26 girls and 6 leaders flew from Melbourne to Townsville with Jetstar, and after a night sleeping in the Townsville Guide Hall, we took the ferry across to the Island and found ourselves in a tropical paradise. Each patrol stayed in its own A-frame chalet at Xbase right on the waterfront, surrounded by palm trees and just a stroll to the beach. From here, each day we tried new challenges, from SCUBA diving and snorkelling to Sea Kayaking, a boat cruise and beach horseriding, to jet-skiing and a mammoth hike to the highest point on the island! We also joined the Scouts for a camp-out at Florence Bay - waking up to watch the sunrise over the ocean! The theme of the camp was 'Miss World gets kidnapped by Pirates of the Caribbean' and each night the patrols faced a 'creative' challenge as part of the widegame that ran throughout the week. This might include making a Miss World 'evening gown' from materials found around the chalets, or acting out a typical Miss World interview etc. At the end of the week, our Miss World Patrol was crowned, and the girls also voted for a Miss Congeniality - the girl on camp who had been the most helpful and caring. A trip out to the outer barrier reef was the final highlight of our big trip as we snorkelled amongst colourful coral and hundreds of tropical fish!

I think we all agree it was the best camp ever, with many new friendships made amongst the unit, and lots of exhilarating experiences! The leaders were so impressed and proud of the maturity and caring nature shown by all the Guides - true Guiding Spirit and a great advertisement for Guides!