Becoming a PL is something I’ve been looking forward to since I was 11, looking up to my own patrol leader. This year that dream became a reality when I was given the best patrol in the troop, to lead. Not only have the vibes in Bats been spectacular, but we even gained a new patrol member, Rebecca, who is eager to learn and has already mastered square lashings despite not yet being invested. The patrol has been running well with Megan keeping the logbook extremely neat, up-to-date, and colourful with drawings on each page. The STA box cupboard is immaculate and extra as ever, in true Bats fashion.

We unfortunately did not win the MOSCIP trophy this term although we are excited for the term ahead and ready to put in the work to win. Our devious plan towards success has kicked off these holidays with a patrol hike where we also explored some South African Heritage at the KhoiSan Heritage Centre in the !Khwa ttu Nature Reserve, a task completed for the National Challenge. 

Thanks to my APL Oliver R, and my amazing patrol members for such collaboration and teamwork this term! I’m excited to see where the year will take us.

Julia Webb

This term at Swifts has been absolutely brilliant (despite not being shown on MOSCIP). We’ve all had so much fun, in meetings and during our weekend activities which is ultimately what truly matters. 

We gained three young scouts who have eagerly jumped right into everything swifts has to offer. Ariella, Sarah and Julian have been amazing additions to the patrol and I look forward to watching them through their scout journeys.

Joel finished up his first class, running his community service at Oude Moulen. I started mine, running a ice-skating friendship activity with 3rd Pinelands. Both of these activities were great fun and a lekker time. The end of this term has been filled with troop events and kon-tiki prep, where juniors learnt lashings and improved their scout skills, I was so happy to see so many Swifts at all of these events!

I look forward to seeing what the next terms have in store for Swifts and our patrol members.

Emily Gilham – Swifts APL

Emily’s Friendship Activity

I ran an ice-skating friendship activity with hawks from 3rd Pinelands. We arrived a little later than planned and spotted Pinelands looking at the giant koi that patrol the outside of Grandwest.  After introductions we excitedly headed inside for ice-cream and to begin ice-skating. I think it’s safe to say we had a soaking good time – with everyone falling at least once and getting wet from the ice. Despite this, everyone had such a great time skating and meeting new people from Pinelands. 

Emily Gilham

What a brilliant term for a brilliant patrol! We attended some really cool events this year including the Troop campfire, various Kontiki prebuilds and community service. A big shout out to the patrol for creating the most beautiful and original campfire skit called the Inaudible Trench (you had to be there). It was a big hit amongst the scouting community and I hope to bring it to Broadway someday. We also cannot forget the meeting where Chris got a Valentine’s day card from a seeeecret admirer. Whoever it is, please pop us a message 🙂

An honourable mention to the picture that we found of Boks from 1997! We were required to find one for an STA and after a long time of looking in the troops archive we found it. The resemblance to our current patrol is astounding.

Now for the greatest Bok invention of all time.

The Slightly Skew Bing Bing Bridge (that is actually a gateway).

I am personally very proud of this creation because it was just so amazing and perfectly executed it brought me to tears. Truly one of the best gateways I have ever seen. You can see the joy on everyone’s faces. A true team effort.

PL Malaika Kazadi

Troop Camp 2025

On the 6th of January 1st Claremont, 1st Rosebank and 1st Cape Town teamed up for an exciting troop camp. Scouts worked in teams to complete bases and objectives. They also competed in a obstical course. Finally everyone gathered around the campfire for songs and skits. This unforgettable trip embodied the scouting adventure. Until the next one, happy scouting!

Oliver Ringrose

Troop Scouter’s Camp Report

From the 6th to the 10th of January, 46 scouts and 14 adults from three troops (1st Claremont, 1st Rosebank, and 9th/16th Cape Town) embarked on their joint annual camp. We camped in the beautiful Slanghoek valley, on a farm called Moreson which is situated right on the banks of the Breede River. The five days of this camp were full of the classic scouting activities: burnt food, pioneered campsites, campfires, stalking, hiking, and more. 

One of the highlights of the camp was the obstacle course that was set up by our team of new Troop Leaders – six old Patrol leaders from 1st Claremont. This obstacle course comprised various tasks, including a zipline into the lake, a scavenger hunt on an island and a swim through the lake and over a barrel. Each patrol had to complete the course, but afterwards we opened up the course for individual attempts. 

On one of the evenings, we sent pairs of patrols up to the top of small hills scattered around the farm. From the tops of these hills, patrols tried to send morse code signals with their lights to the other patrols, attempting to leap-frog a message from the first mountain to the third mountain. This proved much harder in practice, although all the scouts seemed to enjoy the experience of being out amongst the clear night sky.

We had a variety of smaller activities too, including a “board game session” where scouts could escape the heat of the day by playing various card/board games (like Taco-Cat-Goat-Cheese-Pizza), and “interesting interest badge session” where we offered the swimming, drone operator, and sharpshooter interest badges. 

On the second morning of camp, we decided to shake things up with a different take on PT. We took the whole camp up the mountain to a cave that was overlooking the campsite – roughly 30 minute walk. At the top, we ate breakfast which was cereal. As always, one particular scout decided to be a genius and make their cereal in a Pick n Pay packet. He mixed his cornflakes and milk in this blue bag and proceeded to slurp it down, while spilling half of it on the floor. We also discovered that there was a crawl-through at the back of the cave, which led out onto the roof, overlooking the cave mouth. 

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of this camp was that Robbie, the Troop Scouter of 1st Rosebank, was able to organise for 12 of our senior scouts to go gliding on the second-last day of camp, thus earning them their gliding interest badge. This was greatly enjoyed by those scouts that got the opportunity to go, and I really hope we can organise something like that again so more scouts are able to experience this. 

The final night of camp is always a special one, and this year’s troop camp was no different. We had spoken to the farm owner – Pieter le Roux (who, by the way, is one of the friendliest men I’ve men) – about the scout tradition of ending camp with a campfire, and he suggested holding it on the bank of the Breede River so as to mitigate the risk of fire spreading. Let me tell you how absolutely magical it was to be sitting under the stars on such a clear night with a raging fire not 30 centimetres away from the river – truly a unique setting for the campfire. 

Running a camp for close to 60 people was exhausting, and coordinating so many scouts was a logistical nightmare at times. However, the adults and patrol leaders on camp really shone, and made the 2025 joint troop camp one to remember. All the scouts went home exhausted but satisfied after a long week of scouting. 

Overall, I’d highly recommend the site we went to for its beautiful views and close swimming facilities – something that’s very needed when it’s 35 degrees each day! 

This was an awesome troop camp, and I’m really proud of what we pulled off and were able to accomplish. Now that it’s over, we can start planning the next one… 

Daniel le Jeune – Troop Scouter 1st Claremont