Troop Scouter Peter Raimondo – 1980-2024
Peter Raimondo became a Scout around 1991 and he was probably one of the first Scouts I invested. The programme at the time was rather unstructured, a lot of fun, and heavily outdoors, all of which suited Peter perfectly. At a camp in Elgin, he set off to see how far he could swim down the Palmiet River, which turned out to be quite a long way, and quite alarming to the leaders since we didn’t know where he had gone. On backwoods camp, he built his shelter at least 6m above the ground in an enormous tree. He was also part of our first winning Upton Shield team in 1994. As Kon-Tiki PL, he pioneered a canoeing route through several hundred metres of reeds to do some late night shopping at a cafe on the far side.
Peter went on to become Troop Scouter, a role he held from 1997 to 2005. He brought his spirit of adventure to the role, sending Scouts on solo survival hikes in the northern Cederberg (with Peter following them at a distance), building Kon-Tiki rafts, and leading a Drakensberg tour for a group of senior Scouts.
Peter’s passion for the outdoors then became his career as he moved full time into wilderness guiding and coaching roles in the Wilderness Leadership School and then in his own Wild Life Foundation.
Tragically, Peter battled with leukaemia for 2 years, and died peacefully in April at the early age of 44. His colleagues posted in tribute: “It is with great sadness that we inform you about the passing of our beloved Peter Joseph Raimondo. He was a great man, and an inspiration to many who met him during his lifetime. Peter spent most of his professional career in the wilderness. His love for the natural world and wildlife was unconditional.”
As someone who worked with Peter as a Scouter, it was an enormous privilege to have been part of his journey and to have seen him take his foundation in Scouting, which made such a difference in his own life, and share the same passion with so many others.
Ian Webb
Scout Group Leader
