Scouts go on a Jurassic park expedition in search of “Ghost Cave”
Our scouts ventured into the wild during the holiday season. They camped on Tung Lung Chau island, the site of one of the world’s largest volcanic eruptions over 140 million years ago.
Lionel Troy (Y9) took his fellow Scouts along a wild, overgrown trail all the way down to “Ghost Cave” – a remote sea arch at the foot of some of Hong Kong’s tallest cliffs. Leaders had to bring saws to help clear the way through thick bamboo, scratchy bushes and vines. The Scouts, boys and girls aged 11-14, had fun scrambling on heaps of large rocks from the roof of a collapsed cave. The place had a definite “Jurassic Park” feel to it.
Joshua Lim (Y9) taught useful first aid skills, focusing on bandages for sprains and fractures. Scouts over the age of 13 all get a chance to attend an intensive, 16-hour first-aid course.
This was also a gourmet camp. Cooks whipped up Mexican food over small camp stoves. The menu featured home-made salsa and chicken quesadillas.
Everyone looked forward to roasting s’mores (=”give me some more marshmallows”) over a campfire on the beach, while a small team of entertainers performed skits and songs. On Sunday morning, cooks fried the 150th Scouts’ trademark breakfast: heaps of bacon.
On the same morning, Scouts scrambled down the rocky shore to get to Tung Lung Chau’s most famous feature: a blow hole. This is a rare geological formation, a marine geyser formed by waves squeezing through the roof of a collapsed underwater cave. It goes without saying that everyone got totally soaked.
As part of their commitment to leaving campsites cleaner than when they got there, Scouts filled up a dozen bags with rubbish. During the night, wild boars had raided bins at the AFCD campsite, leaving plastic bags and debris strewn all over the ground.
Scouts aim to do a good turn a day – and were very happy to make a difference.
Corinne Vigniel
Scout Leader, 150th Hong Kong Group
