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Scouts from Warkworth and Puhoi joined with Devonport Scouts to form the Warvonhoi Troop for the 21st NZ Scout Jamboree, held at Renwick near Blenheim, over the Christmas holidays.
The Scouts joined 4000 other Scouts, Venturers, Rovers and leaders for the 10 day Jamboree. The Warvonhoi Troop was part of the Air New Zealand airlift down to Blenheim with planes landing about every 15 minutes.
The scouts went to five themed activity pods during the Jamboree, had a duty patrol day (which was their turn to do the cooking, washing and cleaning up), a market day and a patrol challenge day. The themed activities included water activities, aviation related events, archery and claybird shooting, rock climbing and abseiling, and an obstacle course.
A Patrol Challenge Day involved a huge battle between the four sub-camps that made up the Jamboree site. Warvonhoi were part of the Wairau Sub-Camp and spent the morning making shields, paper swords and flour bombs before being led into battle by a lone piper and drummer. The 4000-strong battle was accompanied by battle music blaring over the battlefield, with ‘medics’ combing the field reviving the fallen with jellybeans.
A New Year’s eve party was the highlight for many scouts, while on other evenings there were the opening and closing ceremonies, and an international night where overseas scouts performed dances and music.
The next Jamboree will be held in the upper North Island in 2019.
