Life at the Bay

Are you getting that s i n k i n g   feeling of sadness when you see all the fun going on at Sugar Bay's Rock the Boat Week ? Fear not, young sailors, we're about to fix your Fear Of Missing Out with a snapshot of fun... we want you to feel like you're right here involved in all the action, so here goes our little trip down memory lane so far this week. Remember that time... Iron Brew was waiting aboard the Rocking Bubble Bus? And then Zibu took time out to look like a merman version of Abraham Lincoln... Remember when we were assigned to our cabins? Can't believe that was only on Sunday, it feels like we've known each other forever already! How about that time we invented a new way to ride a BMX, that was epic! Or when we got our Dracula on, sherbert-straw style?  It's hard to believe it's only Tuesday and we still have 4 full days to make even more memories! Don't be sad about missing out on all the fun t

We're getting ready to host a Myth Busters Week here at Sugar Bay, where campers from all over the country will get together to bust some of the long-running myths and mysteries about their favourite place on the North Coast, Sugar Bay Holiday Camp. While planning which magical myths we'd take on in the name of science, we came across some widely-spread myths about summer camps and thought "Hey! Ain't nobody got time for that! Parents need to know the truth!" Which is why we're here to bust 4 of the many myths about summer camps. Sure we may not be well-moustached and wear lab coats like our geeky Mythbusting friends on the Discovery Channel, but we do have scientific studies to back us, years of experience and photographic evidence to boot. We'd like to show you the value of summer camp and why you should let us explode your camper's mind (with fun!) Myth #1: My Child Won't Be Safe If I'm Not There Thousands of children pass throug

We live in a pretty interesting world: sometimes it seems that everything revolves around sharing our every move on social media - insane amounts of selfies, tweets, I-just-went-to-the-gym updates, look-what-I'm-about-to-eat Instagram shots or endless hours spent on Pinterest pinning cute DIY projects that we'll never have time to do because we're too busy Pinteresting... I could go on and on. And it's all very rich coming from me, since the words 'Social Media' form part of my job description here at Sugar Bay. I'm not saying that it's all bad, but when I read that kids can spend up to 7.5 hours A DAY behind a screen I think, when do they have a chance to just be kids? The answer (of course) is AT CAMP. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the answer to many of our youth's problems can be solved with camp, but I may be slightly biased :) There are growing concerns related to technology usage, and it's not just affectin

I'm sure you've heard it said many a time on our website and Facebook page : Come to Sugar Bay and try new things . This experience in itself is of course a fantastic one, something that we endlessly promote for the fun value as well as the impact on a child's development. But what EXACTLY does trying new things do for kids, what skills are they learning whilst at camp? Although there are many, we chose to focus on just 7 of the important social skills that will help children as they grow older. And we don't mean the 'social' skills that involve 'socializing' on your phone, tablet or behind any other kind of screen. We're talking about a different kind of Face Time, the kind where kids are sitting face to face with one another and interacting in the only real-time there is, the here and now. Supportive Communication -  Positive reinforcement is a wonderful thing - from parents, counselors and friends. Some campers have even said that suppo

The Huffington Post recently did an article on Things You Didn't Know About Tic Tacs and, while that's all very interesting, we know that we've got an even more interesting Tick Tack right here at Sugar Bay. So we created a quick summary to share this Tick's terrific tale of visits to faraway lands, tan lines and more. Read on to learn more about your favourite Ropes Pro-Counselor: Did you know? 1. Tic Tacs are produced by Ferrero, the same company that makes Nutella, Kinder Chocolate, and Rocher chocolates, those nutty little balls of heaven which just so happen to be our Tick's favourite chocolate. Ferrero is an Italian company and mamma mia what do you know, Italy is on Tick's bucket list of places to visit.  2. Tic Tacs were originally (and oh so creatively) called"Refreshing Mints". As you may have guessed, there's a story behind Tick's name and it too has changed somewhat over the years. Starting out his first week during

Today marks a very sad day at Sugar Bay. Not only are we saying goodbye to 2 wonderful schools - Durban North Primary and Durban Girls' College - but we're also bidding farewell to our red-headed golden boy, Mr Rooiboss. Rooiboss has been an important part of the SB team for the last 5 years. He started off as a counselor, then became a Squad Leader and swiftly moved on to becoming one of the prestigious A+ counselors. Rooiboss has also helped out as a Body Boarding Pro Counselor, which made sense seeing as he's been to the SA Champs 3 times. Teachers will know our beloved Rooiboss as their Teacher Liaison and Activity Assessor, making sure that the teachers have an incredible time when their schools come to visit and being the guy to ensure all activities are run safely.  Rooiboss leaves us for the sunny shores of Perth, Australia, to be reunited with his fiancee and try his luck at the waves down under. Although he knows he'll miss the Sugar Bay kids, the staf

At Sugar Bay we know about energy. Like the beautiful Indian ocean on our doorstep, the energy ebbs and flows in our little piece of paradise: increasing with the arrival of new students and decreasing with sad farewells to new friends. As an office dweller, you can always feel the positive energy on the days when campers are due to arrive. From the moment the school bus drives through those beautifully branded gates, the excitement is almost overwhelming. You can sense that the kids are eager to get off the bus, it's pretty clear that the teachers can't wait for a well-deserved break and to get those kids off the bus , and our counselors just can't wait to welcome them all! The energy simply soars, almost as high as the local fish eagle family nesting near the Zinkwazi lagoon (more on them in another post!) Did we mention that we have private access to that lagoon? We get to go fishing, stand up paddleboarding, kayaking and more, but I digress... Each and ev