A HERVEY BAY youth has reached the pinnacle of scouting after tackling a three-day, 30km, self-sufficient hike on K’gari (Fraser Island).
(Contributed by Hervey Bay RSL)
The completion of the hike meant that 15-year-old Bianca Piggott completed everything in her scout section journey to achieve the ultimate Australian Scout Award.
The member of Pialba Scouts reached out to the Hervey Bay RSL Community Grant program earlier this year for assistance with paying for five assisting vehicle barge fares and beach permits.
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The club was only too happy to assist with a $1,200 grant, especially after hearing Bianca’s story of determination.
Bianca has been a member of the Scouting organisation since 2018 and was an active member of the Girl Guides from eight years old.
She has completed some incredible feats during that time including earning six special interest badges that each took eight hours to complete, attended leadership courses and camps and passed a myriad of tests in outdoor skills like camping, bushcraft and bushwalking.
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Her biggest accomplishment to date was completing the gruelling Australian Scout Award Journey Hike on K’gari (Fraser Island) in August, with the only assistance being water top ups from the assisting vehicles.
Bianca planned the journey from start to finish, ensured she had the correct compass bearings and evacuations points, and led other scouts who all set up their own camps at Lake McKenzie and Central Station.
She said it was a challenge hiking in the sand with a tent and backpack full of food, but one she will always remember.
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“I was proud of myself that I had planned the journey and led the hike from start to finish,” Bianca said.
“I was very proud of my fellow scouts who achieved their own personal goals walking this distance; for some, it was their first time on K’gari (Fraser Island) and hiking on sand.
“The highlight of the hike was seeing sights of the island that I’ve never seen before as they can only be seen on the Great Walk.”
Part of the Scouts Australia philosophy is to educate young people through a values system based on Scout promise and law.
Bianca became a scout to achieve her own personal goals and become a good leader, and the result has been life changing.
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Some of her biggest highlights, she said, have been making friends and teaching younger scouts, and time spent in the great outdoors canoeing, kayaking, camping, taking part in archery and going to places she’s never seen before.
“Scouts has assisted with building my confidence with public speaking, developing leadership skills, organisation skills and the ability to reflect on my learnings,” Bianca said.
“After completing this journey with my patrol, I hope to inspire my fellow youth members to take the challenge of planning, implementing and completing their own personal journey.”
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Bianca is now focusing her goals on achieving the Queen’s Scout Award, the highest award in venturers, as well as raising money to attend the World Jamboree in South Korea in 2023.
Bianca and her family thanked the RSL for their continual support of scouting in Hervey Bay.
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