Gareth Pritchard & Freya Dulson, Iceland 2017

After arriving in Reykjavik we made our way to the opening ceremony to join 5000 other network age members from around the world, a performance of singing, acrobatics and entertainment opened the event.

First stop was to our Expedition center in Hvergerdi (pronounced fer-rer-gehdi), here we met our 8 other patrol members and 38 other tribe members. We did a variety of activities including learning Icelandic food traditions like SKYR CAKE! We had the chance to climb the local mountain Skalafell, this was a fantastic days walk with all our patrol. We had time to relax doing some outdoor yoga by the river and relaxing in the hot pools in the local area.

We then hiked to the main campsite, Úlfljótsvatn, this is where we met the thousands of other scouts from around the world. Every day we had different theme zones to go round which included an inflatable games zone, Icelandic folklore and souvenir making, Recycling and global conservation and creative zones. As well as the organised program there was plenty of extra adventure to be had, including kayaking on the nearby lake and off-site excursions. One day we had the chance to sample other cultures on what was called International day, this involved touring the campsite and trying the foods from different countries as well as native games and traditions.

In the evenings we had entertainment in the form of open mics, musical performances and story telling on the main stage set in the middle of the campsite.

After 9 days of fantastic adventure and life changing experiences it was time to bring everything to an end with the closing ceremony, this was an awesome musical treat from an amazing Icelandic band who played to the entire campsite.

Once again, we would like to send our huge thank you to everyone at the Pawprint Trust for helping us get to Iceland, it truly was an incredible experience which we will remember forever!