TREK ‘n’ SWIM
Last weekend our FUSE youth group went on a Trek and Swim to Karloo Pool in the Royal National Park. We typically do this activity as part of the Ignite summer program. However, we needed to cancel it this year due to the heavy smoke in the air and electrical storms.
So, we went last Saturday and it was a beautiful day. 46 youth came along for the adventure.
The walk begins at the RFS station at Heathcote and is 2.5km with a few steep sections in the last km.
Karloo Pool is a natural waterhole in the valley and the recent rains meant the water was crystal clear. We took lots of inflated car tyre tubes and a few balls to enable some extra fun.
In the natural setting, group members managed to catch a crayfish and some even tried to catch one of the resident eels.
As a special bonus treat we stopped at 7-Eleven on the way home and bought everybody a Slurpee.
While our mission is to proclaim the good news of Jesus, activities like the Trek ‘n’ Swim play an important role in helping the youth develop a sense of BELONGING. The day provides plenty of opportunity for group members to interact with each other and create history together through their shared experience.
The walk down and back provided many interesting conversations with the youth, including a point at which we all stopped and had a time of silence while we just listened to the sounds of the bush and reflected a little on creation.
Members of the general public were also visiting Karloo Pool and we had a few conversations in which people commented on how well behaved our group was and how good it was that the youth have a group like FUSE that will take them on adventures.