International Award - South Africa

Magaliesburg

            For our excursion for the international award we went to Magaliesburg in South Africa. There, we practiced and developed our camping and surviving skills, and we also had fun. I didn’t know nature could be fun; I was expecting to become bored to death, from boredom, but I was surprised!  I believe that all the members of the international award that had the chance to go to Magaliesburg still brag about the amount of fun we had and all the different activities we did.

            We had to walk though roots, and climb cliffs and rocks. We also had to learn how to use a compass to find our way around; we went on a canopy tour; we had to put up our tents; prepare our own food; face rain and cold; build a camp fire.

We walked through rivers and at times jumped into them distances of about 15-20 meters.

Some of us were really tired after that week but we all wish to go back one day. We had a day in the city for shopping and have fun at the mall, but we all remember that trip for all the activities we did at the camping site.

            This trip taught me more how to be more independent, because I had to take care of myself, not to get diseases or bruises nor any infections. I also learned a very valuable lesson of persistence and courage. I was inspired by one of the members as they weren’t physically prepared for most of the routes and challenges we faced on our trip but they never gave up. Their persistence and want to continue made us realize that we had no reason to complain and that they needed a bit of our assistance and our understanding.

            Overall I enjoyed this trip and I found out that there is more to life than computers, TVs, phones, Ipods, video games and parties.