Camp Carolina Blog

Weekend fun!

campcarolina — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:15:49 +0000

Now all the campers and counselors are settled back at home the weekends drift by… Weekends for the campers begin on Friday night with the traditional, meaningful and reflecting camp fire where the boy receive their Old Man of the Mountain paddle and brands. After a busy week of trips, sport and in camp activities the boys get to sit, remember the good times during the week, feel pride in their achievements and new-found skills and share their excitement and joy with camp buddies on achieving the next step in one of the oldest traditions at Camp Carolina.

Saturday the boys may go for a slide and swim at Sliding Rock. Sliding Rock is a very popular, natural water slide a 2o minute drive into Pisgah Forest. They may have fun on the man made slip and slide on Dining Hall Hill, take part in a cookie cooking clinic, compete in a diving competition or try their hand at a real life problem solving game at the Low ropes course.

Biltmore Train, Cookout, Dances, whole camp games, more cookout… This is making us miss our summer weekends too much! Enjoy the pictures and let them speak for themselves!

Is that a SHAVING CREAM battle on the OD field?

campcarolina — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:19:39 +0000

Waking up this morning at camp everyone was pondering, did all 3 sessions of campers and counselors have a secret midnight shaving cream battle? The entire camp resembled the aftermath of the OD fields destruction after the famous shaving cream battles from the light dusting of snow.

A highlight for many campers and counselors, the evening program shaving cream battle is missed once summer has passed. Do you still find yourself making a shaving cream mohawk in the shower? How about a father christmas beard? Its OK, we all do it! The battle usually eventuates into a camper vs counselor (whom are outnumbered and defeated).

So get excited everyone, pack those goggles and bathing suit, practice your shaving cream can manouveres and get ready for the 2012 battles!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year… What will 2012 bring?

campcarolina — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:09:23 +0000

Christmas day arrived and although it was not white, it bought with it a beautiful blue sky and white frost. We got thinking how different Christmas is celebrated by our campers and counselors all over the world, but one thing would always be in common-Christmas is a time to be spent with friends and family. The friendships that are made at Camp Carolina, between campers and counselors can last a lifetime. Camp is the perfect environment to find these lifelong friends, a friend who offers support and words of wisdom when challenged, a friend who shares the joy and excitement of achievement and overcoming new obstacles and a friend who encourages and assists you when trying something new. Family is a very important component of Camp Carolina, as we want the childs family to experience these milestones and joyful moments with their son, either via the weekly letters sent home or by following their time through pictures taken daily by our photo video team.

For me Christmas is always celebrated at the beach/lake/pool or at least in an air-conditioned house to enjoy the very warm sunshine. Lunch is the big meal of the day and is usually seafood, salads and a cold chicken/turkey followed by a Pavlova covered in fresh fruit and cream. For the UK dwellers Christmas lunch or dinner is usually a big roast with baked vegetables and a warm Christmas pudding. How did our campers spend their Christmas and what was their favorite food?

Again the New Year arrived, with a stunning blue skied day and a temperature of almost 60 degrees. On the day many new year resolutions are made by individuals want to be better and do better many of them making resolutions that Camp Carolina encourages boys to make on a daily basis. The boys are encouraged to be responsible and caring members of the camp society, to meet new challenges head on and how to respect and care for the friends they have made. Like a new year resolution they do not receive a prize or recognition for this behaviour yet a nod of approval from their counselor or sharing a joke with a new-found best friend is so much more valued and treasured for years to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays from Camp Carolina

campcarolina — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 20:07:52 +0000

After a busy few weeks leading up to the Christmas break everyone at Camp Carolina is excited to spend time with friends and family and relax before hitting the ground running in the New Year!

Alfred, Ec, Bren and Lil Alfred have all headed off to Costa Rica for some fun in the sun and will return in the New Year. Accountant and register Jen has Gabe (super newt!) visiting and helping out in the barn whilst Accountant Marianne has her daughter visiting for the week. Kylie and Phil are visiting Marianne as well as kayak counselor Collier Browns family in Saluda after celebrating Christmas Eve (ukrainian style!) with Anton. Greg who works on maintenance has headed all the way up to Alaska for the holidays. Elvis and Lulu are excited to be spending Christmas up at the Chalet with Phil, Kylie and Anton!

The winter staff would like to wish campers, campers families and our counselors all over the world a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 2012 will bring many things-including the best summer yet!

5 lucky horses head off to Club Med for the winter!

campcarolina — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:21:24 +0000

The horses of Camp Carolina are what many of our horse crazy campers look forward to most each summer. Some of the horses have called Camp Carolina home for 20 years and some have yet to complete their first year. One thing they all have in common is their patience and good-natured personality-especially around the campers!

