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Published: July 11th 2010
Mid way through the main session- only 4 weeks to go. Its gone so fast, I don't want it to end at all! Still having a blast and not sure what I will do with free time once I get home!
Because I have been a slacker on the blog front this session here are the highlights- mostly from this week as I can't really remember the first week 😊
FIRST WEEK:
Open day again, and got to give pony rides in the morning and lifeguard the swim tests in the afternoon- it was an awesome way to spend my birthday too! And it was hot and didn't rain for once. Actually we have had less thunder and rain this session, so we've been able to do a lot more trails around camp with the horses.
The new kids are awesome, some have been coming for 8 years so can be a little cheeky, but they are absolutely hilarious and once again the ones at horseback are still the best, most polite and helpful! (its been decided that its because the are all terrified of the horses!). The first week we worked mainly on running clinics, so we could see which kids we could take on the trails. It was fun, but a bit repetitive.
SECOND WEEK:
This second week has been a week of near death experiences and trips out of camp!
Near death experience one:
WE had a horse get colic on tuesday morning, it was a really close call- she was down for ages, but luckily stood up before the vet arrived otherwise I don't think the vet would have tried to save her. But she has recovered and is fine now thank goodness! It was a pretty rough day, and meant that one of the Dupont forest rides got cancelled but most of the kids understood so it was fine! In a related near death experience, Nic and I had to check on Cherie (colic pony) at 2am and as we were walking back to the cabin got attacked by a bear! Well, a small, squirrel shaped polar bear fell out of a tree right next to us.. We had enough sense not to scream and wake up camp, but we did jump on each other and sprint back to bed. It was scary lol.
Near death experience two: Walking with Nic and Sarah this time to arts and crafts one night to make Jake a birthday card (which was awesome and covered in glitter!). We were giggling and laughing away and as we headed up the hill something caught our eye, which ended up being a small, baby snake ( the most deadly kind in North Carolina because they hold onto what they bite, so more venom gets in) which I think Nic did actually stand on. Safe to say we all screamed and ran/fell back down the hill. Slightly disappointed no one from the councelor's lounge came to save us! It was quite funny though.
Near death experience three: I went on a wet hike up a river and waterfall with one other councelor. The one time I took the lead I went hopping across a rock that a large black snake ( I think those ones are cotton mouths) was slithering under. I reacted much the same as last time, the only problem was the thirteen kids behind me. Mid scream I remembered to tell them not to panic and move to the other side of the river. From then on Mando the Man Maderson had to lead... He's australian and can therefore handle snakes. We didn't see any more though.
TRIPS OUT OF CAMP!
The last three days of this week have been some of my funnest at camp!
Wednesday: Avatar your horse day- like Pimp my ride but with horses. It was awesome and the kids loved it. The horses not so much. We had pipecleaners and paint for the horses, as well as ribbon to decorate them with. We then walked all the horses out around camp. It was something different for the regulars up at the stables and everyone had a lot of fun! Don't worry the paint did wash off. The afternoon was cabin day, so we just did jobs around camp and went to the lake afterwards. Jo went off the high dive in a kayak (its a regular activity at camp, even for the campers), but hurt her back really badly. We all got to practise our WFR skills though and strapped her to a back board and sent her off to the hospital. It ended up being just a sprained muscle, but better safe than sorry.
Thursday: Kylie and I took a group of the older kids (12-14year olds-ish) to Dupont forest for a day riding there. Its hard work and means taking the 8 horse trailer and two horse float as well as 9 horses and 7 kids, but was totally worth it! We had a pretty cruisy ride through the forest to a lake where we stopped for lunch. The kids were absolutely awesome. No one complained about being hungry, even though lunch was an hour and a half later than usual. They were all polite, helpful and listened the entire time, even when we had to put all the horses away and get them a drink before we could eat. We got to chill out by the lake for an hour as well, looking for a giant turtle called Manwich who is meant to live there, but I think he may have moved on to a better place. It was so much fun, the only hiccup was a broken bridle on the pony I was riding, but the horses all wear hackamores, so we just put the reins on his halter and rode back like that- worked perfectly well! We had an awesome ride back, lots of cantering and hooning down hills. We got everything done super quick and smooth when we got back too, and made it home in perfect time. All the kids helped with packdown- we could hardly get them to leave the stables. I've never seen teenage boys so keen to pick up poo before! It was an awesome trip, we couldn't stop grinning the entire time, and the boys said it was one of the best they had been on. The camp director drove us back too and congratulated us at the staff meeting on how well it went, so that was pretty cool too! Bloody awesome day really!
Friday: On friday I switched to earthworks for the day to go on a hike, which meant I missed the gymkhana day with the horses, but it was really cool to get out on another trip with some new kids and this hike is one of the best you can do! It was just Mando (an australian) and I on the trip with thirteen of the older kids again. We drove right up into the Cradle of Forestry to the start of the trail- it was so high up and felt like we were really in the wilderness so that was pretty cool. The hike itself was pretty hard out! Most of the trail is straight up a gravelbed river, with decent sized waterfalls on the way up. It was beautiful and really fun rock hopping and climbing on the boulders but a bit of a slow process as we had one boy who struggled. I was really impressed with the other kids though- no one complained about the pace once, and everyone was really encouraging and helpful finding the easiest route up the river. We had lunch under a waterfall and chilled out there for a bit, before bushbashing up the side of the waterfall to a swimming hole about 45 minutes up river. It was packed when we got there and the water was freezing, but it was fun and all the kids had a quick dip. I got man points for diving in before feeling the temperature which they all thought was pretty funny. It also kind of helped redeem myself for screaming when I saw the snake. It was a really cool trip and awesome to get to know some of the kids who don't come riding. Its really fun getting out on the trips because it is the best oppertunity we (female staff) have to get to interact with the boys so it was awesome!
The perfect end to a wicked week, we headed off to see Michael Buble last night. It was an awesome awesome concert- his voice is as good live as it is on the album, and he is hilarious. It was like a half concert, half standup comedy act. He put on a really good show and sung the last song with out a microphone to the whole crowd- we were right up the back and could still hear and it was still amazing! It was just really cool! pretty exhausted now, but have a few more hours before I have to get back to work. Definitly looking forward to bed tonight, but a little sad its nearly all over. Will update again in a couple of weeks!
😊 Alice.
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Emily
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hi al, i love your stories. looking forward to seeing you. but you're only half way through your trip, even if camp is coming to a close. don't forget to blog. p.s i nearly have internet at home - just waiting for a modem - so will be skypeable probably next week. love em.