Science & Fun at Kithulgala
(Credit: Mr Lockwood)
November 24th – 26th was our eagerly anticipated 3 day DP1 orientation & science trip at Borderlands Kithulgala where we went white water rafting, canyoning, hiking and performed glorious science there. Needless to say, it was a great opportunity to bond with everyone and hang out with tons of insects!
Wed, Nov 24th : Rafting & Canyoning
I had to wake up sooooo early at 5:15 am to shower, brush my teeth and finish packing up my bag with my toiletries. I slept at 12am the night before as I was enjoying my final moments with wifi and the comfort of my bed, thus only sleeping for 5 hours, I head out to an action jam-packed day.
After a lengthy 3~4 hours on the bus, we arrived at Kithulgala and got geared up straight away into rafting gear to enjoy the crystalline ice cold river.
We learned how to raft and respond to the commands the guide at the back of our raft will deliver us. Furthermore, learning the safety procedures(e.g. when someone fell off the raft, bracing & etc.) made us all feel a bit safer.
It was my first time rafting, so I didn’t know what to expect. Other than the insanely cold water going in my nose every time we meet a few rocks, it was a genuinely exceptional experience that was made even more fun doing it with friends. The fear of capsizing kept me going to push my oar with all I’ve got.
After rafting, we hiked up another smaller river to where we ate an exquisite Sri Lankan lunch. I was really tired by now, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the canyoning that was yet to come.
(Credit: Mr Wade)
It was really scary because it was so slippery, but it was really fun too!
(Credit: Mr Duncan)
After canyoning, we headed back to camp floating on a river, letting the current carry us away! It was a pleasant end to an action-packed day. After dinner, us biology students set up our pitfall traps overnight so we can check what we caught the next morning.
Day 1 ended with a bang! Rafting & canyoning were all new experiences for me & I had a great time! I was really tired by the end of the day & couldn’t wait to get some sleep in.
(Credit: Mr Duncan)
Thurs, Nov 25th : Bio day!
I couldn’t sleep well with the beds & how hot it was, however, the morning was really cold. We also checked our pitfall traps hoping for an interesting catch, but to our disappointment, we didn’t find anything cool 🙁 just some black ants & earwigs.
We also had a morning stretch & warm-up routine led by Sam & Liam for today.
(Credit: Ms Harrison)
After an icy cold shower, we headed out to do some bio work.
Our first stop was at a rubber/tea plantation where we surveyed the number of plant species there using quadrants.
(Photo by author)
Our next stop was across the river, which we took a small raft to cross.
(Credit: )
The whole area was really misty, and we were able to get some great pics! It looked like a masterpiece painting!
(Credit: Huirong)
It looked stunning! However, what we didn’t expect was that on that side, there were an absurd amount of leeches! I got about 4 bites from leeches at the end of the day! On that island, we performed a lichen survey, examining trees deep in the rainforest for the number & type of lichen at different tree heights & different cardinal directions.
Returning to the other side of the river, we headed towards a cafe where we rested for a bit, sipping some celestial tea!
(Credit: Ms Harrison)
I didn’t think our data collection could be so tedious and time-consuming as it was! However, it was a good learning experience as to how real-life data collection is performed out on the field.
To end the day, we sat around the campfire at lunch & had some fun singing & dancing. Personally, I wasn’t too much into it 😀
(Credit: Mr Duncan)
Fri, Nov 26th : More Bio!!!!!!!
To begin the day, we started with our usual warm-up followed by a little game in which I was the leader and my team won!!! Props to the team, we completely smashed the competition!
(Credit: Ms Harrison)
After that, we checked our pitfall traps again, and this time there were was more inside!
In one of them we got some pretty big black ants, and in the other one we got a lot of small red ants!
(Photo by author)
Today, we performed some biology in the river, measuring water speed and depth of the water with the number of invertebrates we catch. Surprisingly, there were a few beautiful butterflies near the river & I got one to land on me!!
(Butterfly resting on my left knuckle [Credit: Ms Harrison])
After collecting all our data, we finally headed back to camp and packed our bags, ready to finally move out of the camp & back to school!!! I couldn’t wait to get back home and get some real sleep on my bed for 12 hours straight!
The didn’t expect much from this trip, but in the end, I was proven wrong. The rafting and canyoning were REALLY fun, it felt like I was back to being a child in a playland! I also got to talk and get closer with everyone throughout the trip, which was pretty nice! Overall, it was a tremendously remarkable experience & I am entirely grateful we were able to do it during these harsh times!
Learning Objectives:
LO2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
I’ve faced my fear of leeches by going on the trip, furthermore I gained new skills in rafting and canyoning as I have never done them before.
LO5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
Rafting posed a challenge of teamwork, we all had to work together in order to drive the raft properly. After a few tries, we got the hang of it and worked as a team to survive the strong waters. Furthermore, working collaboratively in biology emphasized how important it is to work as a team in order to get work done efficiently, especially in terms of data collection and processing.