Bridge over the Cox's River
Down1. something you can (almost) never overuse |
Across2. post-Conqueror feeling |
As most of you know Conqueror Summer Camp was cancelled this year. Some insist this was due to the raging bushfires in the region at the time...
However... <insert dramatic music here> at the end of the (re)Union hike the editor was approached by tall dark figure in a trench coat. They murmured something before handing him a small, mysterious, sheet of bright green paper. (Well ok they did look a lot like Rachel and she wasn't wearing a trench coat... but where's the fun in that!)
Upon this sheet of paper scrawled in eerie shades of black and blue, where
these words:
14 Reasons why camp was cancelled
Giant cowpat fell on campsite
Menu too good
Menu too terrible
Surf was too good
Over catered spam
Toilets collapsed
"Chuffer" went out
No firewood left
Chris eaten by a cow
Cow eaten by Chris
Caroline eaten by giant spider ("It was huuuuuge")
Leaders abducted by aliens
Canoe testing failure
"Genny" died
Leaders revolted
Leaders revolting
Cat ate cooks
Due to budget cuts could only afford a figure 6 for abseiling
Black knight found guarding the bridge (and it`s only got one lane!)
Leaders spent too long trying to think of 14 funny reasons why camp should be cancelled
Leaders went liloing in Burril Lake, last seen headed for NZ
Camp Director ran off with Secretary
Camp Treasurer last seen boarding a flight to Majorka
Spooky stuff isn't it. Well I don't know about you but it's certainly got this editor wondering.
(Disclaimer: This publication makes no claims about the fact
or fiction of any of the above statements... besides we all know that it was
cancelled because the leaders were just having far too much fun on "Setup"
to have it all spoiled by letting the campers come along!) *wink*
Brace yourself for...
The Unparalleled Adventures of:
Jenolan
to Katoomba - 3 days. The challenge was set. We were onto it - no sweat (well
maybe just a little.) First night's campsite proved a bit... elusive, but our
trusty navigators has us there after only two U-turns (each... yeah anyway.)
A chilly nights sleep to toughen us up and we were off!
A long and mostly downhill section of particularly gravelly 4WD road - complete with 4WD's! - And Matt's engine capacity commentary. It was hard going, but we avoided any serious stacks - with Catherine definitely pulling off the recovery of the day. We were thankful we weren't walking back this way.
Lunch, a short, cold swim in the Cox's Rover and only losing Sam ("Are you in the army?") once, camoed in the bushed beside a creek, were the highlights of the day. And just when we thought we'd had our fill, Matt and Michael constructed a tenting masterpiece! - We went to bed exhausted!
Next day Harriet helped us look into Hebrews and mull over some big issues about Jesus. Once walking, Alex just wanted to run (!?!?) and many fears were conquered on the rather long swinging bridge. We were hoping to run into the other (nameless!) contingent for lunch, and Chris and Rachel found us right on time. We followed them back to the group and adopted Andrew and Ruth into our contingent.
We were, however, viciously accused of foul play with respect to 'Terry the Tiger' (about which, to this day, we loudly declare our innocence!) That night we proved ourselves highly resourceful, catering for 12 people with 2 Trangias and 3 tents! What can we say?!
Day three, and after leaving Matt, Andrew and Ruth behind at the campsite (N.B. Ruth had injured her knee the day before... oh... now it all comes together), we set out on what developed into a very lovely walk. Single-file track, meadows, user-friendly stiles, and a pleasant set of stairs nestled in a picturesque rainforest glen, to finish it all off. Ok... so I'm talking it up a bit, but it was much better than we'd expected. (Zack and Nat would just like to thank their sponsors, supporters, fans, family and friends. Without you... *sob*... I'm sorry.)
At the top we ate, we viewed and we devoured 2 blocks of chocolate in a most unConqueror fashion!! (but how much fun was it!) (Editor's Note: "Luxury! Sheer luxury!") From there to Perry's for the Night (Yes, we went back and picked up the other three). We ate like kings, enjoying the campfire and generally being playfully harassed but Nathan (about anything and everything). Sleep came easy... though I heard the girls were a bit loud...
Morning, and Karl walked us through what a Christian like looks like (2 Peter), before we headed into Blackheath (via Anvil Rock Lookout) for lunch with the other (nameless - did I mention that?) contingent, and for the most fun ever had with... leaves! Lots of them!
- Nat Withers
For those of you who haven't caught up with the news yet Chris Wootton and Rachel Secombe are engaggaled and to be married on the 27th of July! That's right! Wild Woolly Wootton wilfully wooed the wavenous Wachel and whiled her to wed! Chris was cool calm and collected by the cool cascades as he proposed the conjoinment carefully planned and contrived, and there in the Budawangs all bewitched and befuddled, bonds were bound and proposals proposed!
So on the 27th of July at Springwood Presbyterian church Chris and Rachel will be wed and all interested parties are welcome to come along to the ceremony (some of you may even get invited to the reception as well - if you're lucky!). So come along we would love to see you there and have some of that Conqueror madness injected into our day!
- Chris "Wild Woolly" Wootton
Wanted: One (1) Camp Director for Summer Camp
Essential Requirements:
Must be a Christian servant of the Lord.
Must know where base camp.
Must know what Camp Conqueror is all about.
