Ellie Montgomerie waves as a group of Guides heads off on an activity yesterday. Picture: SCOTT GELSTON
THE enormous task of keeping 1700 Guides busy at Girl Guide Australia's international jamboree at Quercus Park near Carrick has been made easy by splitting them into three groups.
Jamboree convenor and Launceston Guide leader Julie Miller said yesterday that one third of the huge group of Guides representing 10 countries and all Australian states had spent the day on site involved in typical Guide activities.
They included abseiling, circus skills, photography and jewellery making.
Another third of the 1700 were off-site involved in building rafts and paddling them or visiting Tasmanian attractions such as the maze at Sheffield.
The other third of older girls, aged 14 to 17, left Quercus Park overnight to get involved in more adventurous pursuits such as wild caving, hiking, abseiling in Cataract Gorge and sailing on the Windward Bound.
High winds throughout the state yesterday, which made conditions tough for firefighters, also provided challenges for the Guide jamboree.
``We have been in constant touch with the weather bureau so at lunchtime we made the decision to drop all the accommodation tents on-site,'' Ms Miller said.
``We decided that was the best way to protect them in the strong winds.''
Those Guides still on site last night moved into the main 75-metre by 20-metre tent to sleep or into the sheds that are part of the Agfest infrastructure until the winds died down.
The jamboree continues until the end of the week.
The Guides built the tent city to house the jamboree.
It includes the site's own doctor's surgery and IT communication.