This may be my first post however it is definitely not my first adventure. Reality is this Explorer Belt idea encompasses a variety of adventures and anecdotes that really isn’t possible in one post. To begin with I would like to introduce the concept of an “Explorer Belt” which is big enough to cover.
The scouting association have a varying degree of challenges, the highest awarding being the Queen Scout Award, Gold Duke of Edinburgh and The Explorer Belt. To apply to the challenge you must be between 16-25 years of age, be active in the scouting movement, have a team of 2 or more, and be prepared for a lot of work.
Composed of 10 minor challenges and 1 major challenge to be completed in another country. Along with a budget, limited modes of transport and a log book to complete, this is no easy feat. I’ll break it down because I struggle to even get my head around it sometimes.
10 day expedition out with the UK in a team of 2 or more. A minimum travel time of 50 hours over the 10 day period. You may travel by foot, cycle, horse, canoe, boat or dinghy (we chose to use our feet, due to the fact we are all well versed in their use and have confidence they will work fairly well). Public transport may only be used as part of travel time if it presents opportunity to meet people or complete challenges that would otherwise be missed. A logbook must be kept which is individual or for the team but includes places visited, feelings and project work achieved. Recognising the teams ability to achieve basic scouting skills i.e. outdoors cooking, lightweight camping, networking, home hospitality … the list goes on but you get the idea.
This whole process will become clearer once you hear my experience and a little less like a list of “scouty stuff”. After the expedition is over there is a debrief with a mentor (who guides you through the process), ideally done within 24 hours of the last day of the expedition – day 10. Once home and rested – god, you need it – the next stage is a presentation which is arguably the easiest part of the process in my mind as even though you are being assessed you get to tell everyone about you experience! When you have done so much hard work and had the best time while doing it you can’t wait to tell your friends and family about it (as well as assessors but hey they don’t count right?).
I think that’s enough from me for now. Next will be much more personal I promise, and exciting. But for now signing out to gallivant to university.
– Lizzie 🙂
Guide to Gallivanting 