How to bring a Camp together

Hello to all my campers. I know I have been off the radar for the past few weeks but after reading this you will understand why.

But before I give you the exciting low down, go check out our awesome music video that we filmed during the June/ July holiday camps. You may just recognise someone.

Imagine arriving at a place you have never been before, driving down the drive way your heart starts pumping and your body becomes overwhelmed with the excitement and nervousness at the same time. You have been waiting for this moment for weeks, hearing stories, looking at pictures and packing your bag. And now you are finally here! As you park, you are welcomed by a crazy dressed up character with a friendly smile. Walking through the colourful set up you think to yourself, "is this the place for me?" Then mom and dad leave and it's just you. As you sit on the stairs you look around at 100 new faces, and now it's time for your journey to start.

For many campers this is how their Sugar Bay experience starts, but what you also need to know is at the end of the week, we all sit around a camp fire and share stories with all the new friends we have made. 

 

But how you may ask? How do you bring a group of young people together? From strangers to best friends in seven days? When I started planning the June/July holiday's I wanted all the campers to have an amazing time, this was easy. But to get a group of strangers to come together - now, that was my challenge!

There are three things that I owe my success to – Surfing, Football and Dance! Three completely different sports but all with a very powerful impact. 

Nelson Mandela was right when he said: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire.”

I am so happy that these themes where chosen and the memories that were created will be with everyone for many years!

So you want to know all about the amazing events of the three weeks. Well here it goes:

Mr Price Pro week

We welcomed several first time surfers to camp, and our mission was to train them to become the best junior surfers they could be.

We started the week off with my personal favourite day - beach day. Surfers spent the entire day on the beach and had lunch on the beach, like real surfers do.

Other events which helped campers become better surfers included our junior campers making their very own surfer boards; and the seniors competing in the Shore Shack cook off in which they learned the complex culinary skills of a surfer. 

My favorite event of the week definitely had to have been the beach camp out, where dedicated surfers had the opportunity to go to the beach camp in the sand, under the stars and right next to the ocean!

Rio week

Up next we had one of the biggest sporting events here at camp and around the world - The Fifa World Cup 2014 held in Brazil. So I decided to name the camp during this week, "Rio week". This week would involve taking campers through the full football and Brazilian carnival experience at camp. This experience started right from day one as football fans and carnival ladies welcomed campers.

Football came to life, and no one missed out on the world cup magic. Our senior campers even gathered together late at night to watch the semi-finals. The juniors tested their kicking skills in a penalty shoot out, and the seniors experienced an actual casino setup with our Rio casino evening.

A huge highlight for many campers during Rio week was the excursion to the Moses Madiba Stadium and campers were granted an all access pass to the stadium. This allowed them to go into the locker rooms, VIP lounge and even the pitch itself. The tour would have not been complete without a sky car ride which overlooked the beautiful city of Durban.

The main event for this week was the Rio Carnival that took place at the end of the week. Each cabin was given a specific country to represent, and everyone had to parade down the field and put on a show which resembled their country. The shows varied from war cries, to dancing and even skits, but it wasn't about who was the best; but rather about which team really showed passion for their assigned country.

 

So You Think You Can Dance week

Finally, we ended off the long season with a week all about dance. We have all seen the movies and TV hows and what dance means to people all over the world. So you think you can dance week had high expectations and they were definitely met!

We even filmed an awesome music video, which some of your kids may have featured in for their beautiful smiles and awesome dance moves.

Throughout the week campers got to participate is several workshops based on different dance styles. We started the week off with our dance instructor, Steps, teaching every camper a flash mob choreography. Several evening programs were also planned for both junior and senior campers that would get them excited for the world of dance. These evening programs included, dancing with the stars, Bollywood night and our disco themed party night. Campers even got to dance around the fire at camp out!

Throughout the week we brought in other instructors for the dancers that were really passionate about their moves. We had a lovely ballroom and Latin American guest dance instructor visit us, and on Saturday were lucky enough to be joined by OMG and her dance crew all the way from Durban. They were definitely a huge hit for all the campers. They taught us all how to “Wiggle!”.

We ended of the week with a talent show. Campers spent the day auditioning and perfecting their moves and when it was time for the show, we had it all. Everything from dancers, singers, actors, poets, gymnasts to even those weird and wacky talents!

The final night was magical around the camp fire when campers clapped for 67 seconds in honour of Nelson Mandela, and then managed to blow out all the candles.

Upcoming August holiday camps

For those of you who weren't here, you definitely missed out on a amazing three weeks at the Bay! But our August Holidays are just around the corner and the themes are just too amazing for words.

You can look forward to:

• Beacon Allsorts Week (10 August - 17 August).
• The Big Bang Theory Week (17 August - 24 August).
• Wet and Wild – Birthday Week (24 August - 3 September)

Stay tuned for a more detailed blog on what to expect during our August holiday camps and, remember it's your world! <3

 

Give your children the holiday experience of a lifetime. Here are our rates & dates and when you are ready:

Call (032) 485 3778 ,

Email: holidays@sugarbay.co.za , 

Or simply book online. 

Here's a sneak peak into what the camp experience at Sugar Bay is like, and if you would like to see what takes place in some of our themed holiday weeks, have a look at our gallery.