30 Years of the Olave Program: Our Home Away From Home

Name: 30 Years of the Olave Program: Our Home Away From Home
Start: 2026-07-16T16:00:00+11:00
End: 2026-07-16T16:00:00+11:00
Location: Douglas Scrub Campsite

About

Hello Olaves!!

We are so excited to celebrate 30 years of the Olave Program in Girl Guides Australia in 2026! We invite you to celebrate with us in style at our 3 day National Olave Program event hosted at Douglas Scrub in beautiful South Australia.

For 30 years, the Olave Program has been an opportunity for Guides aged 18-30 to either continue or commence their Guiding journey in a safe and warm community. The Olave Program is a place to be ourselves as young women and work towards self development, community engagement and discover the outdoors. The Olave Program has been a safe community for young women to celebrate achievements, find support. build friendship and travel the world. It is our Home Away From Home.

When will the event be?

The event will be running between 4pm on 16 July 2026 and 1pm on 19 July 2026. You are welcome to arrive at Douglas Scrub anytime after 4pm on 16 July 2026.

Where will the event be?

Our event will be hosted at a Douglas Scrub which is a property owned by Girl Guides South Australia. Douglas Scrub is set on a 27 acre bush property which is home to diverse Australian wildlife including rare flora and fauna. Douglas Scrub has dorm room style and cabin style accommodation as well as camping facilities.

Douglas Scrub is located a 40 minute drive from Adelaide Airport. Transport between Adelaide airport and Douglas Scrub will be provided for those flying to the event.

You are encouraged to take this as an opportunity to road trip with your peer group or Olave friends. Where can you explore on your way to Douglas Scrub? Who can share the driving? Who can be the DJ? Who's in charge of snacks!!?

Who is invited?

All members of Girl Guiding in Australia who are aged between 18 and 30 are invited to attend.

Are you a recently 'aged out' Olave? Our team will consider applications from previous Olaves who are aged up to 32 who are still active members of Girl Guides. Please contact us at olave@girlguides.org.au before registering to discuss.

We are also so excited to welcome our Kiwi sisters from across the ditch! We hope that they can join us so that we can connect with our New Zealand Guiding community. Members of Girlguiding New Zealand aged 18-30 are invited to attend.

What are the accommodation options?

There will be several accommodation options available for this event. The cost of attending the event is dependent upon which accommodation style you choose. Check out the Douglas Scrub website for photos of the accommodation options.

Bed in dorm room:

There are limited beds available in the dorm rooms. Please book quickly to avoid disappointment. If you are local to Douglas Scrub or are driving there, please consider camping / car camping to allow our interstate travellers to take the dorm beds.

Cabin for 2 or 4 people:

Cabins are available for group bookings. Please organise between yourselves if you wish to book a cabin as a group before booking. Please select the same cabin number as your group and have one member contact Emily Logan (olave@girlguides.org.au) to confirm your group booking.

Camping or in car:

What better way to connect with nature than to camp in the great outdoors! We have booked a site for camping / car camping. Please consider this option if you live locally to Douglas Scrub to save our interstate travellers needing to travel with camping gear!

What is included in the cost?

Your price of purchasing your ticket will include your chosen accommodation option, your event badge(!) your meals when on site and most of the activities. There may be additional expenses for food offsite on Saturday. Further information will be distributed on this closer to the event. The event shirt is not included in the event fee.

What will we be doing?

Whilst the program is still being finalised, you can be sure that the program will have something exciting for everyone!

We look forward to exploring the outdoors at Douglas Scrub which has hikes and high ropes available. There will be opportunities to study the astronomy of the night sky and enjoy the serene environment.

We are also excited to check out the Adelaide area. There will be off-site options which may include dropping into the nearby winery for a wine making class, exploring the Adelaide Pearl Farm, or visiting Adelaide Zoo or Adelaide Gaol.

We will also be participating in Guiding Traditions including a campfire and a wide game!

Won't I be cold in Adelaide in July??

The cabins and dorms at Douglas Scrub each have heating etc.

Whilst we will ask that you bring everything you need to stay warm during the day (e.g. thermals and jumpers) and a sleeping bag, our wonderful South Australia Guiding Sisters may be able to assist us with blankets etc if you are flying. There will be a form to register your interest in this closer to the event.

If you are driving to the event, we ask that you please bring blankets etc to make your stay comfortable.

Contact:

Do you have an idea on how we can make this event great? Do you have a skill or activity that you would like to volunteer during or in the lead up to the event? Do you have a query? Please reach out!

You can contact Emily Logan by emailing olave@girlguides.org.au

P.S.

Please mark "going" or "interested" on our Facebook event page to make sure that you get all of the updates in the lead up to the event. We will be sharing information and when we see cheap flights to Adelaide advertised to help you get the best deal! Please share this event page with your Guiding friends to encourage them to register!

Don't have Facebook? That's okay! We will be sending important information like the Kitlist etc to the email address you include in your registration.