(Everyone on Mullawela rock. Pic cred: Mr. Lockwood)

Adventures in Sinharaja for the DP 1 Geography IA

(Note: this post is more of a reflection of an activity outside of general CAS, rather than a conventional CAS post)

Day 3 started off quite similar to Day 2, in the sense that we began the day by surveying people but this time in a different area of Sinharaja. The only difference was that this time – due to a slight shortage of OSC bottles to hand out – we conducted only a few surveys per group. This meant that we concluded the surveying early.

Once that was over, the class crossed over a (very scary) tree bridge to get to the other side of a stream, where some university students were conducting research. Their research place was very well built, and the work they were doing seemed extremely tiring. I was quite interested in this as it was similar to the Ecology unit we did in Biology.

Following some observations in their greenhouse and the surrounding land, we made our way back to the jeeps and had a brief drive to Duwili Ella Falls. I was heistant to look at the waterfall up-close at first (as the surrounding rocks seemed very slippery) but I am extremely glad I took the risk, as the waterfall was breathtaking.

(Some of the group crossing the river near the waterfall. Pic cred: Mr. Lockwood)

Then, we had lunch at a nearby hotel and a swim in the river it was next to. It started raining on the way back, so the jeep ride back was very wet. Thankfully, we only rode up halfway, and walked the rest of the way back to the lodge.

Then this day ended with another nightwalk looking for tree frogs – we found only one! It was a smaller male tree frog, yet we found many many other creatures and even a pit viper up close. This encounter was slightly stressful, however, as the pit viper started slithering right at us!

(Dinner, for some reason being stolen by Huirong. Pic cred: the author)

Day 4 was rather brief, we simply had time to conduct the traditional hike to Mullawela and have a short swim in the stream. I think that the Mullawela trail was the most tiring activity on this entire trip, there was so much to climb. I did not mind the walking, yet hiking is not something I am the best at!

However, I survived! It took (literal) blood, sweat, and tears to get to the top, but I was glad that I did not give up and pushed through. The view from Mullawela was absolutely amazing, you could see the entire Sinharaja forest and even the sea.

Another benefit of climbing to Mullawela was that there was perfect 4G! Of course, almost everyone was glued to their phones as soon as they discovered this, it was quite an experience to finally get signal after 4 days without it.

Climbing back down from Mullawela was rather easy, I did not slip as often, although there were a few close saves. I think the only difficult part of this were that my knees were almost ready to give out! Huirong, however, did not have such luck – as she almost sprained her ankle and even fell down a hill. Extremely scary, but she’s alive and walking!

When we FINALLY got back from this exhausting hike, myself and others decided to cool down in the stream nearby. After a few water fights, we changed, had lunch, and started to pack up. Following a few pictures, we were finally on our way back to Colombo!

(Final picture with everyone. Pic cred: Mr. Lockwood)

Learning outcomes:

• LO2 – Challenge and skills
  • It was quite a challenge for me to complete the hike that we did on the final day, due to its very long length and the amount of rocks that we had to climb. Additionally, as it had rained a few days prior, trees had fallen over the pathways and the rocks to climb were extra slippery.
  • I think in the end I was quite proud of accomplishing the entire hike, it was difficult but I managed it – a few bruises along the way but it was worth it for the view and the refinement of my hiking skills.

• LO4 – Working collaboratively with other
  • As aforementioned in the previous CAS post, surveying the people for the IA work required a lot of collaboration within our group.
  • In addition to that, I think that supporting each other on the hike was important as well. As we were able to encourage each other and keep and eye out for leeches.

• LO6 – Global engagement
  • Ad previously mentioned in the preceding CAS post, talking to individuals that are directly affected by the crisis in Sri Lanka enabled me to gain more awareness about the issue and further my understanding outside of my own experience with it.