2009 International Award Trip to Drakensburg

The international award is a very unique program offered at LIS which requires students to commit to various activities in the areas of Skill, Physical fitness, and Service. Throughout the year each of the students involved in the award are required to complete the hours for each of these categories by becoming involved in various clubs, teams, or organizations that are offered at LIS. The fourth aspect of this award is called, ‘Adventurous Journeys.’ In order to complete this section of the award each student must participate in a practice journey (normally to Kissama) and then a final journey. For our final journey we recently went to Drakensburg, South Africa from November 7th to November 14th. The group of students that went learned an incredible amount about nature, hiking, each other, and most importantly, ourselves individually.

Ms. Nicel and Mr. Cole bravely led our group of fifteen starting Saturday morning, November seventh. Upon arriving in the Luanda airport in an hour far too early to be up on a Saturday, we were greeted with the typical large group of people anxiously awaiting a flight to South Africa. After a confusing exchange of passports and yellow fever papers, we were off to Johannesburg, ready to start our adventurous trek! We arrived in Johannesburg in the late afternoon/ evening. We took a bus to the hotel, Town Lodge, and went out for a quick dinner. The next morning, sitting around the Hotel Lodge eating our nice breakfast, we came to the conclusion that perhaps camping may be easier than expected. Little did we know, this week would soon force each one of us to push ourselves individually and as a group more than we had ever imagined.

Later that day, we started our 5 hour bus journey to Golden Gate Park, where we would be camping for the next week. Upon arriving at our campsite we were greeted by our guides, Matt and Sonya, who introduced us to the area and gave us an overview of what we would be doing during the week. We also played some short games and then setup our tents for the week. All we packed for the seven days had to fit into our hiking backpacks and we also carried our tents and sleeping bags with us. After setting up the tents we went on an hour and a half hike around the area and got used to the altitude and climate. At night we had a South African braii. After dinner we played some traditional games, and we were split into our hiking groups for the long two day hike.

On Monday, the first group, the Leopards, was due to leave early in the morning but due to a short lightning and thunderstorm it was postponed for an hour. During that day the Leopards hiked about 14km to the hikers’ huts where they spent the night after cooking a pasta meal. Throughout the day it rained and we had a tough time but eventually made it, wet and quite uncomfortable but proud of ourselves for our accomplishment, which was no easy task. We hiked up and along mountains which were slippery muddy, and at one point we faced a fairly vertical rock face with only a chain to haul ourselves up it. While the Leopards were forced to hike up mountains and across streams while rain was absolutely pouring, the Baboons were back at the campsite sipping hot chocolate and working on navigating, praying for the Leopard's safety but also basking in the fact that, despite being stuck with a baboon as a mascot, they certainly had the better end of the stick.

On Tuesday morning the Baboons started their hike and with much better weather they had a slightly warmer journey. Throughout the hike, comments such as 'it could be worse, we could have been hiking this yesterday' kept us motivated and appreciative, and the whole time we were in awe of the complete beauty in the Drakensburg Mountains. The preciousness of the nature surrounding us was so captivating it was almost unreal, and during this time many of us began to truly appreciate the environment. When the Leopards finally reached our destined location many hours later, all of us were surprised at the relief one is capable of feeling by arriving at a hut. However, considering the majority of the group figured they'd be long gone by the time the hut was reached, perhaps this is an understandable reaction. Meanwhile the Leopards walked another 15 kilometers back to the original campsite, along the way yearning for 'home'. One must truly question our sanity at that moment, considering the 'home' we so longed for was our tents and sleeping bags.

When Wednesday rolled around, the Baboons followed the same journey to the original campsite that the Leopards had done the day before, along the way counting how many time we each tripped, slid, or rolled an ankle. Again, the splendor and beauty of the animals and plants around us was indescribable. While the Baboons were hiking, the Leopards were back at the campsite doing the navigating work the Baboons had done on Monday. As soon as the two groups reunited, the 'dull roar' policy was continually violated and no longer the rule, but the exception. That night, stories of hiking adventures and random nature trivia were passed around over spaghetti, with both the Baboons and Leopards happy to be in each others company once more.

On Thursday both groups had a fun day. We got to ride horses and quad bikes. About four people "tipped" their bikes, which was kind of exciting. We also learned how to canter during our horseback riding lesson.  Some of the braver people slid down a waterfall! It was a great day!

By the time Friday morning came, absolutely no one wanted to leave the campsite, despite the fact that anyone would have been able to smell us coming from kilometers away. As we woke up bright and early and sadly packed up all our belongings and tents, everyone reflected on everything we would miss and the amazing experiences we each got to enjoy. After one last scavenger hunt using our navigation skills, we painfully said goodbye to Matt and Sonja, whom we had grown very close to. After driving five hours to get to a hotel, most everyone could not help put feel a twinge of relief at the sight of civilization, and everyone suddenly felt extreme gratitude for the electricity, running water, the working TV system. That night the group went to two malls, buying souvenirs and going crazy. The next morning we woke up and drove to the airport in a half dazed state. With checking in being an absolute breeze, we were on the plane home to Luanda in no time, and arrived home shortly.

During this week, most everyone from our group grew to form new friendships and new understanding of the beauty of nature. Some of us were faced with the most difficult physical challenges we have faced in our lives, and the fact that everyone could overcome these challenges made each one of us develop as a person. This experience will definitely not be forgotten, seeing as it was an amazing week filled with insane, splendid adventure. Our group would like to thank Ms. Nicel and Mr. Cole, who made this trip possible. Their continual patience and dedication to our group made the trip even more enjoyable.

Madie Wisnie  & Haley Talbot 11.2