During the summer holidays, Miss Platts, Ms Jones, Mr Simmons and Mrs Barnes led 26 Year 12 students on an once in a lifetime 21-day expedition to Borneo, Malaysia. Whilst the trip was organised through Outlook Expeditions, the students took it in turns to act as leaders for the day, budget managers and transport managers. As a testament to their teamwork and decision making, the trip was immensely enjoyable and showcased the skills our students have.
Two students, Anya and Evelyn, have put together a write-up of the trip:
Before our adventure to Borneo, we spent a weekend in the Peak District, learning how to work as a team. We hiked through the peaks, bonding with others in the group and seeing the views as we climbed. Later, as we cooked together in the outdoors with meals we had previously budgeted and planned for, our group leader went through our team kit and gave us valuable knowledge that we would need when in the tropics of Borneo. Those days shaped us into a stronger group. After working so hard for months fundraising the money, this made the upcoming trip seem more real and exciting.
We all finished off our first week in Borneo by spending 3 days trekking through the jungle. We walked for around 2-3 hours each day in the morning and had lunch during the trek, prepared by our lovely hosts at our homestays. Although parts of the trek were hard because of the heat, we made regular stops for water and sometimes some fresh pineapple that our guides cut straight from the tree for us which helped us keep going. We all found it very peaceful hiking through the hills admiring the amazing view of Mount Kinabalu beside us. We finished the days off by cooling down in the nearby river, playing cards and helping to prepare our evening meals with our hosts, as they taught us about their local culture and different foods they source from the jungle. The last day we were transferred back to our first homestay and spent the rest of the day relaxing and getting ready for the next part of the expedition.
An integral part of the trip was volunteering with Howard Stanton at the Tip of Borneo near Kudat. Over the four days, we took part in many projects that we hope will benefit the local community. Team 1 initially helped to protect a church from river erosion by building a new wall defence. Team 2’s first project was to build a well on part of Howard’s land. We split into two teams with one team working on the well whilst the other rested which helped us finish the well quite quickly. Once the well had been dug, we learnt how to make concrete the traditional way, which we all found quite tiring, and once we had put it around the well and written our names in it, our first project had been completed. Our next challenge was to place the concrete slabs that Team 1 had made the week before into the ground to make a walkway for visitors to Howard’s reserve. Once this was done, we moved onto making more concrete for an outdoor area for the local church and demolishing an old shelter to make way for a new one. We spent most evenings down at the beach, watching the sunset and going in the sea. We were lucky enough to have dinner at the beach for two nights and our last night finished with a speech from Howard. By the end of the four days, we all got used to using the compost toilets, showering with the geckos and being bitten to death by mosquitos. We all enjoyed being in the peacefulness of the countryside before heading back to Kota Kinabalu for our last few days before heading home.
Our final days in Borneo were unforgettable, after days hiking, working, and travelling for hours Team 1 had the opportunity to go white water rafting! It was so fun to go through rapids and see the nature in Borneo from this unique perspective as well as being able to blow off some steam as a team. Later we enjoyed a hostel with a beautiful view of the jungle and then set off to Sepilok Orangutang Sanctuary and the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. Seeing and learning about the poaching and rehabilitation of the orangutans as well as the future plans for the sun bears reintegration into the wild really showed us the importance of ecotourism and how vital it is that we try to conserve Borneo’s natural environment. On our last day both teams came together to snorkel at the Tanku Abdul Rahman Park where were saw sea turtles, so many vibrantly coloured fish and a huge coral reef. We then took a boat to the most beautiful tropical beach where we soaked the last of the Malaysian sun and sea before travelling back to Kota Kinabalu. On the last days of our expedition, we explored the town of Kota Kinabalu: dinner on the sea front, seeing the night food markets, talking with locals and enjoying our last days as a team.
Having time to reflect on this amazing trip, while I can only speak for myself, it was unforgettable. Learning and conversing with people of a completely different culture give you a newfound appreciation for how lucky we were to experience it so authentically. From playing football with the locals and hearing them sing their national anthem to eating freshly caught fish from the river we had just trekked along all made this expedition truly a once in a lifetime experience. I have so many amazing memories from this trip that I can’t wait to make more when I go travelling. A big thank you to our leaders for looking after us, keeping us safe, and always putting our experience first. They worked so hard to make sure we had not only an educational journey but also an enjoyable and fulfilling trip.
