The 2023 Explorer Halloween Survival Camp was a big success – despite the weather! We would like to say a huge well done to the 65 Explorers who survived this year’s event, you should be really proud of yourselves.
We built shelters with only some plastic sheeting and a few ropes; all meals were cooked on open fires and new survival skills were learnt.
Saturday began with the Explorers building their shelters for the evening, then a break to cook jacket potatoes for lunch. Following a game preparation, the Explorers cooked a delicious partridge casserole for tea. This included butchering the birds and cooking everything in a large tin can, over the fire. We even managed to fit in some pumpkin carving and night orienteering before the evening’s campfire.
Despite the rain everyone managed to get fires going in the morning to cook their rainbow trout in newspaper for breakfast. We then built water filters using plastic bottles, charcoal, and other natural materials. The last survival training skills we learnt were feather sticks and batoning kindling, very useful for wet weather fire lighting.
The last challenge for the Explorers was to dismantle their camps and leave no trace they had been there.
We would like to say a big thank you to all the Bonaly volunteers who supported this event, we couldn’t do it without you – cheers guys 
If you’re interested in our 2024 Survival Camp, keep an eye out in the next newsletter for the Bonaly Scout Centre 2024 events calendar.
