World Jamborees: 1995 Report
1995 - 18th World Jamboree, Flevoland, Netherlands
1 - 11 August / Participants 28 960 / Countries 166 / South Africans 135
Overview of Tour and Jamboree
A very informative and exciting two week tour of Germany and Austria and a few days 'home hospitality' with Scouting families in Bonn preceded the Jamboree. The number of countries represented at the Jamboree was the largest ever. The event was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and her husband Prince Claus.
The increase in numbers at the 18th Jamboree was largely due to the rebirth of Scouting in formerly communist countries, as well as the sponsorship by Operation Flevoland which assisted many contingents from developing countries in Africa to attend. African participation in 1995 was 339 Scouts and leaders from 33 countries, including approximately 141 from South Africa.
The three week trip to the Jamboree in the Netherlands turned out to be a real adventure.
This is what the Mpumalanga scouts and guides said of their experience in Europe. The seventy-two-member South African contingent, drawn from all over South Africa, left a lasting impression with all those at the jamboree and all 5 000 visitors who came to the open weekend.
Mpumalanga's area commissioner, Mr Dudley James led the contingent with assistant area commissioner Mr Charlie Baty as his deputy. Mr Muzi Manta, from 1st Mayfern Scout troop and Mr Mduduzi Makwakwa of 1st Pienaar Troop were both in the exhibition tribal dancing team which performed both in the sub- camp and on the main Jamboree stage. Ms Thethiwe Mtsweni of Mhluzi Guide Company in Middelburg was selected as one of the 20 international representatives who each brought a greeting in their own language from their home country.
The other two Mpumalanga scouts, Mr David Potgieter and Mr Clinton James were both prominent in the challenge activities, which included day and night hiking, assisting children at a refuge centre, Indiana Jones adventure stunts, Internet cafe, radio and electronic base, media and international challenges.
One of the highlights was the visit of the South African ambassador Mr Andrew le Roux and his family, to the Jamboree specially to visit the continent - and he was impressed.
Prior to the Jamboree, families of Scouting Nederland hosted the South African scouts and guides while Deutsche Ffadfinderschaft Sanct Georg arranged seven different scouting adventures throughout Germany, which took the groups to places as far apart as the Baltic Sea, the Black Forest and Bavaria. Some even went in to Austria while one group cycled through Germany and Holland, ending up at the Jamboree.
The whole contingent was commended on their smartness, behaviour and the credit they were to their country.
The Pre Jamboree Tour
Editor's Note: No report could be found and this is an edited version of the proposed itinerary, but with actual tour photos.
Munich and surrounds
On arrival at Munich Contingent will be met by representatives of the Deutsche Pfadfinderschaft St Georg, who will accompany the Contingent on the tour through southern Germany and Austria. During the afternoon there will be a sightseeing tour of Munich.
München to the Germans - third-largest city in Germany and capital of the Free State of Bavaria, is the single most popular tourist destination in Germany.
Endowed with vast tracts of greenery in the form of parks, gardens, and forests; grand boulevards set with remarkable edifices; fountains and statuary; and a river spanned by graceful bridges, Munich is easily Germany's most beautiful and interesting city. If the visitor was to visit only one city in Germany, this would be it.
German Museum of Science and Technology
Today a visit will be made to the Deutsches Museum. It is one of the most stimulating and innovative science museums in Europe. Twelve miles of corridors, six floors of exhibits, and 30 departments make up the immense collections. Its extensive collection and activities that provide buttons to push and cranks to turn make for an interesting experience.
Berchtesgaden
This afternoon you set off by coach down the autobahn south-east town Salzburg in Austria. Oberbayern, or upper Bavaria, is Germany's favourite vacationland, for visitors and Germans alike. Coming south or south-east from Munich, you soon find yourself on a gently-rolling, plain leading to a lovely land of lakes fed by alpine rivers and streams, surrounded by ancient forests. In time, the plain merges into foothills, which suddenly give way to a jagged line of Alpine peaks. Picture book villages with too-good-to-be-true wooden homes with brightly frescoed facades and window boxes filled with flowers in summer - are brought to life here. Onion-domed church spires rise out of the mist against the backdrop of the mighty Alps.
Most of the coaches now head deep into the Bavarian Alps to the Berchtesgaden area in the south-east corner of Germany. Approximately two-thirds of the Contingent will spend the next four nights in Berchtesgaden, using it as a base for excursions, whilst the other third will be based in nearby Salzburg. The programme of sightseeing and activities will be the same for both groups.
