By Jacklyn Spithoff, Volunteer
CAMP QUALITY – Hello and welcome to the inside scoop on Day 3 here at Camp Quality Northwestern Ontario. It was a fun-filled day as we took an adventure through A South African safari! Our wakeup call came at 8:45 again this morning. We enjoyed a great breakfast of build-your-own breakfast sandwiches, thanks to our awesome kitchen staff. After breakfast, we welcomed some super cool volunteers from Half-way Motors Power Sports. Our campers each took turns taking a ride on one of three awesome side-by-sides through a safari jungle trail complete with wild animals like lions, elephants, monkeys and more – we even had our very own Tarzan at the end of the trail. The ride was really cool, and the campers had a great time – thank you to our drivers: John, Dan and Zach! Also thanks to our other guests from Half-way Motors Power Sports, Nadia, Sara and Maddie for cooking us a delicious BBQ lunch of hot dogs, smokies and burgers, as well as salads, drinks and dessert. A special shout-out from our kitchen volunteers who enjoyed a well-deserved break!
While the campers were waiting their turn to go on a side-by-side safari ride, they got to experience and participate in some neat science experiments led by Let’s Talk Science! This included making “elephant toothpaste,” identifying animal tracks, and comparing their height to that of a baby giraffe. Thank you to Autumn and Tempest for coming out to talk science with us!
After our great outdoor lunch, we headed back to our cabins for some much-needed R&R during Toes Up time. However, that R&R came to an abrupt halt when we were woken up by none other than the wonderful sounds of air horns and sirens: fire drill! We were all gathered in the gazebo within 2.5 minutes of the alarm. Great job to everyone for knowing how to stay safe at camp!
Next, many of our campers decided either to make some beautiful hanging art in the Craft Shack or to beat the heat and take another swim in the lake. We had some generous Loon Lakers volunteer their time to take some of our campers and volunteers tubing, as well as on a ride on a pontoon boat! We are so lucky to be surrounded by such kind campers.
Our last activity before supper was called “monkeying around”. We were given 20 minutes to create an animal-related skit or song to perform, with our cabin-mates as a group. Then, we were to perform the skits in front of the camp. We saw some really interesting skits – from sheep, to “the lion sleeps tonight”, to some great dancing!
The cabins each received a puzzle piece for their skit – to add to the map that we have been slowly building throughout the week! When all activities are completed, the map should be finished and it will lead the campers to the treasure! The map is about halfway done now, pasted up on the wall of the craft shack. I can’t wait to see the final map and where it takes us at the end of the week!
Tonight’s themed dinner was AFRICAN SAFARI! The decorations and costumes were awesome to see.
Our dinner really hit the spot and fueled us up for the intense game of capture the flag that followed. The players were extra revved up for the game after we had to postpone due to weather last night and couldn’t wait to get started. Participants were split up into two teams, and an epic battle ensued. After a lengthy fight, camper Connor retrieved the flag and won the game for his team. Great job to everyone who played!
After the game, once everyone had cooled down and mopped the sweat from their brows, it was bedtime for the younger campers and team-building time for our teen campers.
The teen campers made their way down to the beach to build the tents they would be staying in for the night. The teens were instructed to build three tents down in the field by the beach, with no adult help or instruction. It was truly entertaining to watch them try to build the tents, but finally, after some elbow grease and some communication, they built their shelters for the night while their Companions moved their sleeping gear down to the beach. I am excited to hear about their night “roughing it” tomorrow morning!
Now as I write, I can see campers playing games outside while some of the volunteers sit by the campfire. I’ll be hitting the hay early tonight, as we have an earlier than normal wakeup call tomorrow for our off-site day. Stay tuned to hear about our adventures tomorrow night!
This is the eighth year that NetNewsLedger.com have hosted the Camp Quality Northwest blog. NetNewsLedger is pleased to support the work of Camp Quality, and the ongoing battle to beat cancer. On a personal note, cancer has taken both of my grandparents, it tried to take my mom. There are few people in Northwestern Ontario who are not impacted by cancer.
