On a particularly humid Friday morning, the Grade 9s, accompanied by Mr Fullard, Mr Ceronio, Mr Vrugtman, Mr Pietersen and Ms Taylor headed off on their first Grade 9 trek. Dodging cows, crows and the unexpected cloud burst, followed by a steady flow of rain that could put Dr Gloucester to shame, the young explorers made it to base camp by 15:00.
The rain continued steadily throughout the night and well into the next morning, but all were in good spirits on the second day when the sun finally made an appearance. After a lovely swim at the waterfall, the learners and staff were recharged and ready to tackle the last bit of the hike, reaching base camp just after 15:00.
By the third day, the hike into the Gorge was a breeze and setting up camp was relatively uncomplicated, barring an occasional scratch from a yellow thorn acacia tree. That night, the young adventurers enjoyed swopping stories around the fire whilst taking turns on stag (camp watch) and were awoken at 04:45 by Mr Pietersen’s infamously famous “Goooood moooorning”!
They trudged their way into Penge but the delayed gratification of an ice-cold Coke at the end made the trip worthwhile. By the fourth day, the learners were ready to tackle the river as they began the water part of their trek.