BRONZE PA EXPEDITION- SUKARI RANCHCHOCOLATE LOVERS

5th -6th march 2013

Members of chocolate lovers!

TEAM LEADER

NAVIGATOR

MOTIVATOR

CHEF

FIRST AIDER

Assessors

Group name decision

We chose this name because we all love chocolate. Chocolate is a food that brings groups together! We decided we needed a uniting name

Menu

Lunch- packed lunch provided Dinner- pasta with various sauces.

Tomato sauce and mince meat Breakfast- bread, weetabix, fruits, tea,

milk, coffee, jam, butter, peanut butter

Navigation and Route Planning Route planning for day 1 was done

before we embarked on our expedition. Prior we had to learn haw to take a bearing.

There were two navigators to a team as to ensure accuracy and that the group stayed on track.

Navigation was done for day 2 was done on the morning of the 6th.

Menu Planning

We were very concerned about our hunger as we are not used to such long walks

We planned our meals to satisfy our stomachs after a very long expedition

We picked Pasta because it is easy to carry and convenient to cook!

Day 1

We left at ten thirty to our required destination by bus. We arrived at ten forty five and set off in our groups on our expedition. We had eight checkpoints and walked 12.6 kilometres.

It was quite cloudy in the morning which gave us false hope as the weather quickly changed to extreme sun and heat. All we could see was vast savannah .

Upon crossing the road to the next ranch, we were met by a electric fenced gate. It was then brought to our attention that we had the wrong key. We had to wait for someone to bring the key from school, which left us waiting for about an hour. They finally arrived revealing the key to be under a rock.

We arrived at our campsite beaten and injured by the long days hike. Unfortunately our navigator and first aider, Maya, was injured and had dislocated her knee. She then had to be taken back to school, leaving us with only four members of the group. This lead to Noni having to take the place of first aider.

During dinner as opposed to each individual group cooking for themselves all the cooks from all the groups prepared dinner for everyone.

Day 2

We were woken at six thirty the next morning for light exercises to prevent injury during the days’ journey. Before breakfast could be eaten all tents had to be cleared and rucksacks had to be packed. Again there were no group tents but instead the girls occupied two large tents and the boys occupied three large tents.

Breakfast was promptly prepared by all the cooks in the same fashion as dinner and we had all eaten and washed our cutlery by seven thirty.

Navigation for the day was then completed by the navigators and the team leaders of all the groups. After much dispute a general route was agreed upon between the groups.

All groups then assembled and the Chocolate lovers had signed in and out by nine sharp.

We travelled much faster on day two than on day one. Whereas on day 1 it took us fifty minutes to travel 3.5 kilometres on day 2 it took us 38 minutes to travel 3 kilometres. Also there were only four checkpoints instead of eight.

By eleven we had finished our expedition!!!!

The Campsite

The campsite was extremely pleasant as when we arrived the tents were already up. Though we were still asked to put up the tents we had been carrying in our rucksacks by the assessors.

There were ‘Short drop’ toilets, which were much better than the bushes.

The campsite had a very relaxing atmosphere and gave all of us time to socialise and wind down.

Group Leader

On March 5th- 6th 2013 we departed for our bronze award expedition. We arrived at about ten thirty and departed for our hike at eleven. There were 8 checkpoints till we reached our campsite. We walked 12.6 kilometres on the first day. As we crossed the road and arrived at the gate to the next ranch it occurred to us that we had the wrong key. Having to wait for an hour a tractor finally arrived and a man pulled out the key from under a rock. I think that our group did not complain as much as we thought we would and motivated each other well. The next day we walked about 7.6 kilometres. We were all extremely tired from the previous’ days hike but were willing to reach school for a nice long rest.

As a group we had to distribute different equipment for each of us to carry. I had my own bowl, cup, spoon, fork, pasta and a toilet roll. I had to carry my own personal equipment like clothes, snacks, water, water proofs, sleeping mat and sleeping bag.

Our navigator, Noni, was very good at leading us in the right direction. She navigated us through the hot and painful savannah without complaining.

To sum up, my group was very well behaved and did not complain. We stuck together through all conditions, however we could have walked much faster.

Navigator At the beginning of the first day I was excited but also dreading it. On the bright side

I got to miss double English (YES!) but I was missing it to do sports (NO!). We left school at half past ten and arrived at Sukari Ranch by ten forty five and were walking by ten fifty nine. The first stretch was fun. I got to smell the fresh air and be at peace for a while. I was actually beginning to enjoy myself. But at the checkpoint all hell broke loose. The van marking the checkpoint had its’ door open. And inside held crisps! Upon seeing food some of us (who shall remain nameless) dive-bombed the van and battled for our food. Sunglasses went flying as it was realized that you may not have dibs on your favorite flavors. When at last a chosen few had received their crisps they were forced to fight again through the mob crowding the van and drag your discarded rucksack to safety and devour your food.

