23rd New Zealand Jamboree
28 December 2023 to 7 January 2024, 30 Leaders and 61 Scouts, Venturer Scouts & Rover Scouts departed Western Australia for the adventure of a lifetime. We hopped on a plane with lots of cool stuff like our special scarves and amazing merchandise, and flew all the way to Auckland, New Zealand. We joined other scouts from across around Australia to attend the 23rd New Zealand Jamboree.
When we got to Auckland, we started our adventure with yummy breakfasts every morning and got to explore the city. We even visited the Auckland Zoo, where we saw kiwis (the birds, not the people!) running around in a dark room. One night we filled 3 cinemas’ full of Scouts and watched Willy Wonka or Aquaman, I really enjoyed the ice cream treat…687 ice creams to be exact!
After that, we went to Mystery Creek where the jamboree was happening. We set up our camps and then had a super cool opening ceremony with funky lights and great music. There were tons of fun activities like a muddy maze, learning to drive diggers, and even inflatable boxing! Drift bikes, quad bikes and even car smashing. Lake Karapiro was amazing too, we got to try sail boats, SUPing and kayaking. Our home patrol got to practice their cooking skills at MasterChef before preparing dinner for our Troop….I am glad they practiced first!
Over 4000 people from 10 Countries attended the Jamboree, it is fair to say we made friends from around the world.
When most of the group went back home, about 250 scouts and leaders, went on Post Tour to Rotorua. A highlight for our group was the cultural dinner and performance at Te Puia. We enjoyed the most delicious Hāngī Buffet Dinner and I loved watching the Haka. We also went for a walk to hot springs where we saw steam and water shooting up!
Our special extra adventure in Rotorua was packed with so much fun! We spent a day at a super cool water park and tried out a high ropes course. We also went white water rafting and bravely conquered a massive 6-meter waterfall. There was horseback riding and mountain biking for those who wanted a different kind of thrill. We even got to kayak through caves filled with glow worms! Plus, we went on a hike through a volcano, which was super exciting. And to top it all off, we raced down an exhilarating luge track at Skyline! There were so many awesome adventures to choose from, it was hard to pick just one!
After all that fun, we headed back home with so many incredible stories to share with our families and friends. It was the best adventure ever!
By Rhiannon – Esperance Scout Group