LAC Kathy Player reports on the recent Basic Bushcraft camp below:
This year, the Air Cadets of 41 Squadron were joined by a number of Sea Cadets from T.S. Taupo Sea Cadet Corps on our Basic Bushcraft camp from the 25th-27th of May. We turned up at the T.S. Taupo building on Friday in civilian clothing to a quick lesson on packing a pack, a gear inspection and a river crossing theory lesson, aided by an excellent board drawing by PLTOFF Tasker. The cadets spent the night in the rooms of T.S Taupo, some bunking down on the concrete floor while others opted to try a hammock, which were provided by the sea cadets (and explained what the mysterious bars in the rooms downstairs were for, if not tempting cadets into illegal chin-ups while the officers weren’t looking).
In the morning we were treated to an extensive breakfast of cold (cereal) and hot (sausages and spaghetti) then headed out on our hour and a half long journey to Bucks Road campsite in Featherston. On arrival, we were greeted by a slightly discouraging sight. It had rained overnight, and the campsite was a mess of muddy puddles. Undeterred, we scavenged a few dry spots and set up camp nonetheless. While the basic cadets had lessons on the best place to pitch a tent (Not Bucks Road, at the time), the senior cadets (proficiency and advanced) helped set up the mess tents. The cadets from all years joined in to set up the sleeping tents, and the race was on. However, the cadets setting up the girl’s tent were having a little too much fun with the poles, and lost to the group setting up the boy’s. After a welcome lunch the cadets headed down to the river, where last night’s theory turned to practice, and we crossed the Tauherenikau River twice in groups. The water was not as cold as it would get in winter, but it was certainly enough to wake up any cadets who had gotten dozy in the afternoon.
After we emerged, soaking, we had a lesson on fire building to warm up. This was concluded by a competition; who could be the first to boil water in their mess tins. This competition came to a brief and anticlimactic end when it was discovered that only one person at the river had mess tins on them, and so it became a case of who could get a fire going first. I am convinced that the officers enjoyed tipping water on the fires to put them out a little too much.
A change into dry clothes back at camp helped stave off the shivers and hot dinner that night was very satisfactory, despite the divided opinions about the mushrooms. After dark we donned our wet weather gear and headed out to night exercise. We played strategy games involving retrieving glow sticks and a lot of crawling around in the mud. We were glad of our wet weather gear, which meant we could truly enjoy the thing properly; night ex is always a Basic Bushcraft highlight. Afterwards the cadets relaxed with custard in front of a bonfire. The custard truly wowed the cadets, who were still talking about it in glowing terms the next day.
Sleeping in the tents was a lot more comfortable than many expected, as we were camping on long grass and the ground was soft from the recent rain, which we managed to keep out of the tents. The tents caught the heat and kept it in, and all this combined with our levels of fatigue made for a good night’s sleep. We woke up refreshed and, after breakfast, got ready for our 5km tramp that would be taking place that day.
The tramp was a relatively short one, but those of us on the lower end of the fitness scale struggled with the steeper inclines and the stairs at the end. Putting us to shame were CPL Asbery, LAC Eagle and LAC Ogilvie who clocked up 23 minutes on the return journey. They were well-deservedly proud of this, but I hear they plan to beat the time next year.
After we packed up the tents, burgers for lunch were all the hungry cadets could have asked for, huddling in the mess as the rain set in. Then we packed up the mess tents, and headed back to T.S. Taupo, where we were debriefed, and reviewed the camp.
As is the way with 41 Squadron camps, lots of laughter was had. In-jokes and nicknames were acquired aplenty, new friendships were formed and old friendships became stronger.
Roll on next camp!
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