FLIPPING BOOK CHRONICLE 2024

E BLOCK CAMP: MY EXPERIENCE Written by Michael Pieterse Day1

As night fell, we realized we had a big problem – we hadn’t collected any dry wood for a fire. Desperate, we tried using some dry grass we found under our tents, but it was no use. The fire kept going out. Cold and disappointed we went to bed, hoping tomorrow would be better. Day 2 I woke up to Kyan and Mark banging on my tent and yelling for everyone to wake up. I was groggy from a bad night’s sleep but excited for the day ahead. Mr Olivier’s famous whistle called us to the Lapa, where he told us what was planned: raft building and a potjie cooking competition. After breakfast, we walked 2km to the Michaelhouse dam carrying barrels, logs and ropes to build our raft. When we got there, we snacked and then started building. We tried copying what the older kids had told us, but as soon as our raft hit the water, it fell apart completely! We laughed about it, even though we were wet and cold. Back at the campsite, the potjie cooking competition began. Our team’s chefs – Mark, Max and Max Vries – took charge of making sure we didn’t go hungry. Meanwhile, I had free time, so Kyan and I explored the area. We climbed to the top of a hill and saw an incredible view of the campsites down below. Dinner that night was the best meal we’d had so far, thanks to our

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e were all sitting in the amphitheatre, excited and a little nervous, as Mr Olivier explained what we were about to get into. Before we left, Mr Ngwenya told us to check our kits to make sure we had everything we needed for the big adventure. Once we were ready, we set off through the main gates, heading to the nature reserve. As we walked, we sang at the top of our lungs, our voices were definitely not great, but we didn’t care. The sun was scorching as we made our way, and when we finally spotted the campsite down the hill, we were relieved. Together, all 11 of us walked down, ready to set up camp. As soon as we arrived, we got to work. Everyone helped in their own way, making the campsite look awesome. Max Johnson didn’t mind getting nice and dirty, and helped gather rocks and mud from a nearby stream to build our campfire. The weather was sunny and warm as we started our first two challenges. The first was creating a war cry, and I thought ours turned out really well. The second challenge was painting our flag. Just as we started, the weather changed, and a drizzle began. It got worse, but we kept going. By the end, despite the rain, we had the best flag of all!

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