Life at the Bay

You will find many online tips to help children manage homesickness, but parents often experience separation anxiety as much as their kids. You may have already imagined your child’s first sleepover camp, and everything you could get done. A week or two without your child may sound like a dream come true. However, when you finally get the solitude you have been craving, the house seems dreadfully empty and too quiet. You may find that the only thing refreshing in their absence is the camp’s website, as you frantically search for the latest photo of your child. That looks like my baby’s knee in the background. Does her knee look happy? Is that a new graze or an old scab? Does her knee miss me? You may continuously read a ten-word letter from your child, over-analysing every word. The good news is that it gets easier every time they go to camp. Here are 4 ways to overcome the void when your child is away from home: 1. Use this time productively. See it as an opportunity to

Our last three holiday camps of 2019 are almost fully booked. The nostalgic themes guarantee tons of good old-fashioned fun for our campers. If you want your child to have an incredible experience that they will never forget, call us now to reserve a spot. MTV Music Video Awards Week: 8th - 15th of December We’re going back to the early 2000s, when MTV (Music Television) lived up to its name and played music videos. Campers will have a chance to get in tune with their musical creativity by directing their own music videos, which will be filmed and edited by Sugar Bay ’s Videographer. Highlights: Laser Tag Excursion Gala Dinner Music Video Premier Night Comic Con Week: 15th - 22nd of December We’ll be going even further back in time by commemorating classic comic book characters like Asterix and Obelix . We will also be celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the launch date of Popeye the Sailor Man , which falls on the Thursday of this camp

Want to have a more realistic trick or treat this Halloween? Or do you dream of working on a blockbuster film creating believable cuts and burns? At Sugar Bay we run weekly prosthetics classes where we see vampire bites, severed fingers and slit throats come to life Here's a step by step to create the perfect scare with a severed finger! What you will need:  Skin tone make-up  Piece of soft bubblegum  Blue, red and black make-up  Butter knife  Step 1:  Roll bubblegum and apply right in the middle on the second joint of your finger. Spread out and smooth out to make a clean edge.  Step 2:  Put some make-up (according to your skin tone) on the bubblegum and all over the finger to make it realistic.  Step 3:  Now make a cut in the bubblegum with a butter knife. Apply the blue, red, and black make-up to add a more dramatic effect and  Who's ready to scare mom and dad when they come from work this afternoon?  What other special effects ca

As we say goodbye to frostbites and Mr sniffles, we'll be putting the spring back in your step these upcoming holidays! With the first half of the year done and dusted, we're diving right into summertime fun. We have four magnificent themed holiday camps and with a discount of R2000 on each camp, Sugar Bay is the place to be these August holidays. Are you ready for an epic adventure? Grease Week: 11 - 18 August 2019  Get your dancing shoes on as we're heading into the 70's for a week of singalong and boogie! Come join Sandy and Danny as they turn Sugar Bay into a musical paradise! Highlights    Lipsync battle.  Grease dancing classes.  Slumber party (girls). Mechanics-themed camp out (boys).  Prom-themed party night. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO GET GROOVY?  BOOK NOW FOR A MUSICAL SHOWDOWN.  X Games week: 18 - 25 August 2019  Where are all our adrenaline junkies? From skating to BMX, it's about to get extreme at Sugar Bay on our X-Game

Fire spirals, spitting dragons, and rhythmic dancing - no wonder the art of fire-spinning has spread like wildfire at the Bay. The Sugar Bay fire-show tradition first saw light when Bear, aka Elan Stark, and Hoova, aka Baden Dowie, two of our very first counselors, started showing the kids a few cool poi tricks when Sugar Bay opened in 2001. Poi is the physical objects used by the dancers and the choreography itself of fire-spinning. Poi originates from the Maori people and is still being practiced today. In our previous post, we teach you how to make poi in 5 easy steps , the history of poi and the different Maori traditions poi is used for. Before you start spinning with fire, you use poi to practice your routine. We have 3 basic moves to get you started on your fire-spinning journey. Butterfly  Hold your arms at a 90° angle with your palms facing up  Spin poi in mini circles while seperating your arms and come back in.  Punches  Start with the butterfly

