Words by Daisy-May Creighton

I spoke to two members of the UK Contingent at AJ2025, father and son duo Matt, who is a Service Leader, and Robert, who is a Scout. I discovered these two via Facebook, on their page ‘Robert and Matt’s Australian Jamboree’ and thought, I’d love to hear more about these two! They left home on the 26th of December and excitedly arrived for the first day on the 6th of January. What a long trip! Well, it wasn’t as straightforward as travelling from the United Kingdom to Queensland.
Robert and Matt left from Heathrow Airport to fly to Kuala Lumpur. While there they visited the historical Batu Caves, Petronas Twin Towers, and took a cable car up to the Genting Highlands. After spending five fun filled days in Malaysia, they arrived in Sydney, before travelling to Cairns, where they spent New Year’s Eve watching the fireworks. While there they went snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef, somewhere that Robert had been dreaming of going, and visited Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures, among many other quest. Their final leg of the trip was a train ride from Cairns to Maryborough.

“The New Year’s fireworks in Cairns were great”, Robert told me when I asked him about a highlight of his travels. Matt on the other hand mentioned how it had been a big task getting the large number of Scouts travelling with them through the airports. To compliment the busy travel days they enjoyed quieter individual patrol dinners each night. While on the train, the duo made a stop at Townsville where they caught up with family who they haven’t seen for more than ten years!

Both of these Scouters told me how they had never been to a Jamboree before. Matt explained that this was his and Robert’s first international Scouting event, making it extra special. While neither has been to a Jamboree before, they both told me about other camps they have attended, including many district and county camps.
Interestingly, Robert and Matt had different responses when asked if Australian Scouting has many differences to UK Scouting. Robert told me that “there aren’t many differences. One thing though is the way that people don’t call their leaders by their names, we call our leaders by their real names.” Matt however found that there are quite a few differences due to our differing environments, stating that “[they] don’t have to worry too much about hot weather”. He also noticed that Australian camping gear is “built to last”, with equipment like eating shelters generally being more compact and therefore somewhat less durable in the UK.
One more thing I was curious to find out was why Robert and Matt decided to come to AJ. Matt explained that everyone in their county was offered the opportunity and he and Robert knew it would be a positive, exciting experience. Matt’s experience as a Scout Leader helped him to decide that this would be a great opportunity for him and his Scouts!
To keep up with Robert and Matt’s adventures, check out their Facebook Page!
