WWW Highlands (Day 1 and 2)

Day 1:

At 6:45 am, everyone arrived at school running around trying to squeeze in a last minute bathroom break without missing the bus. Feeling half dead and like a zombie, we had to endure 6 hours of driving through a maze. About an hour into the trip, we stopped at a local shop to buy some local snacks to fuel up for the trip ahead. Throughout the never ending trip, we slept, talked about multiple topics, and did anything just to kill time. When we finally arrived, we ate some local Sri Lankan food before starting our journey across the mountains.

Paddie fields (Credit: Pep)

Walking through the fields (Credit: Pep)

During our epic journey, we saw so many dogs, a huge range of biomass, and the surroundings of nature. Every second of the walk was as enjoyable as it was beautiful. One of the biggest challenges was having to walk through mud while watching out for leeches. Our biggest challenge however was having to walk through a great current of water without falling because of the iced rocks. Despite our challenges, we fought through to get out of our comfort zones and made it to camp (Kinchingune). To finish the day, we took a shower in freezing cold water, and ate some nice food to put us to bed.

Walking across the slippery river (Credit: Pep)

Beautiful scenery (Credit: Josh)

Day 2:

“Wake up!” was all I could hear in the morning when coming back to reality after a soothing dream. Without being able to see anything because of the complete darkness, we all packed our bags and got ready for breakfast. For breakfast, we had some toast with jam, as well as some Sri Lankan breakfast. We were then back on the road on our way to our second hike and an ice bath. For our second hike, we had to walk through slippery and elevated terrain. First we arrived to our first water fall where we had a rest to enjoy the beautiful waterfall. Unfortunately, there was a small area in the corner near the waterfall where a dozen plastic bottles and waste were surrounding a single overfilled dustbin.

1st Water fall (Credit: Pep)

Walking to second water fall (Credit: Pep)

After a relaxing break, we started our hike towards the second water fall where we could cool off with a nice refreshing swim. The walk to the sub-zero pool was much more difficult due to the increase in elevation. Not only was the walk steeper, but it was also a lot more slippery due to the pine cones and pine needles. After about 30-40 minutes, we made it to the second water fall, where we said goodbye to our warm bodies. With excitement, we all changed into our swimmers and jumped in. This water was easily the coldest temperature I have ever swam in. Tired and refreshed, we headed back to the vans and went to Olympus Plaza Hotel for lunch.

Slippery (Credit: Pep)

Second water fall (Credit: Pep)

Cold! (Credit: Pep)

Hike (Credit: Ms Kamila)

Once we had some lunch, we finished off the day with a small walk to Lipton’s seat. The walk to the top was fairly easy, but the main challenge was the weather. Since it was around 4 to 5 o’clock, it was very chilly and cool. At the top, we took some photos with the famous statue of Lipton. We had even stopped for some coffee and snacks while fighting against the savage monkey who were hungry for food. After a long day, we were back at the hotel eating dinner, getting ready for bed.

Lipton’s seat (Credit: Ms Kamila)

Group photo (Credit: Ms Kamila)

Learning objectives:

LO1: During these first two days, an area which I noticed that I had to improve on was patience with others. Since we are all on different levels, some walk faster than others. There were a lot of times when we were asked to stop for a quick water break. At first, I was very annoyed as I wanted to continue with the walk. But after some thought, I realized that everyone has different strengths and that we must all be empathetic and patient with one another.

LO5: By working collaboratively, we helped one another by encouraging each other whenever we really tried or complaining about the walk. We even helped one another by sharing snacks whenever we were hungry or needed to re-fuel.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *