Saturday 28 March:
When someone mentioned Geocaching I thought it was a brilliant idea, I mean, how difficult can it be to find a treasure when you have the GPS coordinates?
We picked the boys up at 11h00 in Danville and after a short course on how a GPS works, the 3 boys, 2 SOAPkidz dogs and 3 volunteers piled into the two cars and set off for Faerie Glen Nature Reserve.
There was no stopping Deputy Dog, the 12 year old Airedale Terrier. He was huffing and puffing and his legs were shaking but he refused to rest. After an hour Phillip said he recognised the place from the picture on the website and that the treasure should be in the vicinity. I had other plans – according to the 2 GPS’s we were still 80 m from the treasure. The boys and two dogs decided to follow me while Cynthia and Phillip rested a bit (Phillip’s exact words were “Cynthia, we should just stay here – they will be back shortly”).
The “path” was overgrown with lantana and required leopard crawling most of the way. Twenty minutes later we started calling Phillip and Cynthia who had decided to follow us through the bushes. Both GPSs showed we were at the right spot. More blood was donated while Teddy and myself looked for the treasure. Forty minutes later we were back where Phillip said the treasure would be and we finally found it. The boys went through the plastic container with great excitement before we started our journey back. I didn’t argue with Phillip when he said I should go on a GPS course.
After everyone had a shower to wash away the dirt, it was time to compare our scars. A unanimous decision could not be reached on who had the most scratches. After pitching the tent, the boys started making the potjie and when Earth Hour arrived, the rest of the volunteers were treated to a delicious potjie around a fire. Talks about global warming followed and after dessert (which the boys made as well), the volunteers left. Getting into bed I could hear the boys chatting excitingly in their tent whilst Deputy Dog competed with Phil’s snoring outside.
Sunday 29 March:
During breakfast, we all admired our scars. It was a mutual decision to declare war on the invasive lantana plants. The boys then decided that they would rather create e-mail addresses for themselves than make mobiles and Phillip helped them to set it up. Afterwards they were taken to the Union building where they got rid of their energy by running around and doing back flips. The silence was deafening when Phillip took them home. All and all, a very successful Earth Hour was celebrated.
DATE: 28 – 29 March 2009
VENUE: Faerie Glen Nature Reserve/209 Amos Street
CHILDREN: 10 Boys from Danville Community Centre
As part of the Earth Hour on Saturday the 28th SOAPkidz has invited 10 boys from Danville to spend the weekend exploring different environmental issues.
What to expect:
SATURDAY: The 10 boys will be picked up at 11h00 at Danville at the community centre and then we will take them to Faerie Glen Nature Reserve for a nice hike. Afterwards we will visit a retirement village where the boys will present flowers to some of the residents.
Everyone will then return to the SOAPkidz headquarters where the boys will get creative re-using litter.
Afterwards they will all help prepare the potjie for the evening and pitch the tents. A huge bonfire will be started and when the whole world turns off their lights, we will be sitting around the fire talking about global warming.
SUNDAY: After packing up the tents and a healthy breakfast, we will take the boys back at 10.
Please contact Karen at noeksie@soapkidz.org for more information. Cell: 083 975 2700
Menu for the weekend:
Saturday Lunch: Hot dogs, cold drink and fruit
Saturday Evening: Chicken Potjie and pap, marshmallows and custard
Sunday Breakfast: Weetbix/milk/coffee
Sunday Snack: Sandwiches and fruit
