|
Oh what fun we had
We went completely mad
When we saw the sign
Which read?
Lapalala Wilderness School…
Washing our hair in the rock pool
after the mud fight
(Oh and we didn’t pack light)
Rapiding down the river
sent a shiver
down my spine.
Doing night watch at 2:00 a.m. was no fun
Hiking our sleeping bags up the mountain weighing a ton
On the top we sat
And set up our beds on only a mat
Eating boerewors dropped by mistake in ash
We ate it and it was gone in a flash
Oh but we all though it was really cool
at Lapalala Wilderness School
Anne Spring – Grade 6
The grade 6 girls went on tour to Lapalala. When we arrived we started with the activities.
Each day there was a water sport that we did, for instance canoeing and riding the rapids which was great fun.
Recycle and insect talks around a campfire in the evenings was lovely. The highlight of the tour was the hike. We climbed up Baboon Mountain and looked at the exquisite view at the top.
Sleeping under the stars was amazing as we sat around the campfire braaing pap and wors. The washing up of the dinner plates was quite messy and our dorm came out with granny hands. We saw lots of different animals on the game drives.
The time spent at Lapalala was truly wonderful and I do recommend it as a five star wilderness school.
Caitlin van der Merwe – Grade 6
Stepping off the hot, stuffy bus in to the cold, fresh air. After five hours of boring chit chat, we finally reached our destination.
We were welcomed with a game of ‘Amazing Race’ which we had to be mentally and physically ready for. After going to six different stations, we finally had a winner. We then went down to the kitchen where we enjoyed hot, crispy chips and juicy burgers.
We kitted up to go rafting even though the water was refrigerated! After a sizzling hot shower, we went down to the kitchen and wolfed down delectable rice and chicken stew. For our treat, we got creamy ice cream with toothsome chocolate sauce. We made our way to the cosy fireplace where we played interesting games and had a debate about the environment. Then it was bedtime which none of us needed to be told twice!
We woke up the next morning feeling fresh and savoured our breakfast. We applied our sunscreen and headed down to the mountains where we started our six hour long hike. After an exhausting bimestrial walk, we gobbled down tuna and cheese sandwiches and made our way down the mountains. The Grade 6 girls went canoeing and the Grade 7 girls did a very sandy obstacle course. After our refreshing showers, we had a lovely meal consisting of spaghetti Bolognese and custard with jelly.
For our last activity of the day, we split in to two groups. The first group went on a very nippy game drive while the second group did a toiletry check to see which of their products were animal friendly and which were not. Then we went to visit our long lost friends, our sleeping bags!
In the morning, after breakfast, we had a talk about creepy crawlies and held spiders, snakes and scorpions. Then it was time foro the Grade 7 girls to go canoeing while the Grade 6 girls did the obstacle course. When everyone was back, we made our own rhino dung paper and played a game while we learnt about recycling. We enjoyed crunchy biscuits and macaroni cheese before we went for our mud fight. We all got dirty and muddy and went to wash off by rafting. We then went for a long, warming shower and packed our bags to go and sleep under the stars. We had to make a fire to keep the animals away since we were in the bush, and while the fire was dancing, we braaied our own dinner over the flames.
That night everybody got a chance to have their own shift so they could watch over everyone just as a mother watches over her child. When we awoke from very disturbing sleeps, we made our way back down the mountain so we could pack our bags and leave to go back to our own family.
It was very difficult to leave because Lapalala was like a new home to us. We will never forget our trip to Lapalala especially the Grade 7 girls as it was our last tour together.
Humairaa Hassan – Grade 7
On 1 June, the Grade 6 and 7 girls went on an amazing tour to Lapalala Wilderness School. The bus journey was long and hot, but it was worth the long drive.
We started the day off with many fun and challenging activities, so by the end of the day, we were all exhausted.
The second day was filled with adventure. The main activity was a six hour hike to Baboon Mountain. On this hike we were shown many different trees and animals. We even managed to fit in a ‘spitting animal dung competition’. The day ended off with a relaxing game drive around the reserve.
The third day was a day I think most people will never forget. Some of the main activities were the muddy but enjoyable mud fight. I’m sure many people are still trying to get mud out of their hair and from in between their toes! Then we went to the learning centre and learnt about snakes, spiders and scorpions. Some people were lucky enough to hold these beautiful creatures.
Then the great camp out! The moment we were all dreading! The place where we would be sleeping was at the top of a mountain, so we all had to walk up the mountain with sleeping bags, pillows and lots of warm jackets and blankets. In the end, the camp out was lots of fun and luckily for us, it didn’t rain. This tour was lots of fun! We all learnt something new, whether it was how to save the environment, have a mud fight, climb a mountain or even face your fear by holding a snake or scorpion.
It was an amazing tour and I would love to go back.
Jessica Wahl – Grade 7
On 1 June, the Grade 6 and 7 girls went on tour to Lapalala Wilderness School. We were away for four days. All of us were so excited to go on tour that we were willing to be at school at 06:00 in the morning!
When we finally arrived after a five hour bus trip we were split in to dormitory. In each dormitory there were Grade 6 and 7 girls together which was one of the best parts about our tour because we made new friends from another grade.
Over the four days we were there, we did so many activities. For example, a six hour hike which was fun but quite difficult. We went canoeing in freezing cold water and went down some rapids and we had a mud fight and got very dirty (I’m still trying to get the red mud off me!) All of these activities were about team building, working together, communicating with each other and listening to everyone’s ideas.
At Lapalala, we all had a great time. When you looked around, everyone had nothing less than a smile from ear to ear! It was so much fun and we enjoyed every moment of it.
Amy Gerber – Grade 7
|