Our aim for the horse riding program here at CCB is to encourage confidence in not only riding the horses but handling them and learning all aspects of equine management. The boys learn how to safely tie, groom, lead, saddle and mount before learning the basic riding skills all under the watchful eye of trained Horseback staff. We then encourage the boys to sign up for the most fun of all, trail riding trips in Dupont and Pisgah Forest!

As many campers learn over the summers, especially during the end of session prizetrips when the horses are hight tied for a length of time horses are very hard on the ground and can cause it to get very muddy. Which is what our herd did! Camp Blue Star very generously offered to share their 35 acre pasture in Hendersonville with 5 of the Camp Carolina horses much to the relief of Kylie who is looking after the horses, and head of maintenance Greg who is looking after camp grounds.

Monty, Biscuit, Kip, Shalome and Cassie all hopped into Big Red and Phun-Hawg for the short trip to Hendersonville. The field has plenty of grass, a natural stream and small forested areas for the horses to shelter in bad weather. The Blue Star horses came to introduce themselves to our 5 horses before they all trotted off over the mountain to start their relaxing vacation.

Adam “Bob” Kelway’s South American adventure. Part 1

campcarolina — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:03:06 +0000

As most counselors from the summers past have finished their travels and settled down for the winter (or summer for our luck Southern Hemisphere people!) we often find ourselves day dreaming about the adventures of the lucky few counselors and campers who are still travelling. Bob Kelway, who lead our photo video team for 2011 is living the adventure of a lifetime (after many years of planning and saving!) and has been in South America since he finished producing (the AMAZING!) 2011 promotional DVD.

This is what Bob has been up to. Enjoy and don’t get too jealous!

“Iquaza Falls”

“Since I left camp I’ve been in South America for nearly two months. I spent quite a while in Argentina, a few weeks in Chile and now I’m currently in Brazil. Each of the three countries so far have had completely different things to offer and the landscapes vary every few hundred miles. On one such drive in Argentina I went from hot and sunny low mountain valley roads to near snowing and freezing conditions in the clouds and into endless deserts filled with cacti in the space of an hour. Southern Chile reminded me a lot of North Carolina with so many outdoor activities to offer including horseback riding, kayaking, rafting, mountain biking, paintball and volcano climbing. Okay so maybe the last one you can’t do at camp but maybe if you nag Alfred enough maybe they can find one for us to climb.

“Bob on a riding trek”

The highlights for me so far have been Iguazu Falls, on the border of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. These make Triple Falls seem like a leaky tap!! The amount of water that flowed over 275 individual waterfalls was incredible. Another great place was Bonito, a small town in the Pantanal region of Brazil. Here we got to snorkel down a crystal clear river for about two hours with hundreds of tropical fish swimming around us. I’ve seen a huge amount of different wildlife so far which is one of the main reasons I have come to South America. I was fortunate enough to see three wild Jaguar, hundreds of cayman, capybara, toucans and all sorts of bird species, wild ostrich, buffalo and a tarantula. I’m yet to see a snake yet but hopefully I can wrestle with an anaconda somewhere soon. “

“Iquaza Falls”

Bobs plan is to spend a few more months in South America before heading up to Canada (with a possible stop at CCB?) mid 2012 to find a job in Vancouver.

Meanwhile at camp we are enjoying a really nice warm change in weather. We are experiencing sunny, blue sky days and chilly but clear nights. Mary Ec and Alfred Snr are both busy with marketing, signing up new campers and overseeing the general running of Camp Carolina. Daughter Bren has 2 days left of exams-you can do it Bren! And Little Alfred will be heading home from NC state in the next few days for some holiday time (destination unknown!). Phil and Kylie are busy recruiting new staff for summer 2012, with some very exciting and experienced counselors looking forward to a summer of a lifetime! Marianne and Jen are both “working numbers” where the maintenance team are making great progress with the Manders cabins, new trails and general camp upkeep.

Lulu has spent the last few nights on a vacation with a friend, Elvis has been loving life as an only child and the horses have started day dreaming about sunny days riding in Dupont and Pisgah forest (apart from Nuzzy who has a sore leg). We have recently heard from Camp Carolina program director JJ (Jason Shepherd) who is currently working on an exciting project in Nigcuara-stay tuned for more information and some amazing pictures!

One of New Zealands finest returns to Camp Carolina!

campcarolina — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:52:03 +0000

New Zealand’s very own “mountain man” John McDonald will be returning to Camp Carolina for the 2012 summer. John is a dedicated member of the white water staff and in 2011 took on the task of organising and running all the rafting trips-not an easy task! A favorite among campers and counselors we are all excited here at CCB to hear all about Johns adventures

back in New Zealand.

