Jul 19 2026

Emily’s Springbok hike

  • 19/07/2026

Emily led a 4-day hike in the Cederberg for her Springbok Expedtion. The group met at the hall and were transported to Kleinvlei. On the first day they hiked for about 6km with 536m of elevation, looking out for a nice place to set up a trail camp for day 1. After their night on the trail, they hiked down to the Boontjieskloof Hut, where they spent their second night. The third day was spent hiking via Crevasse Peak to Heuningvlei hut. On the final day, they dropped down into Heuningvlei, to meet their transport back home.

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/advancement/springbok/hike/emilys-springbok-hike/

Jul 19 2026

The Goshawks Bush

  • 19/07/2026

Welcome back to the Goshawks Bush. Term 2 has been quiet so far, being a busier term on the school side we have had fewer patrol activities. The patrol has been bonding over the last few terms and are finally settling into a comfortable rhythm.

Our Patrol has been working steadily on their advancement throughout the term and I would like to congratulate Sophia on completing her traveller this term!

Next term is going to be a fun one with a sailing day, and multiple advancement days coming up! We will continue to have fun and enjoy meetings throughout the term and are aiming for MOSCIP next term!

We will continue to grow and bond as a patrol next term. Till next time.

Avila van Bever Donker

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/the-goshawks-bush-4/

Jul 19 2026

Avila’s First Class Hike

  • 19/07/2026

On the 16-17th of May, myself, Oliver V, Oliver R, and Saskia embarked on an adventure through the mountain ranges surrounding Montagu. The hike was a physically challenging route. The route on day 1 was clearly marked which made following the path very easy, while the route on day 2 was very flooded and difficult to follow (we only got lost 3 times…).

The patrol enjoyed the experience overall. The route was beautiful with many scenic views and cool rock forms. The campsite was really nice and the communal sitting area was the highlight of our visit. The campsites were beautiful and nicely spaced out.

Montagu is a beautiful town that we loved exploring. We walked along main street laughing at all the peculiar shop names like the magenta gherkin and the square tomato.

On day 2 we walked in our hiking boots through waist deep water, we were told the path was a little bit wet at the end… (the path was underwater after the first 10m). We also managed to see a really cool buck and a rather large spider I named Simon.

Avila van Bever Donker

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/activities/hiking/avilas-first-class-hike/

Jun 21 2026

Quiz Evening

  • 21/06/2026

Thank you to everyone who came to support our Quiz Night on 20 June! We filled the hall and had a lot of fun answering some challenging questions. 

We’ll share the amount raised soon, which goes towards our target of R1 million to purchase our property from the City – the fund currently stands at R372 000. More about that in the next Smoke Signals newsletter.

Thank you to our prize sponsors – Butlers Pizza, CityROCK, CAB Foods, Fraiche Ayres, Bloc11, Acrobranch, Vida e Caffe, Bike Park Uitsig, Nirvana and more.

Well done to our winners, Team Hall (a multi generational team of long time members, families and supporters!) and to Swifts Patrol for bringing in the most quiz participants.

Thank you Fraser, Karen and Oliver for setting and running the quiz (get well soon Karen – really sorry you couldn’t be there), Annemarie and Carol for arranging prizes, Alan and team for braaiing, Heather and Richard for the venue setup and much more, all our dessert bakers, many other helpers, and all who attended. Go 1st Claremont!

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/1stclaremont-scouts/quiz-evening/

Jun 10 2026

Laura earns her Springbok

  • 10/06/2026

Laura Owens is our latest Springbok Scout! She received her award at a celebration at our hall in May, attended by family, friends and members of the group. She is now our 43rd Springbok Scout and the 5th girl to earn her Springbok at 1st Claremont.

Laura was interviewed by SCOUTS South Africa about her Springbok and this was also shared on several other platforms which you can find here:

You can also find out about some of Laura’s Springbok Scout activities here:

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/1stclaremont-scouts/scouts/laura-earns-her-springbok/

Jun 01 2026

Smoke Signals “Lite” – June 2026

  • 01/06/2026

Our Smoke Signals magazine hasn’t appeared for a few months while we look for a new volunteer to take over as editor, but we have some event announcements and adult leader updates to share, so this “lite” edition is a stop-gap to keep our community informed! More news from our youth members will follow once we find a new editor. If you are prepared to be our new editor, please contact us. Otherwise, please read, enjoy, and join us for our upcoming events!

Smoke Signals Lite – June 2026

Ian Webb
Scout Group Leader

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/smoke-signals-lite-june-2026/

Nov 02 2025

Smoke Signals October 2025

  • 02/11/2025

1st Claremont Scout Group never stands still! The past week included a Meerkat camping weekend, the Cubs coming second in the regional Edward Shield competition, a Scout Halloween evening, a sunset hike up Lion’s Head, a Springbok Scout pioneering project, a family work party at the hall, and our leaders attending and leading an adult training course. All of those happened too recently to report on them in this edition of Smoke Signals. But we have had time to report on the past term, which you can read about below.

Third term news

Download the PDF version or Smoke Signals Q3 2025 , or read all our news online:

Scouts from all around the Western Cape took part in the Pioneering Scoutcraft Badge Course at the 1st Claremont Scout Hall in August.

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/smoke-signals-october-2025/

Oct 06 2025

Liesbeek District Campfire

  • 06/10/2025

Cubs, meerkats and scouts across the district would come together to eat food and socialise all for the District Campfire, hosted at 1st Pinelands scout hall. People began meeting new faces and scouts started to fellow scouts they hadn’t seen in months!! Claremont scouts ran around trying to organise songs and skits last minute, it was happy choas. Before long it was time to find our seats and light the campfire to the sound of “Campfire’s burning”. The actual campfire itself was great fun with us offering large amounts of gees and gusto for all songs and skits. Before long the campfire drew to a close, hopefully with another happening sometime next year.

– Emily Gilham

Permanent link to this article: https://1stclaremont.org.za/smoke-signals/ss2025q3_district-campfire/