Our team leader, Khaaliqa Nimji, was extremely supportive. She made sure that everyone in the group stuck together and tried to go at the pace of the slowest person (me). She was very positive and never complained even though I’m sure she felt as bedraggled as I did. Originally I wasn’t the first aider. But at the end of the second day our first aider, Maya Shah, dislocated her knee and couldn’t continue. She was heartbroken. When my team said I was to take her place as first aider I was worried. What if someone got hurt? What if it was bad? What if I made it worse? But all I needed to do was the occasional plaster. We worked well as a team and I had a lot of fun and despite our many, many complaints I think all of us did.

First Aider On Tuesday 5th March, a group of 5 of us went on our bronze expedition. We were

extremely scared and nervous. Questions were running through our mind, regretting coming to school to do Bronze PA, but, we still started of strong willed and determined. I was the first aider and thankfully there were no major injuries just small cuts and bruises. We walked about 12.6 km the first day with 3km in between checkpoints. The land was very uneven with many holes in the ground and thick grass. The sun was boiling and our legs were hurting, nevertheless we continued and persevered until the end. Three years ago I injured my knee, and throughout the expedition, it felt like it was about to dislocate, however, with our team motivator, Makena, encouraging me to carry on I continued slowly and steadily, we reached our campsite at 5pm exhausted.

Despite the long walk to our campsite and knowing what was needed of us we got to the task straight away passionately. A few of us mapped out our route for the second day of our expedition and Inonge, our cook, prepared dinner. She was excellent. The food produced was delicious and the efforts put in definitely paid off. She made dinner for the whole group. A scrumptious dish containing pasta and minced meat, and she also cooked a vegetarian option. The Assessors, Charles and Heta, definitely liked it.

On our second day, we walked less and for this reason we were more enthusiastic, staying more as a team. We walked about 7.6km back to school. During the second day the land was more level and there weren’t as many thorns as the first day. There were no injuries and we were much quicker reaching school by 11am.

It was a very productive and exhausting expedition but it also united our team more!

Motivator

We left school at 10.30 and went on a thirty minute journey to the Sukari ranch. The weather was promising at first as there were multiple clouds in the sky, but the sky cleared to reveal the hot sun. We walked 12.6 km at a steady pace, although I wish we could have been quicker. As team motivator it was my job to try and keep the team going. In my rucksack I carried the pasta and washing cloth as well as my own bowl, spoon, fork and mug. On the journey there was not much to see except endless grass and lines of power lines. Our first aider Maya, was very efficient as if any of us were injured she would be quick on her feet to assist but unfortunately she dislocated her knee and was sent back to school so Noni took over as first aider.

Our campsite was very pleasant. There were large tents put up already for us. We ate our dinner and were sent to bed at about 9.30pm. in the morning we were woken up at 6.30 to do ‘light’ exercise which warmed us up for the day.

On day two, the weather was very pleasant with cloud cover. We walked 7.6km at a quick pace. We were only 4 in out group now so it was easy to stick together. We walked on and finished at 11am.

 

Chef

Though it had taken us a while to actually do the expedition, we finally managed to complete it on the 5th of March 2013. We arrived at Sukari Ranch on the 6th of March and started our journey at 11:00 a.m. Our group was called the Chocolate Lovers and consisted of Khaaliqa (our group leader) , Maya (the navigator and first aider), Noni (the second navigator and assistant chef), Makena (the assistant leader and motivator) and finally myself who played the role as the chef. We lost many members of our groups along the way but we still managed to stick as a team and keep the spirit going.

Day 1 went really well and we all managed to keep the energy flowing. I enjoyed being in the outdoors and seeing how far my physical and mental strength can go. I think I performed quite well as an individual and persevered to go on. Being in such a small group taught me to be more patient and work more as a team and not leave any members behind. Another aspect of team work was to participate by caring certain items. I carried the cooking spoon and tent canvas. During our walk we managed to keep a steady pace and see various landmarks, such as the tower and the telephone wire. We also passed along a few houses as we got closer to school. I showed my skills in cooking that night preparing pasta with the other members from different groups. It took a while for the water to boil and for the food to get hot but in the end we did a good job. Noni was a great time keeper and kept us on track though the entire group. Sadly our first aider could not complete the journey with us due to medical issues and so Noni was also made the first aider and she also did a great job in that.

Everything was quite pleasing and satisfactory so there is not much I would improve on it. The only thing I wished was that if we could have had a bonfire at night to bring everyone even closer and for everyone to share scary stories and experiences' during the day. I also wished as a team we could have increased our speed especially on the first day.