The name Berchtesgaden is indelibly linked to that of Adolf Hitler - it was "Der Führer's" favourite mountain retreat. An ancient market town set in the noblest section of the Bavarian Alps, Berchtesgaden serves as one of the region's most popular resorts. Members of the ruling Wittelsbach dynasty started coming here in 1810. Their ornate palace stands today and is one of the town's major attractions.
Salzbergwerk Berchtesgaden: A visit will be made to the salt mine which, to many travellers, is the highlight of their stay in the area. Dressed in traditional miners' clothing, you sit astride a mining wagon train that transports you through a 700-yard tunnel into the mountain to get off into an enormous chamber, the Emperor Fraz pit, with a ceiling of some 3 000 square metres. From there you slide down a 100 foot chute, polished by countless miners' pants, to a beautiful salt grotto with glowing salt rocks in bright colours.
This afternoon you visit the Berchtesgaden National Park by boat. The park consists of 210 square kilometres of wild mountain country where fauna and flora have been left to develop as nature intended.
A fleet of 21 excursion boats, electrically driven so that no noise disturbs the peace of the lake, operates on the Königsee. Only the skipper of the boat is allowed to shatter the silence with a trumpet fanfare to demonstrate the lake's remarkable echo. The notes from the trumpet bounce back and forth from the almost vertical cliffs that plunge into the dark, green water. The boat trip lasts almost two hours, without stops.
Salzburg
Salzburg is among the world's most beautiful cities with its horizon defined by the snow-capped Alps. Sharply rising hills cradle the city's old section. The Salzach River divides Salzburg, giving it an airy openness. A huge fortress, unconquered in its 900-year history, looks down protectively on the panorama of churches, palaces and patrician residences, some of which date back to the 8th century. The Prince Archbishops who ruled this part of Austria for 1 200 years expressed their spiritual devotion in the Salzburg churches, and celebrated their secular riches in magnificent palaces.
Garmisch
The next two days will be spent in the Garmisch/Füssen/Innsbruck area. Garmisch is the undisputed Alpine capital of Bavaria. This bustling, year-round resort and spa area is the ideal centre from which to explore the Bavarian Alps.
A highlight of your trip is the visit to Neuscewanstein Castle, built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. "mad" King Ludwig II was one of a line of dukes, electors and kings of the Wittelsbach dynasty who ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918.
Grandest of his extravagant projects is Neuschwanstein, that came close to breaking the Wittelsbach bank. Ludwig's love of the theatre and fantasy ran so deep that when he came to build this castle, he employed a set designer instead of an architect. The castle soars from its mountainside like a stage creation, and was built over a 17-year period starting 1869 and, today, ironically, is one of Germany's top tourist attractions.
From Neuschwanstein today's tour will take you to the massive walls Kloster Ettal, the great monastery founded in 1330 by Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig der Bayer (Ludwig the Bavarian) for a group of knights and a community of Benedictine monks. The abbey was replaced with a new building in the 18th century and now serves as a school. However, the original 10-sided church was brilliantly redecorated in 1744-1753, becoming one of the foremost examples of Bavarian Rococo. The church's chief treasure is its enormous dome fresco (83 feet wide) painted by Jaco Zeiller, circa 1751-52. The mass of swirling clouds and the pink-and-blue vision of Heaven is typical of the Rococo fondness for elaborate and luminous illusionist ceiling painting.
Innsbruck
Today you visit Innsbruck and ascend to the top of Germany's highest mountain - the Zugspitze.
Named after the bridge over the Inn River, Innsbruck began with a toll house and a few small Inns for weary travellers on one of the most important trading routes in medieval Europe.
Innsbruck was host to the Olympic Games in 1964 and in 1976 the winter games of the 12th Olympiad again took place here.
Today you enjoy the number-one attraction in Garmisch -- an ascent of the Zugspitze, the highest mountain (9 731 feet) in Germany.
First, there is a leisurely 75-minute ride up the mountain on a cog railway, from the train station in the centre of town to the hotel, and then a cable ride for the final 1 037 feet to just below the peak.
Romantic Road
Of all the specially designated tourist routes that crisscross Germany, none rivals the aptly named Romantische Strasse, or Romantic Road. What makes the romantic road so memorable are the medieval towns, villages, castles and churches that stud its 420-km length. Many of these are tucked away behind low hills, their spires and towers poking up through the greenery. Within the massive gates of formerly fortified settlements, half-timbered houses lean against each other along narrow cobbled lanes and ancient squares are adorned with fountains and flowers, and formidable walls are punctuated by watchtowers built to keep a lookout for marauding enemies.
