Clarendon matric pupil Kelsey Savage knows how to tie 34 different knots, build a 7m gumpole tower with no scaffolding or nails and braai a chocolate cake in an orange peel, thanks to her seven years as a scout.
Savage, 17, will receive the ultimate scouting accolade next week when she is presented with her Springbok colours.
“Be prepared really is my motto,” said the Cambridge West teenager, who joined the 1st Cambridge troop with her brother and sister when she was 10 years old.
“We joined because my grandfather was a troop master in Cape Town and my father was a scout and I remember the stories they used to tell us.”
When she was 13, she attended a patrol leader course that motivated her to work towards the ultimate scouting accolade – the Springbok badge.
“I am passionate about nature and enjoy planning hikes and training patrols. I especially like forests, so the Gwiligwili trail in the Amathole mountains is my favourite,” said Savage, who is the assistant troop leader at 1st Cambridge.
She wears the badges she has earned for mastering skills such as pioneering, survival, sewing, cooking, microcomputers and design on her sleeves with pride – but her biggest challenges were the gruelling steps she had to take to qualify as a Springbok.