Our last full day on camp was a busy and exciting one. We all loaded into the buses early and headed out to go camel riding. It was to be a warm, windy and dusty day which made us feel like we were in the Sahara Desert rather than 20 minutes out of Alice Springs.

The camels all had cool names and one of them was famous for giving kisses (which Ron just had to check out!). Some of the Cadets were quite afraid of getting on a camel, either due to their great height or because of their bad reputation for spitting and being nasty. With a little encouragement, and a few false starts, every cadet successfully rode a camel. It was an amazing opportunity for all the Cadets as many had never been away from home before, much less rode a camel!

Next on the itinerary was a game or two at the bowling alley for everyone except Kelly and me. We used this opportunity to visit the one camp member who was missing-in-action.

Sam Cameron (Tennant Creek Cadet Superintendent) was finally admitted to the Alice Springs Hospital due to a nasty infection from a spider bite after soldiering through the pain for 4 days! We were glad to report back to the Cadets that she was quickly improving on the right antibiotic (although she has a deep hole in her leg from doctors digging out all the nastiness which the Cadets found fascinating!). 

The afternoon was rounded out by Quiz session run by Amy and me. We challenged teams’ knowledge of sport, movies, animals and music. The teams’ tables were stocked with chocolates and Minties to increase blood flow to their brains! Surprisingly the adult team won (must have had lots of chocolates and Minties).

After dinner it was time to get costumed for the theme night/disco - the theme was Superheros and Villains.

We had some fantastic and creative costumes on the night including a Boom Gate (that's another story!), Superman, Cat Woman, the Joker, the Hulk, Astro Boy, ninja, an ANZAC, St John Volunteer (Geoff) and Super Mum (Joylene), Everyone had a great time, but sadly we knew it had to come to an end. Thursday would be an early start. We had to clean up, get packed, and for those of us from up the track, pack the bus and drive to Tennant Creek.

As always it was hard to say goodbye. All the Cadets made new friends and had fantastic experiences together. Email addresses and phone numbers were exchanged, photos taken and promises to see each other at next years NT Cadet Camp were made. Every time we drove through a spot with mobile phone coverage on the way back to Tennant Creek and Darwin, the Cadets would receive text messages from the Cadets in Alice Springs wanting to know how our trip way going. I'm happy to say the trip home was uneventful (no boom gates were harmed on the return trip!)

Once again, a big thank you to the fantastic team who helped make the 2009 NT Cadet Camp and competitions a great success - Geoff, Joylene, Ron Owen, Kate, Paul Berry, Kelly Raven, Michael, Sam Cameron, Darren, Julie, Matthew, Amy, Gwyn Balch and all the Cadets who attended.

Article by Kimberlee McKay