DESPITE the early hours, the 42 students from St John’s Institution were wide awake as they embarked on their holiday camp. We were at the Outward Bound School (OBS) in Lumut, Perak, courtesy of the old boys scouts of the school’s Eagle Scout Group (ESG).

We listened intently as we were briefed on OBS’ ground rules, and was reminded of some of the camp’s core objectives. “This school is not a place for you to show off who is the best, but is for you to help each other to reach the peak together.” said Roberts James.

We were then divided into three different watches, namely Berincang, Ledang and Beremban.

These City children were challenged to trek through the jungles on their own.

Everyone was eager to learn new things. One of the highlights of the camp was the rappelling session, where we learn how to descend using a rope tied around our bodies.

We were taught the correct rappelling techniques in groups of three with an anchor, a person to belay and a climber. The older participants would also help the younger ones. I was happy to see the younger ones participate in this activity as it is really challenging physically and mentally.

We live in cities with full facilities. What if one day we get lost in the jungle? Can we still survive? Yes, of course. Our instructor taught us how to build tent with tent sheets and tent ropes. Even though some of us have learnt to this as scouts in schools, we were still eager to pick up survival tips.

“The camp is good because it actually shows that the students still have a lot to learn,” said ESG’s teacher advisor Sukhueer Singh.

In fact, we were all looking forward to activities that we couldn’t do in the cities. All of us got to canoe from Lumut to Pulau Pangkor. Canoeing in the sea was so much more difficult than in the lake as we had to face the currents. The distance is further as we couldn’t canoe straight as we had to navigate through the currents.

Off for an adventure...canoeing in the sea proved so much more challenging and exciting

We also camped in Teluk Sekadir, which is on the southern part of Pulau Pangkor. When we go to jungle trekking, we usually have rangers guiding us. This trek was different because we learnt to find our way with the aid of the orienteering compass and a piece of map. The instructors were with us, but we led the way. Throughout this expedition, we had fun searching for path to reach the peak of South Summit. The most challenging part is when all of us lost track of our path. Our instructor helped us find the way out because the terrains were steep and it was getting dark.

We also got the chance to use our newly-learnt rappelling skills on the rocky hills on Pulau Pangkor. The rocky wall is almost 90 degree steep, but we managed to conquer our fear of height, and trust our friends who were belaying and doing the anchor. Then, while we were canoeing back to Lumut, we found that the sea currents were pushing us to the right when we wanted to go straight. So, we had to canoe in a zig zag way. “Everyone coorporated while canoeing” said sea captain Yuvaneash Ravichanther.

On the last night, we celebrated our experience at the camp with a barbecue dinner. Before we left Lumut, we visited the Royal Malaysian Navy (TLDM) base. The naval officers showed us their videos of their recent operations and activities. They showed us different types of warships and equipment in the warships.

All good things however must come to an end, and all participants received certificates of participation. They will also be writing an essay each on their experience in OBS.