1st Albion Park NSW Australia

1st Albion Park has again participated in the JOTT for its 4th year. This time we decided to take on the Kiama Coastal Walk – the trail follows the coast from Kiama to Gerringong with spectacular scenery north and south. For May the weather was quite warm and again a brilliant sunny day. Our group consisted of a Joey, Cubs and Scouts plus Leaders and parents for a total of 16 participants. We stopped at the Dreaming Poles placed on the trail to learn about their meaning and importance to the traditional owners of this land the Wodi-Wodi and Dharawal people. ¾’s of the way through we had a stop to allow our little Joey scout to catch up (which he did sitting atop the shoulders of his father) and others to take a well earned break – the heat was taking its toll. As we reached the end it was a relief to take our shoes off and walk across the lagoon to enjoy our traditional BBQ sausage sandwich lunch. Now to think of where our next JOTT will take us.

Cheers Troy “Wedgie” Bates – 1st Albion Park Scouts

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Winnipeg, Manitoba will be hosting a JOTT walk but with a twist! We’ve been planning since end of January and the big day is almost upon us! We expect 400 to 500 youths to join as it won’t just be Scouts Canada members. We decided from the first meeting that it would be a JOINT WALK with each other’s National Scout Organisation. So, we’ll be sharing and swapping thoughts, jokes, fun, stories, training, and programming tips between each other throughout the 16 km hike on the TransCanada Trail that meanders through the City of Winnipeg.

The media has already picked on the fact that this is a historical walk as well as being one with a purpose: We’ll be picking up spring debris along the way. Starting with the Venturers and Rovers of Scouts Canada joining the Routiers of Association des Scouts du Canada in the heart of St-Boniface, the group will grow in numbers as they ‘pick-up’ sections along the way, first the Scouts/Écalireurs at Whittier Park (historical St-Boniface), second Cubs/Louveteaux at Westminster United Church, then Beavers/Castors at Omand’s Park, and finally arrive at Assiniboine Park’s Lyric Theatre Field for a special ceremony. A fellow Scouter of ‘les Scouts’ will receive the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award from the hands of Mrs. Shelly Glover, member of Parliament for St-Boniface. Another member will be inducted into Manitoba’s ‘Les Scouts’ Court of Honor, which accepts only 15 year veterans of scouting who have given exceptional service as an adult. Then we’ll all share a Campfire!

Of course, we’ll post photos and stories on Twitter along the way as well as back on the Jott website.

—Claire Bérubé
Executive Director, Scouts franco-manitobains
Co-Chair, JOTT/JSLS -Winnipeg 2013 Committee
Commissioner, District de l’Ouest, Association des Scouts du Canada

Canada: 3rd Orleans Beaver Colony

The 3rd Orleans Beaver Colony and Cub Pack hiked at Camp Sheldrick to the Nation River. Along the way, they found animal tracks, identified them, and then made plaster casts of them. It was a nice sunny day and the 25 youth had a great time. At the Nation River, they watched the fast current carry branches and garbage down stream. That was a great lessons for the youth, they see where litter goes. It was a great 90 minute hike for the youth.

—Tom Breuer

Australia: 1st Albion Park, New South Wales

Well onto our 3rd JOTT and this time something different. With 3 Leaders and 6 Scouts in our group we boarded a train at Albion Park and headed to Heathcote near Sydney to take on the Uloola Track in the Royal National Park. After a scenic hour long train trip along the coast we arrived at Heathcote and the start of our JOTT.

Descending away from the train station, the walking trail soon crossed Heathcote Brook and then we climbed across broad rock shelfs to a ridge. The trail followed this ridge east along a valley for about 2 km until it crossed Heathcote Brook again and there we arrived at Karloo Pools. What a great spot for a swim and a picnic, the Pools are a collection of freshwater billabongs that have formed in a bend of the Brook. The water was so clear but very chilly. We had morning tea here then headed onto Uloola Falls.

From Karloo Pools, the Uloola Track climbed up the valley for about 1 km, before heading across a rocky plateau at the top. The trail was well marked with yellow and red stripes painted on rocks that showed the way across the plateau, as the track is easy to lose in places as we found out on our return trek. Eventually the track left the plateau and descended down to Heathcote Brook again and Uloola Falls. The Falls were stunning and even one of our scouts decided he would brave the cold water and go for a swim.

After lunch we headed back towards Heathcote to catch our train home. However this was not without drama when letting the scouts lead they wandered off the trail and into thick bush. We informed the scouts that they were only 80 metres off track and started bush bashing back onto track. A valuable lesson was learnt by the scouts in how failing to navigate correctly can you get you in trouble real quick.

Back at Karloo Pools all forgot about the chilliness of the water and rested weary feet before heading off for the train home.

—Troy Bates

Uruguay: Grupo Scout Nº 996 “Padre Juan Bonmesadri”

Hello, we are a scout group from Uruguay that is participating for the first time in the JOTT.

Our Troop is called “Malopo” and we are part of the Scout Group Nº 996 “Padre Juan Bonmesadri”. The event took place in Montevideo. We walked from our group to the beach “Punta Espinillo”, which is a distance of 24 km.

When we reached our destination we seized the opportunity to teach camouflage and talk about the scout law. We also gave the patrol leaders theirs white bars in a very nice ceremony bay the river. We returned to our group place by bus.

It was a very rewarding experience for all the troop members. We are looking forward to the next JOTT!

