite bumpy ;)
P.P.P.S. Emma – Love you Dohiel <3
P.P.P.P.S Shanice - I like cheese.
6th August 2018
Day 22
Students: Erik and Daniel
Blog: It’s our last week of Binga, all the girls left for solo and the boys stayed back to do some activities. The day blasted off with bacon sandwiches which were delicious.
Since only the boys were left, we got split up into 3 groups to do activities such as horse riding and service learning. We had our final session of horse riding which was trails. We got to ride a horse through a trail which some of us were nervous about but we all got used to it and had fun. In service learning we got to help out John’s avocado farm as thanks for him letting us use his land. At the end we managed to pick 7000-8000 avocados and John gave a few to us.
Everything has been great except for the weather, it was cloudy for most of the day except midday when it was bright and light showers of rain started around 4. R.I.P to the girls out on solo. All the boys are hoping for some better weather as we leave for solo tomorrow which would be better if it didn’t rain.
Sunday 5th August 2018
Day 21
Writers: Annie, Ella O and Joanna
Blog:
It’s our last Sunday here at Binga, and everybody is preparing themselves for the challenges that we will face this week with our last horse riding session, high ropes and solo. Today started off with reflection and a delicious breakfast of pancakes, maple syrup and for some groups, banana.
Everyone is getting prepared for Family Day as it’s just around the corner. Cabins are making songs, speeches and plans for church services in advance to the day for their family and friends. And for all those family members who cannot wait to see us- as annoying as we can be ;) - we can assure you that we are all looking forward to seeing you too.
Solo is approaching really quickly. For the girls, it is only a sleep away. Many have been dreading this experience, but with strength, this life-time experience can be the most enjoyable. I am sure as well, that many have been looking forward to this time away from everyone, especially after 3 weeks together here. Today, we packed our ration bags with breakfast, lunch and dinner. They include muesli and milk, fruit and instant noodles (YEAHHHH!!!!). We also spent most of the morning making baked treats in our different cabins for solo. For sure, nobody is going to go hungry considering how much has been made!!
Mt Binga has been an exciting experience so far, with so many memories that have been made, and many more to come this last week.
See you all soon!
Annie- can’t wait to see you all <3 Hope your speaking went well mum!!
Day 20
4/8/18
Names: Dayna, Erik, Bronty, Saraya
Today is Saturday, the end of week 3. We got to sleep in this morning, YAY! (for 15mins) We had a community breakfast and there was toast with baked beans, spaghetti and bacon. Life is good. The morning we spent with our cabin groups preparing for family day. Then we had a community lunch made by Saraya and Sam, which was sausages on bread, the classics! The rest of the day people played card games in small groups and just relaxed, all-in-all good day. Bronty and Erik made Brownies for everyone at afternoon tea. Binga feels like a second home and we will be sad to say goodbye in a weeks’ time. Although I’m sure everyone is missing chocolate and McDonalds! I know I sure am (Dayna).
Day 19
3/8/18
Names: Ella O, Claudia, Joanna and Emma
Today the other half of the group came back from the four-day hike. Ella and Claudia were in that group and are glad to be sleeping in proper beds tonight. We had to complete 44kms over the four days and now we are absolutely stuffed! Despite the tiredness, we had a lot of fun and have all gotten closer to one another. We missed our friends from the other group and getting to read letters from home. Letters from home mean so much out here, and it’s surprising how you don’t think you’ll need them but missing out on them affects you so much. It’s safe to say that we are looking forward to reading the letters we missed over the past couple of days.
Back to what we were meant to be talking about: the hike.
It was… good?
On the first day we completed 7ish kilometres, which felt a lot harder than it sounded. There was one point where there was an incredibly steep and long ravine which we climbed down AND back out on all fours. Note to self: don’t climb down incredibly steep and long ravines… We had burritos for dinner. Yum. The first day wasn’t that interesting, more so a taste of what was to come.
