18 brave young men took on the might of the Clutha at 1000 cumecs.
It was with some trepidation the boys crossed the Beaumont bridge and caught their first glimpse of the heaving Clutha River they were about to raft on for the next three days. However they learnt some key skills on Pinders Pond, Roxburgh to prepare them to take it on safely and how to use teamwork to help out in any risky situation.
Boys all had to sleep under flies which they put up each night and cooking was done on the open fire which meant needing plenty of firewood. As the river was running so high due to all the recent rain it meant most of the rapids were well under water and the speed of the river was much greater. A couple of hours rafting each day was all that was needed to get us to each camp site. This resulted in plenty of time for fishing with Rossco 'Croc', and William Little, Sam Williams, Sam Porter and Louie Allen all catching some fish which we duly cooked and shared round. As well as this ,boys refined their 'Manu's' helped out cooking on the open fire and enjoyed each other yarns.
They were lucky enough to have excellent instructors. Wise Brian, JT and Leslie all taught valuable outdoor skills with the most difficult being making fire(without matches). The final evening challenge was for each group to make fire and then cook their own meal. The boys did outstandingly well with this showing fantastic perseverance as it took them one and a half hours to get the fire going alone!
The camp was a great challenge that put many boys outside their comfort zone. It was fantastic to see so many of the boys really excel and make the most of this. Wild Earth Adventures provided great equipment, expertise and raft guides and boys learnt some valuable skills that will carry them forward for future years hunting, fishing and in the outdoors.