“Through the forest have I gone” – Puck, A Midsummers Nights Dream – William Shakespeare

That’s exactly what happened when we went on the Duke of Edinburgh preliminary adventurous journey to the Sinharaja Forest for two days and 1 night. Before we even went there we learnt how to read and understand maps and what key information we need to pay attention to. We also learnt how to read bearings, how to read a compass and how to keep pace while being effective scouts.

On arrival day, after packing and arriving at the front porch of OSC at 5 AM and a long bus journey to Sinharaja Forest was in due course. After arrival, we had a briefing and an orientation exercise and then began making our way into the forest for the next 6-7 hours on a long walk in a circle. On this walk, we saw some truly amazing wildlife like the frog-mouthed owl, the flat nosed viper, the kangaroo lizard and the green vine snake to name a few. After the walk, we arrived into our camp carrying our things, exhausted, so we took a swim in the river next to our campsite that was gorgeous. So, after a briefing and reflection, we had dinner and social time which was fun. But at 9.30 pm we had lights out. On day two, we trekked to a small waterfall for a small swim, which was lovely and made our way back to school for a well-earned rest.

Overall the team and the group I went with was amazing and I made deeper connections with people and gained a deeper understanding of how amazing the Earth we live in really is!