2011 Forensic Services Police Bush Safari

How do I accurately describe this amazing bunch of people that were part of the 2011 Forensic Services Police Bash Safari?  The word wacky comes to mind but wacky in the most fantastic way.  They are funny, quirky, interesting, family orientated and above all they have come together for a greater purpose, to raise much needed funds for worthy charity’s.

The Forensic Services Police Bush Safari come together for approx 2 weeks bi-annually to travel to various destinations to raise money for charity.  After each trip they donate half the funds to the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the other half to a charity of the participants choice.  Last year the entire $10k raised was donated to the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia and I was told that the same is likely to happen again this year.

What makes these fund raisers different from other fundraisers is that they make fundraising a true adventure, leaving a great impression on everyone they meet along the way.

A typical day for the safari consists of:

Breakfast – kill your own but don’t get caught

Travelling – possibly traveling to the next destination or relaxing at the current destination

Lunch – usually held at a pub along the way or it could be just grab something on the road

Mid afternoon – various activities take place, while at Copi they held the FSPBS Scrap Heap Challenge.  Before the participants left for their adventure they were not told of what this Challenge involved.  They were told to collect scrap material that floats along the way.  Once they arrived at Copi Hollow they then were told to make boats out of their scrap materials.  The boats then had to be propelled by a member of each team out around the buoy and back while carrying a carton of beer with an attached floaty (to find the beer incase it sinks).  There were judges for this competition that judged on the boat presentation, on the opening verbal presentation of the vessel, how it was made, who is in the team and something funny about how the vessel was made etc.  A bribe bucket was placed by the judges and really anything goes with this mob, they would be awarded points if the boat didn’t sink and on how quick or not so quick the boat took to make its journey.  It was truly one of the funniest challenges I’ve seen.

Evening – sometimes the group would self cater and other times they were catered for by the hosting organization or place.  During their stay at Copi the participants enjoyed a catered meal (catered for by the Broken Hill Speedboat Club) which was Roast Meat with Veggies, gravy and dessert (and from the feedback they loved it!)

During dinner the group had Judge Trivia.  Judge Trivia is not about how smart you are but more about how smart you play.  The judge takes bribes to place participants in Jail (with the cutest little jail wardens I’ve ever seen), you can pay for answers, pay to send other participants or even to send whole teams to jail, bribe the judge to stay out of jail (and it really depends on who pays the most as to who does or does not go to jail).

During the game one brave Speedboat Club member Amie Johnson (who was not playing the game) raised her hand to answer a question and you guessed it…she was thrown in jail.  After some consideration the Speedboat Club came to the rescue and decided to bail her out but on the condition that they send myself to jail.  Our being sent to jail was not all bad because on of the safari participants decided he didn’t want to be released because jail now seemed much more interesting.  It was truly a jail of laughs for all who participated and also for those that didn’t.

The night was a huge hit and they assured us that they were so happy with the hospitality and food that they will return to Copi Hollow on their next Forensic Services Police Bush Safari.