Following a trail through the Bush at night was great fun. All the wildlife fled for miles, as the Cubs crashed along the trail. As the Cubs listened to a story we heard ghostly sounds and crunching footsteps through the undergrowth! What was it? The looks on the Cubs faces was a sight to behold! Eyes became quite wide, and marshmallows were suspended in mid-chew (a 'orrible sight - pink and white frothy mouths!!). The look on our parent helper's face was probably the best of all! The mysterious sounds materialized into at talking Wombat!

Map reading was fun too - as we learnt about directions and searched for buried treasure. The Cubs would like more of these activities, so next term we will combine some map reading skills with bush walking and a search for buried treasure. What fun!

Thanks to the Parents and brothers and sisters of the Cubs who have patiently helped out during our wild and woolly activities!! A special thanks to Maree who will be helping Cubs with their badgework too!

1st Burra Scouts have been involved in lots of Patrol challenges this month. For example - which Patrol could rope their legs in a chain and still manage to get to the other end of the hall first? (It was Panthers).

The highlight of the month was a day's cross-country skiing at Perisher. We had lots of snow, lots of sunshine, no cloud, no wind and lots of fun. The first four all at once is a bit rare at Perisher (hence the name). How long do you think it takes a Scout to get wet at the snow. It only took Scott McCarthy 5 minutes from arrival (he stepped in the creek). We even got to have lunch with a full view of the extreme games snowboard jump finals.

Welcome to Kirrily Bearse, who was invested into Scouts while at the snow. Her Investment Challenge was to run barefoot through the snow around the Nordic shelter. Ever seen blue pinkies!! Congratulations to Scouts on the following Badges earned this month - Rebecca Latimer (Blue Citizenship) Ben Harvey (Scoutcraft and Entertainment Challenge), and Chloe, Scott, Cameron, James, Pele and Kelsey (Sports Challenges).

This month's activities have included a number of First Aid sessions on Expired Air Resuscitation (EAR), Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), the effects and treatment of hypothermia and hyperthermia, plus the treatment of major bleeding. As you might have guessed, these sessions were not the ones most enjoyed by the Venturers, however, most of the Venturers have now covered the basics of these conditions.

The most exciting challenge that was undertaken this month was the Milk Crate Climbing Challenge. The aim of this challenge is to see how many milk crates you can climb without falling off. It requires nerves of steel and complete confidence in the person at the other end of your rope. This event tested the bravery level of a few (including Wombat), their balance skills and determination.

The aim of the challenge is to climb a single stack of milk crates, adding another as you work you way higher and higher. The winner of this challenge was Ben Cannon who was able to climb a stack of 8 crates before he ran out of head room at the ceiling of the hall. If you are wondering what happens if you fall off - it's easy. You just hang in the air because you have an abseiling harness on, attached to some caribiners, through which runs an abseiling rope over the roof trusses and back down to a friend who holds your life in their hands.

With Spring now here, outdoor activities start in earnest. An Initiative Course is planned for the weekend of 11^th and 12^th September, somewhere in the ACT. Participants are let loose in the bush with a map and compass and need to find their way to various bases where they are challenged to use their initiative in solving many varied problems, such as building a platform at least 3 metres off the ground up in the trees, boiling water in a paper bag, plus many more. These activities test the young person's initiative, teamwork, and a number of other skills, as well as their hiking skills. Of course, if they don't find the base using their map and compass, then they fail in the navigation part!

Further down the track (river?) is the canoe and kayaking weekend down the Clyde river over the long weekend in October with the Braidwood and Goulburn Venturer Units.