After an exhausting week of exams, I started packing my bags for our class trip to Kithulgala Borderlands. This was our second trip to Borderlands as the class of 2022, after our 9th Grade Week Without Walls. It was basically our DP Orientation, except in the second semester of DP2. COVID delayed it, but I am really grateful we could go on what has officially been my last school trip in high school ….
Day 1
After a 3 hour bus ride, we walked to the Borderlands lodge, ready to start our first activity : hiking and canyoning. Our class could’ve easily been sponsored by Decathlon with our unintentionally matching water shoes, towels and clothes. The owner of Borderlands, Wade, told us about how the trip
will only be as fun as we make it… We get the opportunities and the resources, but it’s up to us to make it memorable !
The hike to the canyon felt long, but we passed the time with conversations and biology jokes. The mocks mindset was still very much present. I was even gifted a flower along the hike – a souvenir I had to abandon at the canyon…
Getting to the canyon felt quite nostalgic, back at the same place in my last semester of highschool as I was in my first year of highschool. It was really fun. We swam, jumped, slid and navigated the rocks, and the cold, cold water. I wasn’t chattering like I was in 9th grade though. I helped my classmates and they helped me through both the first and advanced canyons. At the end we rested on the hot rocks, recovering from the cold and snacking on chocolate maliban biscuits – a staple on this trip.
When we got back we went straight to the team building exercises. In 9th grade I got to the top of the giant ladder with Sofia. This time, I was attempting it with Chloe. We strategized carefully, deciding that I would be the base, and Chloe would be the runner. Once we started, our strategy was proving successful. Although we were tired, we coped with it by telling jokes,
suspended in the air. We considered taking a water break, singing a song or making mor
e jokes when we got halfway up. However we pushed through, making it to the top in 6 minutes. Ringing the bell, we got our photos and came down.
The next activity was the crate stacking. Honestly, I don’t recall how many crates I stacked, but I remember it was tiring, high, and required a lot of balance. Chloe stacked many crates as I threw them up to her. At one point, her stack fell, but we caught it and she continued.
After this Chloe and I put our belaying skills from wall climbing to the test. We belayed our friends up the giant ladder, which was a fun conclusion to the team building work. I was chosen as the team leader, along with Ritheek as a co-leader for our class.
We ended day 1 with a river bath and card games. It was tiring but enjoyable to spend time with friends.
Day 2
We started the morning early with stretches a warm up after our morning tea. Putting on our trainers, we piled into the buses, ready for the activity of the day : abseiling. Many of our class members were late to the warm up.. Their punishment was an early morning cold river bath, which ironically ended up seeming quite refreshing.
First we had to hike up to the top of the waterfall to start the first pitch (first abseil down). The hike was long but enjoyable, taking us through a cool nature pathway, and then up through a tea plantation, and a rocky incline. On the way we drenched ourselves in cold water, feeling energised despite the harsh heat. After around 2.5 kilometers, we got to the top of the waterfall, ready to abseil. As team leader I helped direct my class into the waiting area and informed them of the boundaries set by the guides.
After an instructions section, we started the first pitch down the waterfall. The view was beautiful, and since I have done wall climbing before, it felt fun to use those skills again and essentially belay myself.
After the first pitch we decided we would be the first class in OSC to do another pitch. We first had to ‘scramble’ down a section of the waterfall, which required a lot of focus. We had no harnesses on, and the rock was dry, so we supported each other in walking down.
Once our class had finished the scramble, the guides set up the second pitch and we went down. It was really fun and fulfilling. At the bottom we got to swim, relax and look up to see the huge distance we had just walked down.
We ended Day 2 with a campfire, music and card games – a relaxed evening with friends.
Day 3
On the final day of our last school trip, we woke up early and warmed up, ready for the day. On Day 3, we were canoeing. Chloe and I were canoe partners, just like in 9th grade. After going through the different rowing methods, we all got in our canoes. Chloe and I started a bit rocky, paddling into some rocks and in the wrong direction, but once we established a rhythm, we were very efficient partners. In fact, in one of the canoe games we played (basically ‘tag’ in canoes, where one canoe has something that the other canoes are all trying to steal, like a tree branch), Chloe and I were succeeding for a really long time. We even helped our classmates flip their canoes when they fell.
We did some balance exercises which were fun, and lined up our canoes for photos and a snack break.
After rowing back to the lodge we had to pack up, eat and head home.
This trip was a really fun experience. I look forward to developing the photos I took on my film camera, and feel happy knowing that looking back, this was was my grade 12 class, and final highschool trip.
LO2 : Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process A new challenge may be an unfamiliar experience or an extension of an existing one. The newly acquired or developed skills may be shown through experiences that the student has not previously undertaken or through increased expertise in an established area.
LO4 : Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences Students demonstrate regular involvement and active engagement in CAS.
LO5 : Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively Students are able to identify, demonstrate and critically discuss the benefits and challenges of collaboration gained through CAS experiences.
- Tackling the double pitch in abseiling, plus all the team building activities! Learning to work collaboratively.
- Recognizing our class areas for growth, and working to improve them through the course of the trip.
- Supporting each other through the activities, learning from each other in the process.