We hear it all the time - "This generation has lost all hope". They can't communicate, veg in front of the T.V and they're quite the self-centered bunch. The question we should be asking is: how are we enabling them and how are we going to help our kids find another route in living their lives? Stop what you're doing and take a look around, whether you're at home, the supermarket or a park, you will find one constant - a tech device. While technology plays a part in millennials heading to zombie land, kids are missing simple essentials in their daily lives to living a full life. Kids need an environment away from their over-caring parents, tech devices and hectic schedules; an environment that allows room for interaction, enjoying the great outdoors and self-reliance. Traditional summer camp: outdoor, hot, sweaty, buggy, muddy; sounds about right. This is the antidote for the societal black hole children dig for themselves, day in day out. Simply

For our June holidays, we’ll be globetrotting on our Amazing Race week, heading to an island filled with musical mania for Mamma Mia and ending off the holiday season on a high note as we race through the Mushroom Kingdom on our Mario Kart week! With these incredible themes and a discount of R2000 on each camp, Sugar Bay is the best way to spend your winter holidays. The Amazing Race Week  Who's ready for a trip around the world? Get your running shoes and backpacks ready for a worldwide adventure at the Bay! Highlights  Amazing Race treasure hunt  Camp out  Amazing (funny) Race  Country Carnival  Foreign auction  HOW MUCH DOES IT COST FOR A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD?   BOOK NOW FOR THE MILLION DOLLAR QUEST!  Mammia Mia   We'll be heading to the Greek Islands and exploring a timeless musical act. Where are our Abba fans?  Highlights   Talent show   Mamma Mia skits and stunts  Karaoke night  Grecian themed party night Ushaka excu

In 2015, we saw Natalija walk through our gates on our Thailand week, and as we celebrate her 20th camp anniversary, she shares her journey at Sugar Bay and how camp has become her second home. "I always felt like a little bit of an outcast at school, but when I came to camp I just blended in; I was welcomed by the warmest and kindest counselors that I still hold close to my heart to this day. "  With Walnut being one of the counselors that helped her push through her insecurities, Natalijila dreams of being a counselor so she can help other kids come out of their shell. "I already have a counselor name! That's how serious I am. In 2 years I will be doing my C.I.T course and I'm pretty excited about it." Quick Q&A  1. What has been your favourite themed holiday camp and why?  "Definitely Thailand week! It was the start of me finding my voice. I found a place where I could be myself fully."   2. If you could travel any

With a discount of R3000, don’t miss out on our blockbuster themed March / April holiday camps. Got two left feet? Don’t sweat it, with Ariel’s’shimmy, we’ll have you ready for a night out where fries and milkshakes fill your tummy and musical acts are the order of the day! If you think that’s the only trick we have up our sleeve, think again! We’ve got Genie dropping in, diverging realities; where we’ll be flying on carpets and making wishes come true! Who knows, we might end up travelling through time to a world of robots and flying cars. Footloose Week: 24 - 31 March 2019 Get your dancing shoes on because Sugar Bay will be going back in time and turning into a music and dance showdown! Highlights  Footloose fashion show  Rock music classes  Gumboot dance classes  Dancing with the stars competition  Themed flashmobs  HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO GO BACK IN TIME?  BOOK NOW TO FOR A WEEK OF HAIRSPRAY AND ROCK MUSIC. Aladdin Week: 14 -21 April 2019 We&

"Come have some tea with Miss Bubbles and me" - said by your 7-year-old, as they pull you in to sit on a miniature chair. It's 9:30PM, you're bushed and you're about to have tea with a teddy bear and the Queen of England herself. Spending uninterrupted time with your child has its infinite benefits and rewards, so what happens when you're swallowed by your work and life responsibilities that quality time with the Queen of England is unintentionally put on the back burner? Let's face it - life is busy, finding moments in your life to spend intentional quality time with your child is definitely a hard task as a working parent. And if not having enough time wasn't hindrance enough, you have to find something that you'd both like to do. Doubling the guilt for our poor parents. Creating childhood memories, formulating the idea of love with your child and getting to know each other a little better, are only a few of the amazing benefits of qua

No other topic could create a catastrophe of opinions, judgements, beliefs and arguments as parenting. Add technology in the mix and you've created world war 3. According to a survey conducted by internet security company AVG in the US, 92% of children have an online presence by the time they are 2 years old. These days children learn to swipe a screen before they are able to hold crayons. The digital revolution of the past 2 decades has induced a moral panic in parenting. When a child goes on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, parents have certain unanswered questions such as: Are our kids aware of the privacy settings on social networking sites? Do they adhere to them? What kind of online games are our kids playing? Are they playing the right ones or ones that are not suitable for their age/ taste/ social-cultural backgrounds? How much digital engagement is enough and how much is too much? Though a child's online presence allows young people ac