Rankin Inlet (July 12/06) -The land around Guelph, Ont., will soon be abuzz with chatter ranging from braids to boys when 2,500 Girl Guides, including seven from Rankin Inlet, descend on a field outside the city for a 10-day sleep-over.

"It should be interesting," said Rankin's Angela Dale, one of the top-ranking Girl Guide officials Nunavut.

"There will be a lot of them there!"

The gathering, officially called Guiding Mosaic 2006, is being held for the first time in seven years. It will feature girls from across Canada as well as Scotland, Australia and the U.S.

"It will be a good experience for the kids," said Dale as the girls anxiously awaited their south-bound flight at the Rankin airport, July 2.

"They will have a chance... to meet new people and do things they can't do in the NWT and Nunavut."

The girls will gain some on-the-land experience, sleeping under the starry Ontario skies for the duration of their journey.

Without an abundant supply of running water, they will have to learn to use gear like solar showers.

"It's good for them to know how to (get water) aside from turning on the tap," said Amanda McLarty, an organizer who accompanied the girls to Guelph.

But the 10 days will not be all rough and tumble; the camp is catered, said Dale.

The girls who spoke to Kivalliq News were excited about the trip and were looking forward to meeting guides from across Canada.

"It is good to meet new people," said Haley White.

Others, though, were looking forward to some time without a Y-chromosome in sight.

"I like that there are no boys around," said Stephanie Yarema.

The excursion cost the Rankin troop $50,000, including a $30,000 airfare bill. The plane tickets were covered by the Girl Guides national office, but the rest of the money was raised the old fashioned way: selling cookies.