The second day of the hike was the worst for pretty much everyone. We had to complete… Wait for it… 16kms! I know what you are thinking, “Whaaaaaat? My child is capable of that much movement?!” And yes, apparently we are. It was incredibly difficult towards the end as we had to climb up a mountainous hill. Although, as we got closer to the top our peers became very encouraging and we all pushed on to the end (we then collapsed…). The view was amazing! At around 9pm the moon started to rise and its blood red skin clashed magnificently against the Milky Way and the darkness of the sky. Also we saw shooting stars which was a first for a lot of us. J
On the third day we trekked through 10.5km of paddocks and massive hills. Again. One group sang a lot of songs to distract them. At night, we attempted to survive the cold while stargazing. It was once again, a magnificent sight. A lot of us also prepared for the upcoming talent show which is being held tonight.
This morning was bitterly freeeeeeeezing! Brrr… It got down to 0˚s and there was frost everywhere! Most of us stood in the morning sun to soak up its warmth, we could not feel our hands. It’s safe to say we didn’t want to get ready to hike back to Binga in a couple of hours. The first group left at 9 o’clock this morning and the second group followed them a couple of hours later. At one point the first group went the wrong way for 200m before having to turn back. When everyone arrived back at Binga we wanted to rest but had to clean up all the hiking gear and debrief first. When we did get the chance to take a break we picked up our books and started reading.
The first half of us (Emma and Joanna) who arrived back from the hike yesterday did the Giant’s Ladder and their second archery lesson.
The Giant Ladder was a challenge for everyone (especially short people). This challenge involves teamwork and communication (and height). Everyone completed the challenge by reaching the top.
Those of us who did Archery played a game of battleships (with a twist). We had to pin pictures of ships onto the target board, and try to hit the images. The twist, however, was an image of a poop emoji. If the poop emoji is shot, the other team gets an extra arrow. Archery was to challenge ourselves, improve through trial and error from our last archery lesson.
After completing these two activities, we did initiatives. One initiative activity is called ‘tanks’. One person of each pair had to be blindfolded and be inside a roped boundary. The one outside had to direct their blindfolded partner to find ‘bombs’ and throw at other competitors. The meaning behind this initiative is to teach us about communicating with others.
Finally, the other initiative was the ‘Paddle Puzzle’. Basically, it was the life size version of a riddle. We dressed up as either the father, mother, twins, policeman or crook. It was a very challenging yet fascinating puzzle for all involved to solve.
It was an amazing day full of challenges and activities!!
P.S.
Joanna – I miss you mum and dad <3
Emma – Miss you Dad, Mum and Daniel (awesome bro)
Claudie – Love you and miss you Mum and Dad <3
Ella – Hey! Miss and love you! J
P.P.S – Caity and everyone else here says hi as well!
Day 18
2/8/18
Students: Charmaine, Emelie, Joshua, Andrew, Shanice, Ryan
We have just arrived back from the 4-day hike this morning and everyone was tired but happy.
On the first day, one of the groups got lost very quickly. We were VERY exhausted at the end of the day but Viahn lifted the mood with his HILRAIOUS one-liners. For example, while we were telling scary stories, Viahn would say “Whoops” at the climax of the story. We also had friendly neighbours at our campsite (aka possums) – they enjoyed our rubbish and toilet paper.
On the second day, we hiked 16km of VERY STEEP HILLS but we made it. For Nathan’s group, we all joined hands and formed a lovely circle to praise the Lord Jesus (“Jesus loves me yes I know, for the Bible tells me so”). Everyone screamed internally at the last hill to the camp site!!! For Leena’s group, Ajay and Jacqueline got “lost” on the way up the hill, but in reality, were 10 metres away from us (LOL). Halfway up the hill, Shanice and Keira collapsed hysterically laughing/(but really just crying) at Leena’s extremely motivational pep talk. A small group of us decided to sleep outside for the first time under the stars. Charmaine, Joanna, Shanice, Emelie, Ryan, Jacqueline, and Ajay saw our first shooting stars (plus 10 more). It was a very memorable night and the sky was so beautiful. Half the time we were so in awe of it that we forgot to make a wish.
