Activity Week – Year 8 Adventure to Guilin
Each week Dhanara will share a few Activity Week reports and galleries of photos, this week, Year 8 Adventure to Guilin.
The adventure to Guilin started and ended at West Kowloon High Speed Railway Station. 92 students and 10 staff headed into China full of excitement and optimism. After arriving in Guilin students, met the guides and completed a scavenger hunt around Elephant Trunk Park. The next morning, the group enjoyed a scenic cruise down the Li River to Yang Shou.
Students completed four activity rotations throughout the week, these included Via Ferrada, caving, biking and a bench making activity for community service. These experiences are highlighted by students below:
Via Ferrada
Via Ferrada was one of the best activities we did at camp! It was thrilling, exciting and not what you would expect at all! When we got to the Via Ferrada we were shocked at what we had to climb, what looked like never-ending mountain! Everyone was scared but had a smile on their face. As soon as we got our harnesses on, we all lined up ready to climb. When we got to the first checkpoint you could go back down or continue going to a zipline. Less than half people stayed as it was so high up but the people that pulled through had so much fun on the zipline! Via Ferrada was the best activity we did on camp and is 100% the best zipline we’ve done!
By: Maya Pike and Pippa Bourne.
Caving
The caving activity started right after we got off the boat that took us to Yang Shou. As we rode the bus to the location of the cave, we blasted music through the speakers. Our main guide, Joseph told us about the cave and the conditions, as we entered everyone was shocked as we saw tons of stalagmites, we continued forward going deeper into the cave. Then we came to a stop as our tour guide started to turn our cave exploration into a physical geography lesson. As we ascended and descended through the cave he told us facts about the rocks and objects around us like how stalagmites and stalactites were different and also how the mold in the cave was able to shine. He also explained to us how insects and other animals were able to see things in the pitch-black cave. Even though we didn't want the adventure to end we had to start the ascent towards the exit. The caving activity was fun, memorable and very educational.
By: Charles Goh
Bike Riding
During our Yangshou adventure we completed a 13km bike ride around a local village. To make sure that we had the basic skills of biking, we completed a skills test, riding in a big circle, some figure 8’s and practice using the breaks. We started our 13 km ride through the pretty village, I started off strong but crashed into a pothole and fell off my bike! With a sore leg my teacher suggested we get on the bus but at the rest stop, I had this sudden motivation to continue riding so I could enjoy the wonderful countryside of Yangshuo. My first 13km bike ride felt so nice and refreshing, which is the exact opposite of what I thought. Overall, it was such a fun and exciting activity and if I was to come again, I would do another riding adventure. The smiles and laughs at the end from the group were a sign of accomplishment by all!
By: Vanessa Lo
Bench making – community service
During Activity Week, one of our highlights was engaging in community service by building benches for Jin Bao Village (金宝乡, 金宝村), the village where our activity organizer, Susan, grew up. We worked in groups of six, which required us to have effective communication and collaboration, as we allocated different tasks and jobs to each member. Throughout this activity, we applied various skills we had learned at school, including using a drill, measuring accurately, and problem-solving. These skills were invaluable in helping us successfully complete the benches.
By: Iris Zhang
Other highlights throughout the week included an evening show “Impression Sanjie Liu” which is a unique outdoor performance conducted on the Li River featuring over 400 local performers. Students also visited, Jinbao Junior Middle School and were treated to dragon and lion dances, local handicrafts and they made zongzi and glutinous rice. Jennifer Wu spoke superbly in an opening address representing AISHK.
Students enjoyed staying in hotels with their friends throughout the week and ate vast quantities of food from various restaurants, including local Yang Shou specialties. The food highlight, a BBQ Banquet on the last evening, followed by free time.
Year 8 camp was the smoothest and happiest trip I have ever experienced. Our tour guides were excellent, they made contingency plans if the weather wasn’t suitable and were adaptable and catered to small details. One of the most enjoyable aspects was the scenery of karst topography and the calm and long rivers that were enjoyed on the boat trip from Guilin to Yang Shou. Another highlight that tied the trip together was the smiles and laughter from my peers at attempting and completing every activity. The year group is great to be a part of and I am genuinely grateful for my Activity Week away. There is a famous quote that says “water, by mountains, is the loveliest”.
By: Nexon Yim
The year 8 experience in Guilin and Yang Shou was extremely beneficial in developing skills in teamwork, resilience, problem-solving building bonds within the cohort.