Nürnberg
Nürnberg has played a significant role in German history since its origin, and it was here, too, that Hitler staged the greatest and most grandiose Nazi rallies and the Allies held the war trials. Wartime bombing destroyed much of medieval and Renaissance Nürnberg, though faithful reconstruction has largely re-created much of the old city centre's pre-war atmosphere. In the afternoon you will visit the BMW car manufacturing plant.
This morning there will be a city tour of Nürnberg. The historic heart of Nürnberg is compact; all principal sights are within easy walking distance. To get a sense of the city, you could start your tour by walking around all or part of the city walls. Finished in 1452, they are complete with moats, sturdy gateways and watchtowers.
Heidelberg
Morning tour of Heidelberg. If any city in Germany can be said to capture the spirit of the country, it must be Heidelberg.
It was the university, the oldest in the country, that gave impetus to the artistic movement that claimed Heidelberg as its own, but the natural beauty of the city - embraced by mountains, forests, vineyards, and the Necktar River, and crowned by its ruined castle.
The city was the political centre of the Rhineland Palatinate. Extending west to east through the old town is Hauptstrasse, an elegant pedestrian mall that runs straight as an arrow for 1 Mile to the main square, Marktplatz. As you walk down Hauptsrasse, the university - or part of it anyway, there are four separate university complexes in the town - enfolds you almost immediately.
If Heidelberg Castle interests you, allow at least two hours to tour the complex. The Königstuhl funicular hoists visitors to the Königstuhl heights, 1 860 feet above Heidelberg, stopping at the ruined castle on the way. The funicular is the quickest way to get to the castle but you can also take the winding road up.
The oldest parts of the castle still standing date from the 15th century, though most of the great complex was built in the Renaissance and Baroque styles of the 16th and 17th centuries, when the castle was the seat and power base of the Palatinate Electors. What is most striking is the architectural variety of the building, vivid proof of changing tastes (and uses) through the years.
This afternoon you leave Heidelberg by coach to Mainz. Mainz is a bustling, business-like but friendly Rhine-side city with a brilliantly planned central pedestrian zone. All streets lead to the spacious market square. Watching over the square with the dignity of age is the sturdy, turreted cathedral. One thousand years of history accompany you through the aisles and chapels.
Opposite the east end of the cathedral on Liêbfrauenplatz is one of the most popular attractions in the Rhineland, the Gutenberg Museum. It charts the life and times of Mainz's most famous son, Johannes Gutenberg (1390-1468). It was in Mainz, in 1456, that Gutenberg built the first machine that could print from movable type.
Cruising down the Rhine
Today you leave Mainz for Rüdeshein and a cruise down the middle Rhine to St Goar.
The section you are to visit became Germany 's top tourist site over 200 years ago.
The Middle Rhine covers the 129 km stretch from Mainz to Koblenz. Of all the many and varied regions of the river, no other has the same arrangement of scenery, history, architecture, and natural beauty as this magical stretch. It is a land of steep and thickly wooded hills, of terraced vineyards rising step by step above the riverbank of massive hilltop castles, and of tiny wine villages hugging the river shores. It is also a land of legend and myth. For example, Lorelei, a steep mountain of rock jutting out of the river, was once believed to be the home of a beautiful and bewitching maiden who lured boatmen to a watery end in the swift currents. It was the home, too, of the Nibelungs, a Burgundian race said to have lived on the riverbanks who serve as subjects for no less than four of Wagner's epic operas, "Der Ring des Nibelungen".
The ancient city of Koblenz now looms ahead. Known as the Deutsches Eck (corner of Germany), Koblenz is the heart of the Middle Rhine region. Rivers and mountains converge here, where the Moselle flows into the Rhine on one side and the Lahn flows in on the other. Three mountain ridges intersect at Koblenz as well.
Koblenz serves as the cultural, administrative, and business centre of the Middle Rhine. Its position at the confluence of two rivers bustling with steamers, barges, tugs and every other kind of river boat, makes it one of the most important traffic points on the Rhine.
After leaving Koblenz you head for Bonn where at 17.00 hours you will be met by the German family who will host you as a house guest until 1 August when you say farewell to your hosts and head towards The Netherland and the site of the World Jamboree.
Photo Gallery
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SA Contingent
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Pongola
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Tugela
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Umgenei
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Umkomaas
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Seagull Patrol
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Tugela Troop
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Tugela Campsite
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Jamboree HQ
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Crows Patrol
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Sandpipers Patrol
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Seagulls Patrol
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Bokmakierie Patrol
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Scouters
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Opening
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Opening
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Opening
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Opening
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Pongola
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Pongola
