Life at the Bay

We bid farewell to winter and promised that our August holiday camps were going to be amazing, and we delivered. We hosted four holiday camps which hosted a total of 351 campers. We stepped into spring in style as we always do, however, this year, by celebrating our super, sweet sixteenth at Sugar Bay!    X-Factor week : 6-13 August We rolled out the red carpet and gave all our 77 talented campers a platform to showcase their talents this week at camp. We hosted our very own version of the X-Factor, called the S-Factor at Sugar Bay, where campers competed for the ultimate prize of a free holiday camp to Sugar Bay. Our Sugar Bay Superstar was Shawn Li, who won the judges over with his spectacular break dancing. The campers participated in many fun activities integrated around the theme such as; Capturing the X-Factor, Lip Sync Battles, Carnival night, Karaoke, The S-Factor Show and a Red Carpet Party night and Awards evening. They also went on an exciting excursion to...

Having turned the dream of creating a ‘children’s paradise’ into a successfully running business, Sugar Bay’s Founding Director, Zoë Ellender, shares why the benefits of American summer camps inspired her to start her very own camp in South Africa. “As a child, I was given a lot of opportunities to go on holiday which didn’t require spending a lot of money. We would go to our grandparents on a little farm in the Free State, in Clocolan, which is along the Lesotho border. I would be surrounded by my older cousins who were great role models and we would be busy from sunrise to sunset; climbing mountains, building forts, jumping off cliffs and just going on escapades. When I began soul searching after realizing I was unhappy in my legal career, I cast my thoughts back to these moments in my life when I was happiest. I began recapturing my youth and parts of these holiday experiences. This is how my love for camp began, in a healthy environment, without any distractions, ...

Sugar Bay Resort is a holiday camp for kids and teens located on the Dolphin Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal. The camp has been running for the past sixteen years and has improved with every passing year.   We recently spoke with Sugar Bay’s camp director, Zoe Ellender, to find out how she envisioned the summer camp concept and in turn, created the exceptional camp.    Ellender shared that it all began with her unhappiness practicing as an attorney. She disliked the unhappy environment where the more miserable clients were, the more money you made. She engaged in some deep soul searching after her realization that her career was too negative for her, and, with the aid of a life coach, was lead into discovering what her passions were. “I love the beach, I love children, I love the sun and hate England, events management, sports, especially ocean sports, teaching, and planning and going on holiday” , she said as her face lit up with glee.    “When I discovered m...

Camp and school are very similar in that both are learning environments for children. However, the differences between the academic and experiential learning context explains why many children not only prefer camp, but also why they gain more personal growth in the camp environment. Here are 8 differences between camp & school: 1. Experiential learning method Learning is practiced on a daily basis at both camp and school. While school is more about textbook learning and studying for exams, camp promotes learning via experiential education. At camp, children get to physically participate in an activity and attain a skill from it. This method of learning seems to be what many children prefer. 2. Informal atmosphere School provides a formal environment, which children may find intimidating and conformist. Camp, on the other hand, is a very casual environment which allows kids to learn while still having fun and without too much restriction. The quote, “What we...