Finding adventure in the great outdoors at Summer Adventure Camp
Published Wed 21 Jan 2026
Hiking through mountain passes, pushing to the limit on mountain bikes, and taking to the water through whitewater paddling – Summer Adventure School had it all.
About 80 people camped in Jindabyne for the seven-day school, with 45 participants from Scouts to adult Leaders supported by a team of 35. Apart from having heaps of fun and making new friends, the school has helped the Scouts to develop their Outdoor Adventure Skills, enjoy the outdoors and get into a range of adventurous activities.
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The week included a mix of minor activities and major expeditions. Scouts built rafts for an epic catapult battle on Lake Jindabyne, worked on their abseiling, and hiked Charlottes Pass, while also getting their feet wet undertaking river crossings and practicing capsizing.
But the best part of the camp were the expeditions – participants had the option of choosing between bushwalking, mountain biking, or whitewater paddling for three days, developing specialist skills in these areas of interest.
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State Commissioner Adventure Training and event organiser Mic Doyle there was a whole pile of fun being had in the three main activities, as well as the vertical space.
“Our youth are here having a bundle of fun, being challenged in the outdoors, learning new skills, building resilience, and finding they have the ability to step out of their comfort zone and develop new skills and knowledge,” he said.
“The Summer Adventure School gives a prime opportunity for both adults and youth in Scouting to develop their adventurous activities skills to be able to lead youth outdoor activities and create adventure in a fun, safe, challenging and rewarding environment.
“As part of the Summer Adventure School, our youth and adults are given the opportunity to collect evidence they can use for vocational and educational training assessment, in particular for Cert II, III, and IV in Outdoor Leadership.”
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This is exactly the reason Venturer Scouts Fred, from 1st Mittagong Scout Group, and Trystan, from Lake Tuggeranong Sea Scouts in the ACT, have come to the camp.
Fred said he was hoping to complete his Certificate III in Outdoor Leadership. He has previously attended the camp twice and has enjoyed doing different activities.
“We’ve been doing bushwalking, which is our major, and also got up to some paddling, raft making and other fun activities,” he said.
“I chose bushwalking because I wanted to complete my Certificate III, so chose to do something I was comfortable with leading. I like being able to do different adventures with Scouts and really like the community aspect.”
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Trystan is also a Patrol Leader for his bushwalking group, and chose that major as something different to when he last attended.
“When I did it two years ago I did mountain biking, so I thought I’d hold off on it,” he said. “Bushwalking was nice and simple – I went for a hike a while ago, so figured I’d be fit and comfortable to do it.
“Scouts makes a huge variety of different activities way more accessible, available, affordable, convenient to do, and usually offers lots of avenues to go deeper into any kind of activity you might learn to love, which you’ll find a few of in Scouts. You also meet lots of really cool people.”
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