As always, overnight excursions were action packed with a whole lot of fun! The wet weather last week didn’t stop campers from having a great time.
The youngest junior campers, started their overnight with a scavenger hunt up the mountain to collect or spot different objects such as sticks, brown leaves, rocks, birds and many more items found in the Swiss Alps. The collected items were later used to make decorated nature sticks on Wednesday morning. After lunch, it was time to play Minute To Win It! Campers had a great time trying to move cookies from their forehead to their mouths, finding M&M’s, blowing over cups and trying to complete other crazy tasks in 60 seconds. We then headed down to the indoor gym to burn off some energy playing dodgeball and tag before dinner. The stormy weather changed our plans from tenting in the garden to a slumber party in the lodge, so after a few quick games we set up our sleeping area in the movie room, read a story and went to sleep. The petting zoo was the first stop of the day, where we found some goats, chickens and horses and played on the playground. Mr. Erik cooked up a storm with yummy burgers over a fire. Campers found their perfect marshmallow roasting stick to make their dessert. After lunch we walked from the campfire along the river for a swim at the Gstaad indoor pool, where campers showed off their amazing skills on the diving board.
The second group of junior campers had a unique experience as well, the first task for the day was to make tribal groups which they used through out the entire overnight excursion. As we have a variety of international campers, each tribe made a flag based on the campers countries, which they united together. Before lunch, each tribe had a task to make a group cheer, that was presented later on in the day at the indoor gym. After presenting their cheers, it was time to play Dr. Dodgeball, Pac-Man and snake attack. Campers returned to the lodge in search of the perfect stick to turn into a spirit sticks with magical powers. After dinner the counsellors discovered the campers acting skills with a very comical ski night before bed. Wednesday morning it was time to head to Ruedi’s farm for a fresh traditional Swiss breakfast! Campers got to see how cheese is made and visit the cows, goats and horses on the farm. Once all the campers had nice full bellies they hiked down the mountain to find a perfect cook out spot for lunch. After lunch, campers joined the other junior campers for some fun in the pool.
The senior campers had a more challenging and adventurous experience. They headed straight out on a beautiful hike up to the Geltenhutte. The afternoon was spent playing card games and team bonding games while waiting for the weather to clear. Dinner was provided by the hut and was a spectacular Alpine macaroni, soup, salad and the bests chocolate moose in the Saanenland. After telling some stories the tired hikers went off to sleep. Wednesday morning was started with traditional Swiss hut breakfast followed by a walk to waterfalls. The sun finally appeared to give the campers a beautiful view of the freshly snow covered mountains. After time to take plenty of photos campers hiked down the mountain and went back to the lodge for a cookout lunch. After lunch the seniors set up a spectacular carnival night for all the day campers and boarders, it was a perfect way to end the fantastic overnight experience!
