Hindleap Tales
Fun, friends and community are three words I would use to describe the thirds trip to Hindleap Warren.
We first started the day with a two-hour long coach ride to the site, the motorway may have been closed, but we persevered through it and continued on. Once we arrived at site the teachers set us off on a treasure hunt around the area looking for signs with letters and numbers to match the ones on the sheet we had. After a gruelling 40-minute trek around the forest we all returned with empty bellies eagerly awaiting lunch. But first we were shown to our rooms, put our bags away and made our beds. Finally, we headed to our picnic-style lunch, filled with sandwiches, Crips, orange juice and KitKats.
Our first activity was shelter building, we were given a bucket filled with limited supplies and had to make a shelter out of them. Our shelters had to withstand specific natural disasters such as sandstorms, hurricanes, blizzards and tsunamis. We had 20 minuets to create our master pieces and present them to everybody; Mr Whibley came to inspect everyone’s shelters and ended up helping my group the most. With 5 minutes on the clock and having to restart for the third time we weren’t sure if we were going to make it luckily, we pulled through with a minute to spear. When it was time to present our creation, we all had to get inside while our given natural disasters were being hurtled at us. Ours was a hurricane, so we had cold water thrown at us while our tarp was being shaken up and down, even Mr Whibley had to get in with us.
Next, we had fire making, where we went around the forest looking for twigs, pinecones and dry leaves to build the base of our fire. The instructors provided us with flint stone and metal to start the embers of our fire and then it was our job to keep it alive. After a while of trial and error we managed to create a small fire and as our treat the instructors cooked popcorn over an open forest fire.
After fire making, we had dinner pizza and chips with a side order of vanilla ice cream which went down nicely. Next, we got changed into fresh, clean clothing and headed on our spooky midnight walk. With twists and turns and scary surprises awaiting us, we were all buzzing with excitement. Our first stop was an old tree rumoured to have the faces of a cat a witch and a sloth on it. Next, we visited an abandoned witch’s house adorned with fur on the walls and broken pieces of wood on the floor which had us chilled to the bone. Our last stop on the tour was a game of hide and seek. To round off the night we had Hot chocolate and cookies, and it was off to bed.
The next day was filled with even more exiting activities than the last. First was Jacobs Ladder where in teams of three we raced to the top of an insanely tall ladder to be the first to the top. Next was archery where we were taught the correct way to use a bow and arrow and how to shoot it correctly at a target. After lunch we went rock climbing and in teams of four and more we B layed the team member attempting the climb to the top, the view from the top was breath-taking, you could see the entire forest from up there. Lastly, to conclude such a brilliant trip we were taking back into the forest for one last team building challenge. We had to guide our partners who were blind folded through an obstacle course around the forest, many of us either tripped or walked into a tree. Then we had to find a way with tires to get across the hot, scorching floor that was the forest floor. After that it was another two our long coach ride back to school and finally, we were reunited with our parents.
In conclusion the Thirds trip to Hindleap Warren was one to never forget.
Sarina (Third)