On the third day, well…where do we begin? Nathan’s group had a very sad lunch consisting of cutting 4 wraps into 12 pieces (by thirds) with 4.5 salami slices and d e l i c i o u s cheese. MEANWHILE, Leena’s group took a detour, very early in the route (literally the second step on the track notes). We ended up climbing up so many hills (about 3km) that we reached the top of Mt Binga, because we were so wrapped up in Keira’s descriptive storytelling of Twilight. At this point, Leena had dropped her pack on the road to come running looking for us. It was a reminder of the parable of the lost sheep. She left her own pack, her own food, to come and save us from our impending doom. She even got in a car with Maddie! Then she arrived and saved us. (Andrew wrote that) To our surprise, when Leena found us, she was still proud that we had remained upbeat and had a good laugh about it. We contemplated stowing away in Maddie’s car, but Leena ended up walking with us. We were so far off the track, that there was no point going back. So we just continued on our “scenic route” (“Going up a mountain LOL, SCENIC ROUTE” –Hannah), powered by Leena’s motivational pep talks. To be fair, by taking that detour, we were upholding Binga values by challenging ourselves and persevering. After 2 hours, we finally got back on track, gorged on jellybeans and had a delicious lunch. The rest of the day, we were singing songs to keep our spirits high (Andrew says You’re Welcome [get it?]). That night, we had roasted-completely burnt marshmallows and warm Milo around the fire. The same group slept under the stars and froze to death. Ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaa…. *sobs*
On the fourth day, Leena’s group got lost again within a minute, but were quickly corrected. This time, the hike was shorter but mostly uphill. Our survival destinations were on the way, so we visited those on our way back to Binga (and retrieved the glow stick man from the Tubby’s campsite). A few annoying hills later, we arrived at the centre. Compared to Leena’s mountaineers, these hills were child’s-play. Ryan and Josh even ran up the hills. We linked arms as we awkwardly made our way through a cattle grid, the first step into Binga. Oh another thing, in the debrief we had to give certificates out, and long story short, Ryan got the award for Binga’s best second mum (meant to go to Leena, but he has the qualities).
Overall, the hike was a good experience (that we never want to do again jk though that’s just Andrew being Andrew – not really).
Day 15
Date: 30/07/18
Writers: Ainsley, Christina and Annabelle
Today we said goodbye to half of our friends as they embarked on their mission in the wilderness – a.k.a the four-day hike. We are not sure if they have survived thus far, due to the strain of the 2km run this morning. It was a hardship for all of us, but we survived and completed it.
The people who were left stranded at camp participated in archery and high ropes. The high ropes course to be completed was called Giant’s Ladder. It was essentially, as the name suggests, a giant ladder. To complete the course, it required a lot of teamwork, flexibility and upper body strength. Everybody challenged themselves and reached at least half way up the ladder. It was especially rewarding to feel the accomplishment of standing at the top of the ladder at the end. Archery was archery. We played an archery version of battleships, where we had to hit paper images of ships. There was one image of a poo emoji and if it got shot, the other team would get another arrow.
We also split into two groups and completed multiple initiative challenges. Christina and Annie’s group did 2 initiatives called ‘Ship’ and ‘Cross the River’. For the game, ‘ship’, there was a circle, a group of three people and ‘grenades.’ One person was inside the circle, blindfolded, and the other two were outside. One person outside the circle couldn’t speak and the other was faced away from the circle, so they couldn’t actually see. The two people outside the circle had to work together with gestures to guide the blindfolded person in the circle to throw the grenades at other players. The last player standing wins.
Ainsley’s group did an initiative called ‘Walk the Plank’. Essentially, there were tree stumps positioned randomly around a closed off area, and five different sized wooden planks. The group of ten had to work together to place logs on top of the stumps and get everybody across to the other end. The catch was that you couldn’t touch the ground in the closed off area and sometimes the left over plank couldn’t reach the next stump.
Tomorrow, the rest of us will endeavour on our four-day hike. Our first day is approximately 7km, the second day, 16km, the third day, 12.4km, and the last, 7km. It will take a lot of perseverance and team collaboration to make it through, so wish us luck! We all miss our families, and can’t wait to see them on Family Day.
Love,
Christina, Ainsley and Annie
Day 14 Blog: July 29th 2018
Writer: Ryan T
Today was the last day of the weekend before we all head off on the Four Day Hike this week. Today, like most weekends consisted of no activities the only ‘activity’ we did today was hike prep. This consisted of making sure that no tents were broken and packing our ration bags for the hike, aside from that we didn’t do anything else. Earlier today Mr Arnold and Mrs Logan came here to catch up with us and deliver our letters from school!
