1st Berowra Scout Group

"... all lucky Iron Gut contestants get to eat this!"

Here’s a late post about the weekend that was Romeventure!

Well, we arrived at Cataract Scout Camp on the Friday night, after a brief stop over at Campbelltown Maccas (the staple diet of many venturers!). We pulled into the camp and set up the giant tarp that became our kitchen and lounge area for the Romeventure weekend.

I awoke at 6am the next morning with a burning sensation on my nipple (I hate writing the word “nipple”). A small black thing ran across my chest! I cornered it and realised it was a red back spider. I caught it, and spent the next 48 hours holding my “knipple”, a lot of my time was spent curled up like a cocoon in a hammock. It was just a burning sensation, and made me feel tired all weekend. So I was pretty useless all weekend as far as participating in all the action going down.

Everyone else though had a great time though!!! The Rovers from Berowra and MCMK did a great job with the food all weekend!

Here’s just some of the things that the guys and girls (about 150 or so)  got up to:
- Round robin activities. Sounds naff, and some of it was, but there were some great and challenging things to do.
- Swimming in a dam. Kinda like swimming in pea soup really! For some strange reason.
- Trivia night. those wacky Rovers know how to put a party on!
- Disco. Party hard, party hard, party hard!!
- Waterslide – I didn’t see this but heard it was excellent!
- Iron Gut. This is a challenge where contestants have to eat multiple courses of disgusting food without “singing a rainbow”. Some the courses included, slices of bread soaked (and I mean soaked!) in olive oil, and a caesar salad. The ceasar salad sounds ok, but not when it’s been blended into a juice – complete with anchovies!

All up, it was an awesome weekend and our guys from Mount Colah Mount Kuring Gai and Berowra had a great time!!! A big thank you again, must go out to the Rovers for catering for us!

Cheers, Mazza

Why is Ari standing like a monk?

…naah! Not really. But sort of!

A small group of Mount Colah Mount Kuring Gai and Berowra Venturers spent a day at Wat Buddha Damma, which is a Buddhist monastery, deep in the bush in northern Sydney. This retreat is 15kms north of Wisemans Ferry, and offers a glimpse at the lives of two Buddhist monks who live there.

It’s quite a long and dusty drive out there (sorry James – I was in front!), but the dirt track goes through some beautiful untouched scenery, up amongst the hills!

Rick diggin' it. "Watch out for life forms!"

On arrival, we were shown around the large property, which is surrounded by national parks. After a walk of about 15 minutes, with a monk chatting along side us, we came to a “sala” or meditation hall. We were given a brief talk about  some basic principles of Buddhism.

We then went back to the main kitchen area, and offered food to the monks and received a blessing before we ate our own food. I think it was mainly vego, but everyone thought it was pretty good!

Then we had a few hours of helping out the monks. We helped them dig trenches to lay poly pipe that directs water to the monks little huts in the forest that they use for meditating. The monks aren’t allowed to dig the earth, as they may accidentally kill a living being. So, we helped them out.

Tom looking busy. Mazi just looking

After that, we cleaned up and went to a talk in the sala. The talk consisted of principles of Buddhism, and also included a short (15 minute!!) meditation. Try not doing anything for 15 minutes – it’s along time! The Venturers seemed to get it though! We then went for a quick stroll and looked at a bodhi tree, which is a tree that is sacred to Buddhism.

All up, it was a very interesting day for our Venturers. These monks live a very secluded life, yet seem very content with their lot. We’ll go there again if anyone is keen!

Venturers from the Mount Colah Mount Kuring Gai Scout Group and Berowra Scout Group, spending a lazy Sunday snorkelling at Shelly Beach, just south of Manly.

Although the water was freezing, there were still a few fish to be seen, although not as many as we’d hoped! In recent trips to this location, we have seen 6 or more dusky whaler sharks, each one about 4 feet long!

Initially we were to visit the Water Works at Manly, however, we realised that it was a bit below our age group!

To get to Manly, we caught the train and bus in, and the ferry and train back! It was a big day, but well worth it! Next time, when it’s warmer in the water, we’ll visit Clovelly, where you can pat the large blue gropers!!

Our Venturers have been invited to visit a Thai Buddhist monastery!! This monastery is run by Thai forest monks, and is located about 20 minutes north of Wiseman’s Ferry, at a place called Wat Buddha Damma

This is a real cultural experience and should not be missed. For those of you who would like to put this as one of your Queen Scout activities, this will go under the Ideals, pg. 56 in the Venturer Record Book.

These monks have an amazing life, ie. they live by 227 rules, and teach how to live a simple life. They live 15 minutes from a main road, within the bush!

You can see what they do here on their website. Vicki and I also made a video of them once which you can find here.

They will be available for group visiting from mid February all next year. Please let me know if you are interested, so I can have it organised – as they provide food.

This is a great opportunity to see something really different! It’s cheaper than going to Thailand!!!

Mazza

Here’s a recent list that the Berowra Venturers  and Mount Colah Mount Kuring Gai Venturers came up with for just some of the activities for next year. As you can see, there’s a big range of things we’ll be getting up to.

Leave a message at the bottom of this post, and let us know what you think we should be doing!

- Camping at Wannawang
- Fire night
- Construction Night
- Paint Ball
- Photo Scavenger Hunt in the City
- Movie Making Night
- Visit a Thai Buddhist Forest Monastery – Queen Scout Activity
- Laser Tag
- Big Feast Night
- Kyaking
- Debating – Queen Scout Activity
- Scouts Own – Queen Scout Activity

If you’re keen on joining in on the fun, drop us an email for details on how you can join us!

Cheers, Mazi