So the long-awaited Ophir trip was finally here :)
P and I had spent such a long long time planning it...what with disruptions like H1N1 and this and that and this and that...the trip finally came to pass. YAY. :) So we started our adventure on 19th Nov from school, and reached the Mount Ophir resort in time for our lunch.
Lotsa activities lined up for us after lunch!
At the foot of Gunung Ledang, more commonly known as Mount Ophir which stands at a height of 1276 m tall.
The bunks for the first night.
The first activity after we settled our lodging was flying fox in the jungle.
Learning how to wear a harnest.
While waiting to take flight!
People always look at me in disbelief when I tell them that I've never tried the Flying Fox prior to this. REALLY. For all the adventurous things that I've done, I just have not had the opportunity to do the flying fox..during camps that I attend with the kids, I usually would not want to do it either because I want the kids to have the opportunity to try it. So, this was my first time doing it..and it was real fun! :)
Next up was an activity called "Tippy Shuffle". The objective of this activity was to rearrange all 28 people standing on the 3 planks according to a pre-stated category without falling off the plank. For eg. in aphabetical order of everyone's names., according to day and month of birth....
It was a squeeze obviously..
..but a good time of bonding :)
And then, we went on to an interesting and meaningful activity of wits, teamwork and strength - Poison River. The objective of the activity was to transport everyone from one side of the "river" safely over to the other side, without anyone falling in. The catch is, you're only given 4 Planks & 2 ropes to travel on.
Planks can only be placed and balanced either in a parallel or perpendicular direction to each other onto little metal cubes on the floor, no diagonal planks allowed.
Brainstorming...
Lotsa teamwork required..
The group who got "left behind" on a lone plank so that most of the group can cross to safety first, before they were eventually rescued =)
Last stage of the rescue!!
I think the kids took at least an hour and a half to get everyone across? But it was very interesting to see how the group worked...and of course, the laughs along the way.
Debrief after 1 hr plus of being on the planks =)
We were eventually shown the "model answer" as to how to most efficiently control a plank when trying to move across...very useful knot-tying knowledge required..I should go and learn some of this rope tying too :)
One big plus point of the trip this time round is, our vendor doing a debrief and reflection for an activity at every appropriate point, to point out learning moments, as well as to draw out important lessons that could be learnt from the simple activity. I think I too learnt a lot by just watching them and listening in during the debrief.
After dinner, the kids brought all their bags from their bunks to the resort to pack for the next day's climb. I was quite disappointed to learn from the owner of the resort then that our climbing route was to be entirely changed from what we had previously climbed. Initially, we were told that only half the route will be changed, due to previous accidents..but we were told the night before our climb, that the entire original route has been closed off because of the monsoon season. We had told the kids so much about the old route...but oh well, I guess for the kiddos, their disappointment won't be as great because they have never been to the old route anyway.
Another slight disappointment for me was that, the kids won't be able to experience having to live on the mountain for 2 days beside a river..and to survive without proper bathing facilities nor toilet. I'm not a sadist okay? But I think there's so much to be gained (and much fun as well) from having to bathe in a river...pee and poop in the wild...carry their full packs up half the mountain (this time round because of the route, we had a vehicle transport our stuff/tents/stoves to the campsite direct), as well as carry their stoves and tents (which would be a good test of their endurance).....sleeping in old leaky tents....having to draw water from the river and putting a puritab (a water-purifying tablet that can be obtained from Watsons ;) ) inside to purify the water before we can drink it...the whole experience is just irreplaceable. I remember how whenever I recall my experience of staying at Ophir, all other camping experiences just pale in comparison and seem to be a luxury :)
But I guess, at the end of the day, the experience was still a good one for the kids, just that, I felt there could've been even better.
First night: Preparations for the next day's climb...
Our day packs of rations and water that we'd be carrying during our ascent.
DAY 2: THE ACTUAL CLIMB
After our breakfast the next morning, we jumped onto the bus to the starting of our trail.
Getting ready to board the bus to take us to our trail.
At the foot of the mountain, all smiles and raring to go!
But before that, warm-ups to reduce our risk of getting cramped muscles during the climb....and....we're off!
Either I didn't train enough, or I'm just getting old. I had actually trained more this time round, more intensively than the last time that I climbed, but this time, the climb just seemed more tiring that the previous one......I think I'm getting old...and I wonder how many more times I can climb Ophir with the cadets, should we continue to organise such expeditions for the unit. :/
Checkpoint 1
Checkpoint 2
Checkpoint 3
Some parts of the hike required the use of ropes to scale up surfaces.
Photo-taking opportunity at a nice open space, I simply love this photo :)
Super tiny little "river" stream-crossing. Don't be mistaken, Ophir has many more exciting rivers, it's just that our route didn't cross any of those.
The final push before the summit, snakes-and-ladders..a part of the route which has many barren rock surfaces and steep steps, thus the need for the ropes and ladders to aid in the climbing.
At first, I thought that the kids won't be doing much rope pulling nor ladder climbing due to the change in route, but thankfully, there were still enough of the ropes and ladders for the kids to experience because of the bare rocks that we had to scale to reach the top :)
CHS NCC(Land) unit, at the summit of Mount Ophir, 1276 m above sea level.
(full grp picture with other photographer, akan datang ;) )
When we got to the top, it was actually cold! There was a slight drizzle, and the wind made the summit really cold. Quite an interesting experience this time round. Even on our climb up, there were sporadic gusts of cool wind which helped to boost our morale and made climbing much more comfortable. We were apparently really lucky, because it was the monsoon season..and while we were climbing, it was raining cats and dogs down at the resort! But because we were above the clouds, all we felt was cool wind, and slight drizzle at the summit (coz we were standing amidst the cloud :) ) :)
Well, though it was drizzling and the wind made it doubly cold............................that didn't stop us from...............................
...proving to be the most garang unit by knocking it down together! :)
Haha...it was funny, but yet at the same time, a strong display of the unit's camaraderie and togetherness. Loved the moment =)
More highlights to come I hope, since I seem to have this bad habit of always updating a trip only halfway.. :P
AKAN DATANG ;)
I must say, this is my most successful Homecoming ever..thanks to my very enthusiastic and able class, who managed to manage the stall almost entirely by themselves, while I busied myself now and then with being the Milo Auntie (mixing Milo in the staff lounge) so that they could have their constant supply of Milo for their Milo bubble tea.
So that's where I spent 1/2 my time during Homecoming, in the lounge. Also because I was actually feeling kinda sick that day (ending the day with a fever of 37.7 deg :S) , so the rest of the time, I spent either resting at the staffroom, or at some table in the canteen..habitually checking on the store, and ordering extra tapioca pearls and jellies when the class ran out of them. A pity I missed most of the old boys who came back coz I was not actively walking around that day..
A signboard menu that my class and I made together :P
Yummilicious tea eggs :)
