The DP Orientation is an important part of the DP Program. It is one of the first things we do in DP. In this trip we bond together as a class through all the rigorous activities, from hiking to rafting and abseiling. I have been to Borderlands before and I loved it, so I was very excited to go again. However, I was confused as to how the trip would cover CAS and ToK, cores of the DP program.

Day 1

On the first day we arrived at a little shop, had some tea and near the shop there was a huge building being constructed. We talked about how this used to be just a huge forest, and now there is a bridge and massive building in the spot where the forest used to be. We then hiked to the river where we went canyoning. We slid and jumped through the freezing cold river, and we had a blast doing so.

One of the waterfalls we slid down

Karven the daredevil, doing a backflip off a jump

After canyoning, we went back to where we started near the bridge and had a nice rice and curry lunch, while also being very cold and smelly. After eating lunch, came the part I was looking forward to the most, white water rafting. We split into teams, and went through the rapids, and what I think was one of the most fun parts of the entire trips, and also the funniest. With Kevin and Andrew falling over multiple times, Anargi and Takuro almost drowning, me getting shouted at for not paddling, it was a whirlwind of a ride.

Laughing at Kevin falling…

Once we got past the rapids, we jumped out of our rafts and floated down the river to the Borderlands camp, where had dinner, debriefed and had a nice sleep with the sound of the rushing river.

Day 2

On the second day we got up and immediately after waking up we went on rain soaked and leech filled hike to 2 caves, where we would have our ToK lesson. In the caves we listened to stories and did an activity where we mapped out the journey we did today, from the Borderlands camp all the way up to the caves. This related to our ToK unit on maps.

The view out of a cave

After the session in the cave came the time to do another activity I was very excited for and have never done before, and that is abseiling. However, we had to go on a very long and treacherous hike up to the top of the mountain, where the waterfall we would be abseiling down is. From memory I think the hike was around 2 hours, and we even had to carry all our lifejackets and helmets to the top of the mountain. Once we finally got to the top of the mountain we had lunch, and then it started to rain very hard.

On the top of the waterfall

I was worried because the guides said that if it rained for a long time the water level would rise too much to abseil, but thankfully the rain stopped and there was enough time to go down the abseil, which was one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had. Going down that waterfall made me feel like I was in Mission Impossible. Walking step-by-step down a waterfall, with water splashing in your face, a steep cliff right below you and a breathtaking view all around, now that was memorable.

 

Starting our descent down (Photo Cred: Mr. Duncan)

The steep cliff straight down

The view from the bottom of the waterfall

Once the abseiling was completed, we hiked all the way down to camp. At camp we did our usual reflections and during our debriefing we had a conversation about the dam being built up the river. We were told that when the dam was completed, going rafting and abseiling won’t be possible anymore, which was something I had didn’t think of, and was a shock to hear. Once we were done with this debrief, we had another great dinner and went to sleep.

Day 3

On the final day of the trip we split into groups and went to interview local people on the impacts of the dam. Our group interviewed a wood worker and getting his view on how the dam affects him and the community was very interesting to know, and I’m glad to have heard it. After the interviews we went to see the dam construction site. Mr. Duncan told us exactly how the dam will work, and how when the water gets redirected from the river and into the tunnel under the mountain, the river will lose most of the water and in turn their won’t be enough water for rafting and other activities.

Overall, this was a very fun trip. From going rafting to abseiling, and hiking up to caves and visiting the dam, this was one of the greatest trips I have been on in school. One of my accomplishments on this trip is actually not getting bitten by a single leech, which I am very proud of. We as a grade, who were already very close, have bonded even more on this trip, through the teamwork and troubles we went through, I hope to have another experience like this with the same great people.