The Mt Binga experience for me has been amazing, my favourite activity has been horse riding (like most people). I have ridden Capri every time I have done horse riding and he is super chill even though he doesn’t like the pressure on his reigns.
Tonight we have community dinner and it is pizza (YAY), tonight we also have church worship.
P.S. To my parents, I am still alive and I have been sending letters. Love you xx
Day 13 Blog: 28th July 2018
Writers: Ella O
Today has been pretty chilled. We got to sleep in (yay!) and no activities were planned so we basically did whatever we wanted! People did their laundry, practised instruments, read books, baked afternoon tea, played pool and ping pong, chatted and (of course) played with Zuma. We have the 4 day hike coming up this week so we are all trying to rest up today so that we can do hike prep tomorrow and be ready for Monday and Tuesday. We all hope it goes well as we wouldn’t like to be rained on while walking!
Yesterday was a real blast. I did horse riding and archery but I enjoyed the horse riding more. I rode a horse called Capri. He was a little stubborn but it was so much fun! We got to do an obstacle course towards the end of the lesson. It was designed to put everything we had just learned how to do into practise. We learnt how to start, stop, go faster and do sharp turns. After that we had some free time on the horses. After the free time we had to unsaddle the horses and pack up all their stuff.
Date: 27/07/18
Writers: Issy and Caity
Today, was the day that the boys returned from their time at survival. Although the girls enjoyed a week without them, we were all glad to see them return. This morning, while the girls waited for the boys to return, we continued to participate in some more activities. Horse riding, archery and the high ropes activities continued on to everyone’s delight. Jackson the horse was a bit on edge and caused a few scares around the paddock but in the end we all had fun. The high ropes activities were centipede and the vertical playpen. We all had to work together whether we were on the ground or high above, in order to ensure the safety of everyone but most importantly to have fun. Archery commenced with a shooting start making it fun for everyone. Haha. In groups of three, we all had a go at baking a metaphorical cake. In order to do so, all the members had to try and hit a certain colour on the target that represented a different ingredient in a cake. Unfortunately, if you hit the black part the oven got hotter causing the cake to burn. Tonight, we are having a yummy dinner of pasta bake followed by cake to celebrate Daniel and Viahn’s birthdays that occurred over the past two days whilst they were on survival.
Issy: Hey mum, hope you got home safe and I hope your recovery is going well, Annemaree. Love you and miss you xx
Caity: Hey mum and dad, I miss you both so incredibly much. Love you heaps. xxx
Date: 26/07/18
Writers: Claudia B
Hello everyone, it’s Thursday here at Binga and I’m on Oddies writing the blog. Typing after not seeing a computer for so long is really strange…
Anyways, today the girls were split up into three groups: horses, archery and high ropes. Tomorrow, we will rotate and do the other activities because we only did one today. I was in horses and it was really fun. I rode a horse called Sammy and although Dan told us numerous times that he was crazy, he was pretty well-behaved while I was riding him.
Firstly, we had to saddle the horses. To do this we brushed them down, put on a mat and made sure to pull it down on the horse so that they weren’t uncomfortable. We then had to put the saddle on and it was heavier than it looked. We then guided the horses with a lead rope and went into the arena. Dan and Bolts helped us onto the horses and showed us how to hold the reigns correctly and how to balance. We rode our designated horse around the arena to get used to the feeling. Sammy kept trying to cut the corners because he wanted to follow the horses in front of us instead of listening to me. We then learnt how to turn the horses which was really cool because they can turn 360˚ on the spot. We rode them around some barrels, and then did a challenge where we Dan timed us going into a keyhole he spray painted on the ground, turning and coming back out. It was pretty fun because we all wanted our horses to do it the fastest. I think I came second… Moving on, after the challenge we went into the paddock and did an obstacle course where we had to ride our horses around barrels and trees, weave them through cones, duck under branches and have them step over logs. Dan then gave us a couple of minutes to do our own thing, our main goal not to run into trees and other horses. Thankfully, I managed not to do either of those things, phew! After that, Dan called us back into the arena where we raced across against each other before having to put the horses back in their stalls and unsaddle them.
At the debrief, Dan and Bolts told us about how we respected our environment in the sense that we took care of the horses before getting a drink of water and taking of the riding helmets. Overall, I think everyone had a good time and while some people had already ridden horses before, we all definitely challenged ourselves.
After our rotation, we went into Big Bertha (the kitchen) and made smoothies, doughnuts and a bunch of other treats. We then sat down and had a giant picnic and it was great, I’m not sure how I’ll fit in dinner after it!
All in all, today was a good day. Goodbye for now!
P.s Love you Mum and Dad xx <3
P.p.s I can’t believe we are almost halfway through Binga!
Date 25/7/18
Names: Shanice, Ella H and Hannah
Today the girls came back from Survival, we are really grateful (have gratitude amirite) to be back (couches are so soft compared to logs)!
For survival, the girls were split into two groups: the Pine Trees (we were SO creative, our camp site was full of pine trees) and also the Tubbies (sounds pretty cute amirite? We named it after a bathtub in our clearing)
At our camp sites, everyone took responsibility doing jobs such as making a shelter out of rope and tarp, cooking, digging a toilet hole and clearing that very annoying lantana.
The tubbies group only got 6 BINGA BUCKS for ripping out THREE clearings of lantana! The pine trees got t w e n t y. Just got to put it out there.
We engaged in the community by spilling tea and roasting marshmallows by the fire (future Redeemer groups, buy marshmallows with your binga bucks!). ALSO, Dan’s story kept us all awake at night… The creepy glow stick man in the Tubbies group (a glow stick on a tree leading to the toilet) also kept Amelia awake at night (as she was the only one who could see it from the tarp).
Hannah took responsibility for eating the last brownie with Tiffany, oops.
Today, we had three challenges, the first two we were split into our groups, and the last one we had to sing our team songs which were judged by Mr Arnold and Mr Simpfendorfer (spoiler-the Pine Trees won that challenge…)
The first challenge we faced was making a bridge over a tub of extremely disgusting muddy water, which required us to collaborate as a team to come up with a plan. Nobody fell in (but Yanni nearly did [I would’ve paid to see that])
We definitely challenged ourselves on the second task; we had to carry a person on a stretcher (gotta say from experience, it’s a pretty good form of transport, when you’re not being dropped in the mud [Hannah and Shanice]) over an almost 90 degree steep ditch with a stream of mud at the bottom. SPEAKING OF WHICH, Bronty fell in the mud twice.
We persevered going up the endless hills at the end to get back to Binga. Now we don’t get to see the boys for two days, yay!
Overall, Survival was pretty good. What’s more important is: we’ve showed all the Binga values.
PS. The tubbies group had honey/golden syrup sandwiches for lunch on the first day, it was very very good.
Hi mum and dad, we love you and miss you very much <3
Date: 24/7/2018
Names: Andrew Kenny, Josh Cheung, Viahn Pulikottil
This morning, we woke up nice and early for a game of Fijian football with Adrian. After that we had the normal routine of a quick breakfast and clean up for cabin inspection. The girls are still away on survival so the boys split into two groups. In session one, my group prepared for survival which included baking, food sorting, learning how to light fires with flint and still and how to tie the knots for our shelters. That was good fun.
After lunch, we split up for the second session of activities. For me that was high ropes courses. Today we completed the centipede course first. This is essentially three big poles connected in a line with rings on the sides. This was extra tricky because the ropes weren’t attached to the ground and swung as we climbed them. When we got to the top, we had to hang onto the wires and try to do chin-ups. The person who did the most chin-ups got extra afternoon tea. The climber then let go from the centipede and was let down by the belayers. We were taught to belay today.
The second high ropes activity was the vertical playpen. First, the climber climbed two unsteady horizontal poles. From there, we climbed either three spinning tires or a rope – this was the hardest part. Above the tires was a rope net. At the top was a log. The climber then chose to either climb one of three ropes above the net or to come back down. Most people completed both courses.