We asked John why he originally decided to come to CCB for the first time, in 2010. He answered “I was excited to gain more experience as an outdoor instructor in a new setting. I was excited to teach new activities in new areas.” And what is your favorite thing about spending your summer at Camp Carolina? “The people you met are what makes camp life such an amazing experience. I’ve met a bunch of the hardest working and most caring people you will find anywhere.”

At the moment John is back in New Zealand doing what he loves working full-time as an outdoor instructor teaching a range of activities to children. John also spends all of his spare time in the outdoors tramping, fishing/hunting, kayaking and more! His biggest accomplishment so far has been “working with children, it gives me a sense of pride knowing that I have the power to change someone’s life with a kind word or piece of advice or and experience they will never forget.”

His hero is “My hero’s are the outdoor instructors and camp leaders that have helped to train me. They have taught me not only instructor skills but about myself and things I need to improve on.”

As modest as ever John couldn’t think what he is famous for at camp. We will leave that decision up to the counselors and campers!

Why Camp Carolina is such a great experience for boys

campcarolina — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:37:02 +0000

If you asked many of our campers where their favorite place in the world is they would respond with an exuberant “Camp Carolina of course!”

Campers are encouraged to grow as independent members of the camp society from day 1. They are given options every single day and relish in the opportunity to choose what activities they want to do each week and what trip they may want to go on in the morning. Even decisions as simple as what they want to eat for breakfast can be an important tool to promote self growth and independence. Campers who are less sure of making decisions have their cabin counselors with them who can help guide and encourage them.

Our wide range of high adventure activities promote self-confidence in the boys as well as confidence to try to take on new adventures and opportunities when presented to them. Camp ensures that the boys start off in each activity at the most basic level and work their way up which instills self belief and confidence in their new-found skills. Parents are often surprised when they pick up their son who has never mentioned a certain activity and is now performing it confidently at a high level.

The ability to make new friends and new experiences is also an important component of camp. All new campers are in the same boat on day 1 at CCB and new friendships are quickly established. These friendships can last for a lifetime. New experiences are presented every day, whether it is as simple as holding a salamander for the first time or managing to roll a kayak up right for the first time. Even the silliest experiences at camp can last with the campers for a long time with our older campers still telling stories from their very first day of their very first year at Camp Carolina.

Finally Camp is just plain fun! Waking up with your buddies each morning, choosing your favorite activity for the day, what you want to eat at dinner. Sunny, warm days, fun counselors with funny accents from all over the world and the excitement for what each new day may bring. Who wouldn’t want to be here?

“Simbo” Leave Camp Carolina

campcarolina — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:38:20 +0000

After a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend at Camp Carolina much-loved camp counselors Jimbo Brooks and Simone Hayward bid farewell to their home from the last few years. 2011 was their 5th summer as counselors at the best place on Earth with Jimbo spending time as a tennis counselor, head of Newts and In Camp Director while Simone worked for several years on horseback before running the Earthworks program. From Summer 2010 they have been working in the Camp Carolina office, with Jimbo heading out to campers houses for Pizza Parties and Simone organising the Pizza Parties and looking after the horses. They also worked hard to recruit the fantastic 2011 counselors.

They are currently in South Africa, which is Simone’s birthplace to enjoy the Southern Hemisphere summer before heading to the UK in February. A return to camp is still a possibility!

Camp Carolina thanks them and wishes them all the best for the future.

We are thankful for so much at Camp Carolina

campcarolina — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:18:55 +0000

Here at Camp Carolina most of the things we are thankful for are the things we miss the most at this time of the year! The “1,2,3 BLOBBING” coming from the lake, the barks from Elvis and the laughter of the boys playing fetch with him, the chants before every meal, the chants before EVERYTHING… these are all memories that are savoured here long after the campers head home and camp becomes a strangely quiet place to be.

At Camp Carolina we encourage the boys to be thankful for acts of kindness and generosity and forget any materialistic items that have been left at home. The smallest things are appreciated whilst at camp, the chance to jump in a natural swimming hole after a long hike, spending rest hour learning a new card game from a new friend and fellow cabin mate, or standing as quiet as possible to watch one of the deer feeding on the team sports fields before breakfast.

This Thanksgiving Camp Carolina is thankful for an amazing 2011 summer spent with awesome campers. We are thankful for the campers, new and old for giving camp their all and grasping every opportunity presented to them with both hands and making Camp Carolina what it is… The best place on Earth!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM CAMP CAROLINA