A couple of days ago, on the 24th of Novemeber, all the DP1 students got the opportunity to venture off into the wilderness and experience the richness that the Kithulgala rainforest had to offer. Not having visited the Kithulgala area before, the DP1 science and orientation field trip was a complete new escapade away from my habitual monotonous life in the city. Being able to explore the river ecosystems, and play around right in the hands of mother nature was truly an unforgettable experience, and whenever I think about the days I spent right in the heart of the forest, a gush of nostalgia would immediately start to flow through my mind. The challenges that we had to overcome, including the countless number of leaches that continuously nagged us for a taste of our blood, the slipery rocky surfaces, the creepy crawlies and bugs, the torrential rain that poured on the second day, and waking up early in the morning helped to shape my perspective on how interesting and fun adventures and escapades away from home can truly turn out to be.

Day1

I mustered all the energy I had to wake up early in the morning at 5:30 am and be at school at least by 6:15. Althought the journey to Kithulgala was quite long, we never felt the time pass because of all the excitement and fun we had in the bus. After around two and a half hours of playing some games, chatting with others, enjoying the scenetic beauty, and eating some snacks, we arrived at Borlerlands, the place where we were going to spend our three days. Just as we arrived, we enjoyed a warm cup of tea with some sweet and buttery sri lankan cake and got ready to enjoy the most anticipated part of the trip- The water activities including white water rafting, canoeing, and sliding down natural water slides. Before we got onto the bright red velvet boats that were bobing up and down on the cool waters of the Kelani river we we taught some of the safety procedures that could be followed in the event of the boat tripping, or somebody falling off the boat. I was really surprised when our boat guide suddenly pushed a member of the “Gang of four”,( which was what we called ourselves), Thevuni, out of the boat and into the freezing water, so that one of us could rescue her. Although she must have regretted being right next to the guide, it was all a part of our fun learning experience.

Having not done these activities before, a surge of adrenaline rushed through my body, and gave me a boost of energy to paddle as fast as possible whenever we moved down a white water rapid. The experience was truly unforgettable. As we were passing down the last rapid, I was quite revealed cause I knew I was out of any potential danger of falling off the boat, but surprisingly out of the blue I experienced a feeling of crave, and I wanted to go on those rapids once again, and I wanted to try the more intensive and challenging rapids as well. While we were rafting down smoothly along the river, we were preoccupied with listening to the euphoniuos songs sung by the Kithulgala rainforest. The cacophonous sounds of the chirping birds, the sound of the clear cool waters of the river, slowly moving downhill, while crashing onto the occasional rocks and lapping against the drenched sand banks and trees, truly helped my mind to drift of into a much wanted meditative, calm and blissful state. After getting off our rafts, we had a short twently or thirty minute hike further uphill. After hiking through the dense forest filled with countless number of leaches, and other fauna and flora, we arrived at the place where we had our Lunch. After having that much craved warm food, that consisited of some really tasty sri Lankan food, we went down to slide on the long natural water slides, and to jump off the natural cliffs. I could never forget what I felt while standing right at the edge of a cliff ready to jump of into the cool, and almost freezing water below. My brain was telling me that I should not take that risk of jumping off, but my gut wanted to feel that adrenaline rush through the veins of my body. I placed one foot before the other, and braced myself. And before long, I was floating midair, falling straight into the water below me. It all happened so fast, almost under a fraction of a second, I was floating on the water, with my clensed fist on my head, indicating that I was fine, and that the guides had nothing to worry about. The day was absolutely fabouous and exciting. By the time I went back into the dorm, which was a small hut consisting of three bed build right next to the Kelani river, I was so exhausted that I immediately fell asleep right at the moment I tucked onto the hard yet comfy bed, and closed my eyes.

Day 2 and Day 3

On this day we focused on the science aspect of the Orientation trip. Being a physics student, I was really excited to put to test the mini hydropower station that we made at school. Approximately after a short 20 minutes of collective exercise at the entrace to our camps, we set of to test out Mini hydro power plant in a place where there was a small stream of water flowing. After many attempts of trial and error, we managed to finally equillibriate and set up our experiment. Through the mini hydropower station that we constructed, we observed and identified the relationship between the head height of a water stream and its effect on the power and current that is generated. After collecting all the necessary data, we headed back to Borderlands and processed it. There, we also discussed about the different ways electricity can be generated, and we mainly paid our attention to hydroelectric power stations. The entire discussion regarding the different hydropower plants in Sri Lanka, the mechanism they use to generate electricity, the different turbines that are used and their purposes, the limitations and calculations of their power, and efficiency were all part of the fun physics experience we had right in the Kithulgala forest reserve. The next day we went on a small hike to the Bellilena cave situated at the top a small rocky hill right next to a cool water fall. On the hike up we managed to see some rare endemic animals including some birds, frogs, and lizards. Hiking through the dense forest, while feeling the cool naturery breeze gently brush against our face, was truly an unforgettable experience. Once we reached the bellilena gave most of us gave huge sighs of reliefs as we managed to get to the top unharmed by any leaches. The cave, which we later learnt, was the home to some of the most ancient human remains that have been found in south Asia. After seeing the ruins of an old temple built in the early 1800’s, and seeing the ruins of a ramshackle house, we claimed up to another smaller cave right above the main one. Climbing up to the second cave was a really a nerve wracking challenge as we were challenged with some very steep steps and slippery rocks that were covered in green algae. Having reached the top without dying, which I thought was a huge accomplishment, I expected to see something that would surely grab the attention of my eyes, instead we were treated with the sight of millions of cockroaches and dead bat carcasses. But I was rather pleased to have visited the cave knowing its historical significance in the evolution of mankind. Finally it was time for all of us to leave the Kithulagal rainforest, the place where most of us made a variety of unforgettable experiences. Leaving the land dominated by mother nature was not an easy task. By the time I got onto the bus to venture off back into the daily monotonous life in the city, I greatly missed the sounds echoed by the cool waters of the Kelani river. The entire DP1 orientation trip was a truly mesmerizing and unforgettable adventure where I got to experience how blissful and lovely living and experiencing nature can really be. Streams of nostalgia would immediately start to flow  whenever the thought of the forest and the beautiful river flowing through it crosses my mind. I will certainly go there again… 🙂