After a short afternoon break, we started jobs. I don’t know what the cooks are cooking but it smells very good. As part of our “oddies” jobs, we have to make a fire to heat the water for the girls’ cabins. We have made a great fire but it is going to waste because the girls aren’t here. It will still be good to sit around tonight though. Today has been a great day of fun, friendship and challenges.
23rd July 2018
Names: Ajay
Entry: Today was fairly cold. This morning we did timed runs. Afterward we did the normal routine. We ate cornflakes cereal for breakfast. Afterwards, the girls left for survival. We did archery and horse riding. Firstly, we did archery. We went with Maddie to the archery range. We set up three targets after chasing the cows away. Maddie taught us how to load, aim and shoot. After archery we had lunch. For lunch we had leftover burgers from last night and ham and cheese toasties. It was very yummy. We did horse riding next with Dan. I rode Capri. We learnt how to take sharp turns and dodge obstacles, balance and work with our horses. We also had time to have free time on the horse. Capri is a great horse! Afterwards we did our jobs. I did Oddies where I have to light the fire, make a devotion for tomorrow and write the Binga blog I am writing now. Since the girls are all out on survival, the boys are the only ones here making the camp feel a lot smaller. For dinner we are having chicken carbonara. It is going to be so good.
Date: 22/7/18
Day 7
Students: Ainsley, Keira and Samuel H
Blog: Today was the second day of our first weekend here at Binga. We continued to relax and the girls prepared for their survival experience starting Monday. The girls learned how to tie a tripod knot for making a shelter and learnt how to start a fire with flint and steel. The girls also packed away food for the week, and baked lots of tasty treats to enjoy at survival. Most of the day, however, we spent our time playing games, writings letters and reading. This morning, we prepared pancakes for breakfast. While most of the pancakes turned out wonderful and golden, Schultz (Ainsley’s Cabin) made burnt pancakes that stuck to the pan and tasted like nothing (we blame it on the pans). For lunch we made our own individual pizzas! It was fun to make and very tasty. Schultz. However, sat at the oven for half an hour waiting for the pizzas to cook and eventually figured out that the oven wasn’t even on. Tonight we are having a community dinner – hamburgers. Tomorrow, the girls will be going off to survival and leaving the boys by themselves at camp for two nights. Wish them luck.
P.s. Love you fam! See you in three weeks!
Date: 21/7/18
Day 6
Names: Tiffany & Peta
Today was our first weekend at Binga, as well as our first sleep in (only until 6:45). Weekends at Binga are pretty relaxing. People did their laundry, baked afternoon tea, played instruments, used sports equipment or read books. We also received our Binga shirts today! For lunch we had sweet potato soup, which was delicious. It’s only been a week at Binga but it’s starting to feel like home already. Also, the girls prepared for survival. The girls leave on Monday and return on the Wednesday whereas, the boys leave on the Wednesday and return on the Friday.
Date: 20/7/18
Day 5
Names: Emelie, Ashley, Joshua and Bronty
Today the second group returned from the 2-day hike. After a 2 hour hike yesterday, we stayed at Tony’s place and had to cook dinner for ourselves without any help. For dinner, we ate sausages and rice, which was really delicious. We set up tents and crowded around the fire. Then we played One Night Ultimate Werewolf with the camp leaders. Although there were a lot of arguments, it was really fun! The other group arrived back from camp yesterday. That night we played sardines and Saraya had the best hiding spot. Today we split into two groups one started with doing the Sugar Glider while the other half started with Horse Riding. Sugar Glider was fun and we got to go up 3 times. Horse Riding was also really cool there was a lot a talking at the start so we knew what to do, we then had to groom and saddle our horse before riding - which was fun. Now we’re sitting around the fire we made with Bronty and Emelie playing Riptide.
Date: 19/7/18
Day 4
Names: Ainsley, Sarayray and Cooper
Blog Entry: Yesterday, we left for the two day hike with a lot of jitters. But before departing we played a game called ‘crocodile crocodile’. Let’s just say there was lots of yelling. Today the Fielke, Richter and half of Schultz cabin came back from a hike - it was a good feeling to get back to the camp everyone was sore and tired. When we camped out in the bush we had to dig our own holes for our business. Gross. The hike in general was exhausting, but we persevered and made it through. Now we are prepared for the four day hike. Yayyyy! The food was okay, and we were glad to have a warm meal after that long day, but it was a long ordeal to cook it with people yelling at each other and such. Once we were back at Binga everyone was so happy to sit down and get their shoes off as everyone had plenty of blisters and sore muscles.
