Report by Cdt FS V Furneaux
I was fortunate enough to be chosen as the only female cadet from Devon & Somerset Wing to attend the two-week Easter Camp at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus.
We left England on a cold day in March (28th). A group of four of us from Devon caught a train to Reading and a coach link to Heathrow Airport. On arrival, we reported to a member of staff and took a look around Terminal 1. I thought we'd get lost as Heathrow is so big, but we didn't! A bit later, we boarded for the 4 hour flight to Larnaca Airport. We arrived at about 2am, so it wasn't too hot, but the temperature change was still noticable. By the time we travelled to Akrotiri, had a short brief, and were allocated rooms (6 sharing), it was about 5:30am. However, we were allowed a lie-in.
On the first day, we were amazed by the Red Arrows, who were still only a week into their 9 weeks training & were already performing breathtaking stunts. They practiced in the air 3 times a day, everyday for an hour each time. During the times when the Red Arrows were in the sky, no other aircraft were allowed in the airspace over the base which was a bit inconvenient for the working airport on the base. By the end of the two weeks, having seen them practice so many times, we became bored of the Red Arrows' routines & were even able to pick faults!
The activities over the two weeks included many on-base and off base, RAF-related and purely leisure visits. On the base, we visited a lot of the sections, including: fire, police dogs, RAF police, bomb disposal, engineering, air movements, 84 Sqn Wessex helicopters, marines, and of course, the Red Arrows. Some of us were lucky enough to get a flight in a Wessex and get winched out! Most of the sections gave us a tour & an explanation of what is done there. The police dogs showed us part of their training, the RAF Police set up a crime scenario for us to solve, the fire service let us set up some of the equipment they would use in a chemical leak situation, and the marines gave us a ride on 3 of their sea craft, getting us all very wet! Also, on-base we went canoeing, go-karting, and shooting. I qualified to shoot the L98 rifle & got the opportunity to shoot on the range.
Off-base, we visited cultural sites & towns/cities, including Limassol, Paphos, Nicosia and Troudos. At Troudos (up on the mountain) we were due to go orienteering: however, when we arrived during a huge snow storm, so instead we looked around the stalls & went back down the mountain to the beach where it was really hot!
We visited a few different beaches, which were all really clean & the water was very clear - far better than the beaches over here in England! At one beach, we joined a "Turtlewatch" group & helped them to clean a cove in preparation for the egg-laying season.
When I went to Cyprus, I didn't know ANY of the other cadets or staff members I was going to spend two weeks with, but by the end of the camp, I had made some strong friendships that I shall keep up with from all over the country.
There were 62 cadets on the camp & I think we all agreed that Cyprus camp was definitely not to be missed.