Location: Jegersberg, Kristiansand
Our first University overnight camping trip was in Jagersberg was roughly 15 minutes from campus. It’s amazing that ‘every man’s right’ allowed us to camp in a recreation park so close to Kristiansand. The aim of this night was to prepare ourselves for future overnight trips, test gear, become a more cohesive group via team building games and experimenting with some nutritious meals.
The afternoon started with each country organising and running a team building game which incorporated the aspects of being cognitive, physical and fun. As a group we’ve already began the “Storming” phase (Bruce Tuckman, 1965) which allowed the games to run smoothly as everyone’s communication reflected good teamwork. Rubber Chicken, Hen in a Hen House, 8 feet 4 hands were highlight games that had everyone working together and laughing, exactly the aims of this trip to promote group cohesion. I’ve already noted down these games in my professional portfolio as they’ll been excellent future team building games.
After each game everyone would democratically make a vote on the presenting nationalities team building game, the team would scored highest won the choice of picking the first meat to cook with. After being given ingredient’s we had to abide by the three rules, each meals had to be nutritious (carbs, protein, fats), warm and tasty, important for winter trips. Us Aussie’s had chicken, pasta, mixed vegetables and Markus (my Norwegian roommate) spice mix. It was this spice mix that Len said our meal was the tastiest, showing how a little spice can make a meal that little bit better considering that everyone’s dishes were excellent overnight meals. Scott and Rob’s beef noodle soup was my personal favourite as it was super tasty and hydrating. The storm kitchen we used I’ve had good experience with, however I’ve only used red spirit. Using the gas connection made it was so much more convenient that almost my Jetboil. Simple meals like this made me realise you’ve got so much choice went creating nutritious camping meals.
Marijn, Sam and I slept in a 4 man tent which was plenty space for us. Initially setting up the tent was difficult as we never set this particular model up. After discovering it was a mutlipitch tent and where each pole goes where it was reasonably simple, Len also gave us some tips on using guide ropes, using end ropes to lengthen the tent before using the side ones will reduce the risk of pooling water or snow. Len also mentioned using the air ventilation holes were really important especially in winter as there can be a significant temperature difference which can build a lot of condensation within the tent. Additionally having set this up allowed us to set up the tent twice as quick the next day in Stavanger.
The rest of the night was filled with socialising with friends around the campfire, throwing huge rocks off a cliff into the frozen lake below and having plenty of laughs! It was the first sign of using starting to feel like a family, which in academic terms relates to becoming more of a cohesive group. You began to understand which types of roles everyone aligns to and when that is, during a task or socialising. Overall the aims of our first overnight trip were a success. We’ve become that little bit more cohesive, been exposed to other countries team building games and learning about many nutritious meals for future winter trips.
Reference List:
- Tuckman, BW & Humphreys, LH 1965, ‘Developmental sequence in small groups’, Psychological Bulletin, vol. 63, no. 6, pp. 384-399.