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Australia: 1st Albion Park, New South Wales

For our 2nd JOTT, we invited the cubs along with the scouts. We headed back to Barren Grounds State Recreation Area but decided to trial a different trail this year. Our group consisted of 3 Leaders; 5 Scouts; 4 Cubs and 5 parents. We headed out from the picnic area and onto Griffiths Trail which would take us to our destination of Flying Fox Pass. It was a gloriously sunny day with however a chill in the air – it was quite cold in the shady areas of the trail. A lot of recent rain also made the track challenging for some. Once we reached Flying Fox Pass the cubs and scouts explored the area for the remnants of the old flying fox used by loggers to retrieve cedar logs and supplies form the valley below. After a drink and a snack we made our way back to the picnic area for lunch. After lunch we made our way to the Illawarra Lookout to take I the brilliant scenery before making our way home.

—Troy Bates

Australia: 1st Albion Park Scout Group

1st Albion Park Scouts particpated in their 1st JOTT on Saturday 8 May with a hike at Barren Grounds State Recreation Area. Our group on the day consisted of 2 leaders, 2 parents and 7 scouts. Our first hike of the day was to Cooks Nose, an 8 km round trip, which provided wonderful views of the Shoalhaven area from Berry to the coast. After lunch we proceeded to Illawarra Lookout for an even more spectacular view of the Illawarra from Jamberoo to Stanwell Park in the distance. All had a wonderful day on the trail and will be back to do it all again in 2011.

—Troy Bates, 1st Albion Park ASL

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United Kingom: 18th Swindon in Wiltshire

63 members of the 18th Swindon Scout Group and a number of adult helpers joined the JOTT on the 9th of May 2010.

17 Beavers had a trek around Barbury Castle and had lots of fun. 12 Cubs and 28 Scouts walked a historic walk around Ramsbury that took in the Manor, the WW2 Aerodrome, Littlecote House (A Tudor Manor), and the nearby Roman Villa with its restored mosaic.

The Cubs walked as a Pack and the Scouts walked in Patrols. 5 Leaders and 1 Young Leader also joined the route.

The weather was rather cold, and we had some rain, but it did not dampen the spirit of the 18th. We eat Fish and Chips after the hike, then the Scouts pitched camp, and played games before sleeping off the day. On Sunday the Scouts completed their week-end hikes walking a few more miles to Aldbourne, and earning one of the hikes towards the hiker’s badge!

—Phil Clarke, GSL, 18th Swindon

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Hong Kong: 1st Hong Kong Canadian Scout Group

We had had a wonder hike last Saturday. We were quite worry about the weather as it was pouring heavily early Friday morning, but with the help of God, the weather was fine, no rain, a little sun and not so hot with some light breeze. Just great for hiking!

—Cassandra Ip

Northern Ireland: St. Patrick’s 1st Jordanstown Scout Group, Co. Antrim

With the Jamboree on the Trail (JOTT) activity now celebrating it’s 13th year in existence, Jordanstown Scout Group decided to celebrate the event in style. 30 Scouts, Explorers and Leaders set up a base camp in Tollymore Forest Park on Friday 7th May, as an advance party for the main group’s arrival the following day.

Using the Saturday morning to practise Canoe Capsize and rescue drills in the nearby Shimna River, they returned in time to see the large contingent of Beavers and Cubs arriving with their Leaders for the lunchtime BBQ.

Properly fed and watered, a total of 78 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Leaders, and Parents set off on the 5.5 km hike around the outskirts of Tollymore Forest, passing the Hermitage, crossing Parnell’s Bridge, and returning nearly 2 hours later via the Stepping Stones River crossing. Meanwhile a group of Explorers and Scout Mountain Leaders tackled the more challenging peaks of Slieve Bearnagh and Meelbeg.

The weather throughout the weekend was fantastic and really helped to make the event more memorable for everyone who attended. To celebrate the achievement, everyone was presented with a commemorative JOTT 13 badge, supplied from the International Headquarters in Canada.

By 4 pm, the campsite returned to relative quiet as only the Scouts, Explorers and their Leaders remained to spend a second night under canvas, after some very exhausting wide games.

Finally by 2.30 pm on Sunday the last tired, weary Scouts and Leaders returned their kit to the group store and headed off for a well deserved Sunday afternoon nap. JOTT 13 really was an excellent experience!

—Robert Cullinan, Scout Leader

Canada: 65th Toronto Sea Scouts, Ontario

It rained. But what more could we ask for, when the 65th Toronto Sea Scouts were hiking 12 kilometres along the Humber River, learning about the damage wrought by Hurricane Hazel 55 years ago? Rain helped put us in the mood, and the Scouts were in awe when they got to the Bloor Street viaduct and saw the blue wavy line painted on one span more than five metres above them, which showed how high the water level had got on Oct. 15, 1954.

We had seven Sea Scouts, two leaders and a parent on the all-day hike, which started north of Raymore Park (where more than 30 people were swept away to their deaths when a wall of water knocked their homes off their foundations) and ended at the pedestrian bridge where the Humber meets Humber Bay and Lake Ontario.

Despite our rain gear, we were soaked by noon, but the sun broke out in the afternoon when we paused to invest a new Sea Scout on the banks of the river.

Legs were getting tired as we hiked by the marshes at the south end of the Tommy Thompson Trail, but there was still enough energy to climb all over the lion monument at the end of the Queen Elizabeth Way when we got there, before catching a streetcar back to our home neighbourhood.

—John King, Skip, 65th Toronto Sea Scouts