Wednesday 18th July 2018
Day 3
Names: Daniel, Joanna, Charmaine and Christina
Binga can be challenging at times but it’s always worth it and we’re about to boast it to you!!!!
Today, half of us left for the hike and the other half of us did hike preparations. We learnt many useful things and made a tasty lunch over the fire WITHOUT OIL that all of us enjoyed. We also learnt to set the tent up, use a compass and map. Half of us are excited and some are very nervous about the hike. The hike is about 8km which will be will be some good exercise for the all of us. Most of us are all looking forward to a freezing cold Saturday which will be -2˚C J. Today waking up was a challenge for us as it was EXTREMELY cold.
Our diets has changed greatly as Daniel started eating healthy which is a miracle. Tonight we are having spaghetti and chicken. YAYYYY! Instead of buying juice with our Binga bucks, we have added honey and water to make HONEYWATER. We broke the rule and climbed the lemon tree to get the lemon for our honey water. But it’s still delicious (you should try it).
This job is called Oddies which consists of writing this blog, making FIRE (insert BTS reference) and measuring the water usage. Oddies is a pretty important job (but chill) because the whole camp relies on us for hot water for showers. We need a good and HOT shower tonight because there will be no showers at hikes. Even though we are sitting in front of the fire while writing this blog, it is still really cold (we need more heat pads).
It is only the 3rd day, with 24 days of more exciting adventure ahead of us!! Finally, we can forget our math and English assignment. T.T Good luck on the math assignment guys, it was pretty enjoyableJ.
Hi mum and dad. We love you and we miss you <3
Tuesday 17th July 2018
Day 2
Names: Andrew, Jacqueline, Grace
What can I say about Binga? It is interesting to say the least, but is a lot of fun.
Today, half of us did hike preparation as some of us are already setting off for our two day hike tomorrow. We learned skills like cooking on a camp stove, packing, navigating and setting up our tents. Thankfully, the packs are a lot lighter than everyone expected, although I’m sure they’ll seem heavier after carrying them for a few hours. Hopefully nobody gets lost on the hike :)
The other half of the group did self-reflection, horse riding and sugar glider. Sugar glider involved a group of students running with a rope tied to the other student, and the other student is launched into the air by a pulley-system. The horse riding was mostly about saddling the horses, and we rode around the arena, which was a lot of fun. Self-reflecting was talking about Binga values, our feelings about the camp, what we are most and least looking forward too, and answering any questions left about the camp.
Camp comradery has already proven to be strong. While we were cooking with camp stoves, everyone did what people needed without question and everyone helped (showing the Mt Binga attribute of collaboration).
Writing this blog is one of our jobs. While we’re doing this, Jacqueline and Dayna are making a fire for hot water (hopefully it is boiling in time). It is sort of concerning with how much effort they are putting in to it. They may become pyromaniacs (just kidding! It’s good that we have a fire going).
Dinner is honey-soy chicken and it smells really good. We still have to write a devotion, so we should probably wind up.
Bye.
Monday 16th July 2018
Day 1
Written by: Annabelle, Issy, Yanni and Ryan
Yay! We made it!! Today was pretty chilled and the bus ride here felt very long, and the bus was VERY stuffy. When we got here we had an introductory talk, met all the staff and were assigned cabins. After a few minutes figuring out where we were sleeping, we met our cabin leaders and went on a scavenger hunt around camp to find out where everything is. There were team building challenges at a few of the different locations, such as Eiffel Tyre, somebody being blindfolded and finding letters along the white fence to decode a different location. After this, we all had a sausage sizzle for lunch which was well received because we were all very hungry!! We then had some time to unpack and settle into our cabins, with Schultz writing goals that they wish to achieve while we are up here. We then had a quiz to see which cabin had learnt the most on the treasure hunt which gave us our first introductory cabin points. Right now we are doing our afternoon jobs, and luckily we have got a very good fire going so hopefully we will have hot showers!! Yassss!
Overall, we have all had a very good first day.