Summary:
During my 4 day weekend from 18-21 November, my family went down south of Colombo, to Ella. During our stay, we hiked up eagle rock to admire the view of the valley. The Eagle Rock hike weaves between rocky terrain, forest, and tea fields. The path was overgrown and was only marked with a few rocks with painted arrows indicating the trail.

During the hike, we observed a wide range of animals, such as lizards, frogs, birds, and insects. However, the animal that we paid the most attention to was the leeches. The weather was the perfect climate for leeches, making our journey slightly more tedious.

The whole experience, while challenging, was also very relaxing. The clear air and silence was a refreshing change from Colombo. The only thing that could be heard was the light raindrops and the sounds of insects.

Learning Outcomes:
During this experience, I targeted learning outcomes 2 and 4. Demonstrate that challenges were undertaken, and develop new skills in the process. The hike was challenging, the path was overgrown and hard to follow. The path was also slippery, making it difficult to maintain your balance. I was also able to develop my skills in identifying animals, as after the hike we researched frogs and lizards we saw during the hike.

Show commitment and perseverance in CAS experiences: I was able to demonstrate perseverance by completing the long and tedious hike up Eagle rock. As I mentioned before, the hike was made more challenging by the copious amounts of rain the night before.