Meet Martyn, a leader in two countries!

My son and family live in the South Island of New Zealand, about 25 minutes from Christchurch.

I’ve visited them most years and since my retirement have gone out for 4 months at a time. I wanted this to be Living in NZ rather than look at it as 4 months holiday. To achieve this, I wanted to get involved with the same sort of hobbies and activities that I enjoy here in the UK.

I saw an advert for volunteer crew on a 100-year-old sailing ship, giving youth groups sailing trips around Lyttleton Harbour, so contacted the skipper and met him and was taken onto the crew. Good fun and I made a couple of friends who had boats of their own and were members of the yacht club. This led to being invited to sail with them and join the yacht club.

I really enjoy fishing and there is plenty of free fishing in NZ so that’s another hobby ticked off.

I've been a scout leader here for 35 years and have enjoyed nearly every minute, so I made contact with the Group Scout Leader of Rolleston Scout Group. Rolleston is a booming town about 10 minutes from where I stay when in NZ. They only have 1 scout group, but it is flourishing with 2 Kea sections (Beavers in the UK) 3 Cub packs and 3 scout troops. They also have a senior scout section and a Venturer section (Explorers in the UK). I help with the Thursday Scouts. It’s a land scout troop so no sailing or kayaking but plenty of exciting activities. I’ve learnt how to safely walk across a river, some new fire lighting ideas and other things.

They have a National Mudslide Day, when young people get wet and dirty sliding down a wet muddy hillside!! Not for me thanks, I just watched and helped out.

The flag break ceremony is very different to our sea scout one. The troop stand in a circle and all the commands are done silently with hand signals, with a PL breaking the flag. PLs organise and run the games each night. It’s their summer when I visit so the uniform is scout shirt, Necker and SHORTS. The scout hut is called the DEN and once a term they have what’s called a Den Raid on another scout troop in a nearby village or town. This isn’t an attack on the other troop but a night of joint activities. Also, once a term local scout troops get together for a joint activity, the last one I went on in January was an orienteering event around the city of Christchurch, about 60 scouts in patrols with maps, GPS units and clues racing around town.

It’s been great to be involved with scouts in a different country, I’ve learnt lots, had fun and hopefully passed on some of my 35 years of scout experience.