Must have at least 6 months camping experience in Canada.
Must know an extensive amount of overused Monty Python gags
Must have red/brown hair and a goatee.
Must answer to Jonathon, Jon, Joni B. or "oi you!"
If you know anyone who fits this description could you please get him (or her?)
to contact the retiring camp director Wild Woolly Wootton, who is stepping down
this year so someone else can have a go!
In an attempt to make this (re)Union HADDOCK report a little more interesting,
I have cunningly hidden the names of eight (8) fish within the text. They won't
necessarily be placed together, or easy to find, so pull out the magnifying
glass, slip, slop, slap on your thinking cap and good luck!
This year's camp was set for CATFISH excitement from the moment it was realised
that you can't have a reunion when half the people haven't unioned... so it
was Unioning we were set for as we gathered at Emu Plains station. After HERRING
around an hour of waiting, we still hadn't seen an emu, so we headed off. The
next three days were about a day longer than two days, a fact quickly picked
up by our super-intelligent walking group of Andrew, Ruth, Eleanor, Tom, Daniel,
Rachel, Chris and Jon.
Our campsites over the trip were at Perry's Lookdown, Old Ford Reserve, the Cox's River, and an RAINBOW TROUT unnamed campsite/picnic area on the last night. All were great, although at times a little crowded - the joys of walking on a long weekend! By the end of the hike though everyone had mastered the art of putting up a Conqueror tent and we had had some fantastic dinners!
As for the days... well, you know what they say - "What goes down must come up". The first day included the steep descent down from the Explorers Tree at Katoomba, and although very beautiful and PIKE rainforesty, it was also hard on the knees and legs. Thankfully it didn't last too long and we covered the rest of the distance for that day very quickly once we had hit the FLATHEAD flat.
Day two was a fairly flat day along to the suspension bridge and our campsite on the river... a day in which the mountains were sniggering for they knew what day three held: I will say only one word - UP!
I don't think CUTTLEFISH anyone in our group will ever complain about that walk up hill to the shops or at school ever again. For a big part of the day, we went up, and up, and up... and just when you thought you could go up no more, well it flattened out... but only for a few metres, and then it went up again. Ouch!
Everyone in our group contributed and it was a great few days. Unfortunately Ruth and Andrew had to BREAM swap groups mid-walk due to an injury, and they were greatly missed, causing some to lament to the tune of "Reckless" by Australian Crawl - "We can't stand walking without her, so lay down your packs, don't be so Ruthless!" Hopefully we all took something from the Bible studies as well. These were prepared by Caroline and gave us a really good picture of who Jesus was and what it means to live as a Christian.
I will leave you with this instruction that you must carry out wherever you are:
Step 1: Fasten your tongue to the bottom of your mouth so that it cannot move (imaginary super glue will work fine!)
Step 2: Sing your favourite song.
Step 3: Give thanks to God for our tongues - singing may not be as fun, but communication is definitely easier.
Jon Bracht
Winter Camp Conqueror will be from September 29 - October 5 this year. Contact Kym Schwarz for more details: (02) 9877-0467 or kymnsteph@ozemail.com.au
One day, three men were hiking and unexpectedly came upon a large raging, violent river. They needed to get to the other side, but had no idea of how to do so.
The first man prayed, saying, "Please God, give me the strength to cross this river." Poof! God gave him big arms and strong legs, and he was able to swim across the river in about two hours, after almost drowning a couple of times.
Seeing this, the second man prayed to God, saying, "Please God, give me the strength, and the tools to cross this river." Poof! God gave him a rowboat and he was able to row across the river in about an hour, after almost capsizing the boat a couple of times.
The third man had seen how this worked out for the other two, so he also prayed to God saying, "Please God, give me the strength and the tools, and the intelligence, to cross this river." And poof! God turned him into a woman. She looked at the map, hiked upstream a couple of hundred yards, and then walked across the bridge.
(Editor's Note: I guess it just goes to show, sometimes God doesn't work exactly as we think He will. *chuckle* Though I don't think changing someone's gender would probably be something He'd consider.)
- Shona
Well much has changed in the world since the Conqueror Newsletter last appeared in your mailboxes. Much has changed, and yet much remains the same. And to be honest not all of that change has been for the worst either.
I suppose it just goes to show us how true the words in Ecclesiastes 3:1 are:
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven"
On a slightly lighter note, you'll a find a few pictures from the recent (re)Union
hike scattered through out the newsletter.
I must say that while it was a good hike over all, it was a little "luxurious" in places; For instance we had toilets at every campsite! Luxury! Ah well we did have some rather cold nights and the trails were hard packed and steep in spots so I can't complain too much *grin*.
Also for those of you with web access, there is quite a few more pictures of the hike up on the Conqueror website in Gallery 6. See below for the address.
Thanks to those who contributed to this newsletter. And remember if you have something you'd like to add to the next newsletter, feel free to send it my way!
I shall leave you with one parting thought (and the solution to the last Conqueror Crossword (60), very important!):
"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" - Romans 8:31
| Editor: |
Karl Rudd |
email: krudd@uow.edu.au ICQ: 32256111 MSN IM: karlrudd@hotmail.com AOL IM: amorphite001 |
Camp Conqueror Website: http://www.campconqueror.org/