Duke of Edinburgh – Silver Adventurous Journey Report
Duke of Edinburgh – Silver Adventurous Journey
On Sunday afternoon, sixteen Year 11 students arrived at school for their Silver Adventurous Journey – a key part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award. It was lovely seeing so many students who have finished their iGCSE examinations come into school so happy and ready for the final challenge of three days of walking and navigating through the countryside before their summer holidays officially begin!
Packed and ready, we all set off on a two-hour coach ride up to Ranau, past the beautiful scenery and breath-taking views of Mount Kinabalu and the National Park, until we safely reached our base for the next three nights – the Longhouse at Sabah Tea Resort. The resort is a fascinating area where students (and staff) can learn all about the process of picking, producing and distributing Sabah Tea all around the country, as well as sampling the many tea-based delights on offer at the restaurant and taking in yet more stunning vistas of the mountain and surrounding hills. A lovely place to spend some much-needed rest time in the days to come.
After a comfortable night’s sleep in the cosy Longhouse, our students packed all their gear into their walking bags and set off on their first day of orienteering. Duke of Edinburgh is all about self-sufficiency, independence, and learning about the environment around you, and our students are expected to carry everything they have within their bags – nothing left in the rooms! Carrying such a (well-packed) heavy backpack can make for tough going in high temperatures, and our groups were certainly feeling the heat as they navigated their way around the area, following their maps and route cards and conducting ‘Purpose Work’ such as engaging with tourists about their visits to the area, or speaking with stallholders about their businesses. In total, each day, a group has to fulfil 7 hours of meaningful activity – a combination of orienteering and purpose work.
Much later in the day, after a long day out on the road, our groups returned to the Longhouse and cooked themselves dinner using camping stoves and the food they had brought with them. ‘Camp Craft’ is another key part of the Adventurous Journey, as all participants have to show that they are able to prepare their meals and cook food for themselves with little to no assistance from staff. After rejuvenating meals, our groups settled in for the night in the Longhouse and looked forward to the next day.
Day Three saw our groups split slightly in terms of their aims and objectives, with some groups choosing to complete more gruelling walks, whilst others decided to focus more on their purpose work. The sun was particularly strong on this day, and as such, the importance of applying sunscreen was highlighted by the fatigue shown by our students. Taking in food and water and resting in shade is so important whilst on the go as well, and our groups all ensured that they had scheduled in rest breaks to allow them to do so. The purpose work conducted by groups included touring the tea factory and learning all about the manufacturing of Sabah Tea, picking tea leaves in the fields, and partaking in some Batik painting – some lovely artistic pieces were created!
After another long day, our groups once again returned to the Longhouse, cooked themselves a hearty meal and rested before the final day of walking – a historic and tiring route following the ‘Death March’.
After a big breakfast, our groups set off at staggered intervals along the same route – following a section of the ‘Sandakan to Ranau Death Marches’ conducted during the Second World War by Allied Prisoners of War held captive by Japanese Soldiers. This small section of a much larger route really brought home the suffering and fatal nature of these forced walks carried out by around 2700 Allied Soldiers (largely Australian). The fact that only six Australian men survived these marches was not lost on our students, and served as a solemn reminder to all about the horrors of war and psychology of those in positions of power over those who are effectively helpless. Lessons from relatively recent history to be learnt by all.
The sun once again beat down on us all as we walked the route, and a couple of very steep hills were well-ascended by all our groups, before a final downhill section led all of our students to the finish line. A tough day of walking, but a well-earnt rest awaited all as we rode the coach back to Kota Kinabalu and home! The exhaustion was clear to see as every single student slept for a large part of the coach ride home (and some of the staff too!)
Overall, three days of tough but character-building navigation and purpose work certainly will have left our students better for the experience. Whilst it may seem like the worst thing in the world whilst mid-climb up a 25% gradient hill with a huge backpack on your back, once you have completed a Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journey, one often finds a certain level of reflection comes in time: reflection on the pride felt in completing such a thorough test of resolve and willpower; reflection on the historical importance of the routes walked and footsteps one has walked in; reflection in the friends which one has walked alongside who may soon be travelling off to pastures new as part of the next step in their lives. An experience unlikely to be forgotten.
Our Year 11 students who participated in the Duke of Edinburgh Silver Adventurous Journey should all be very proud at completing this part of their award, and their summer starts now! Hooray!
Special thanks must also go to the staff who spent the three nights (four days) working tirelessly alongside the students to ensure they were able to complete this expedition: Mr Walker (for providing logistics, checkpointing, water refills and also for being the Assessor), Miss Dobson (for walking with a group and checkpointing), Mr Withers (for walking with a group and checkpointing) and finally to Ms McNutt as always for leading the entire Duke of Edinburgh Award at KIS, for organising and arranging the Adventurous Journey and being completely aware of all students, groups and staff’s whereabouts at all times – a thorough knowledge of the area and of our student’s capabilities which enables our students to shine. Another year of Duke of Edinburgh at KIS completed. Another group of students to be proud of.
Mr Withers
