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CCF Expeditions Abroad  

  

CCF Ski Trip, December 2007

It was an early start for the skiers and teachers at Heathrow, and most of us were still half asleep, but that didn't stop our excitement of 5 days on the Austrian and German slopes. After getting past 3 broken ticket machines, a 2 hour plane journey, and 2 and a half coach journey we finally arrived at the chalet. We then got ourselves sorted into our rooms and unpacked. This particular evening was the most tiring, as it involved trekking into the town and getting our skis, helmets and boots. The next morning, everyone was excited as they wolfed down their breakfast and got everything ready. The week ahead was going to be full of surprises as we went to a different ski resort each time. We were split into groups and bombed down the different difficulties of ski slope (green for easy, blue for medium, red for hard, and black for extremely difficult). The skiing was really enjoyed by everybody, and every afternoon when we got back, was a piping hot meal prepared by Colonel Woodhams and Major Woodhams. But in fact it wasn't just skiing that was included in this holiday, there was a wide range of activities in the evening including a trip to the swimming pool, bowling alley, film nights and the all-important quiz night with an array of questions, ranging from sports to 'name that song'. We were honoured to have Mr Gregory sing a magnificent version of 'Delilah' for one of the questions! On the last night, a DVD of the highlights of the skiing was put on, to just remember how fantastic a trip this was.
The return journey was a quick one, and we were back home in no time. I would like to finish by thanking all the staff who came on the trip, the patient and witty ski instructors and all the pupils who came on the trip. Thank you for making this possible.
Alexander Kakoullis 3C

 

Bavaria, July 2007

I woke up full of excitement, and making sure I had not forgotten to pack anything , headed off to Stanstead airport on the National Express bus. I noticed that I happened to be carrying the biggest piece of luggage out of all the other passengers, and got some funny looks! When I finally arrived, I was the only one there as far as I could tell, but then Edward Clarke came five minutes after I arrived to the approximate position of the so-called ‘Soup Pod’. The rest of the people attending the camp then trickled in, and finally, when everyone had assembled, we started for the departure gate.

Later, when we arrived in Friedrichshafen, we boarded a bus taking us to the Haus am Brunnenbach situated in Burg Berg, a village/hamlet near the town of Sonthofen in southern Bavaria, near the borders of the Austrian Alps.

On the next day, I went out biking with the Bronze group and cycled through the Bavarian countryside. All I can say that the scenery was astonishingly beautiful; especially the mountains in the background, although there were quite a few steep uphill which we had to overcome.

On the 25th, we went climbing, and Andy, our instructor went up to the British Army personnel who were rock climbing and he told us not to say anything (English anyways), and started talking to the army person in German, saying something like that “you had to reserve the rock face if you wanted to climb”, and the army finally got somebody speaking rough German, and then Andy just said he was joking.  When we were climbing, we had to wear something that resembled ballet shoes, and that was how we climbed! After climbing, we had lunch, and we went back to our lodging.

On the 26th, we went canoeing, but nothing that funny or interesting happened, except for a few times where someone managed to fall into the water.

On Friday the 27th, we did waterskiing in the morning. I did try, but I still could not advance more than 30 metres, and I would plunge into the relatively cold water (actually, very cold), and swim up to the platform shivering. It was quite an interesting experience though! In the afternoon, we packed the things we would need like our rations. We also had to write our route cards, basically telling us and the instructors how we were going to take our route, so in case we had some kind of emergency, they could look for us. On the next day, all the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Silver and the Bronze group left, and we, the Bronze group just headed for the place we were going to camp, which was situated near Andy’s house on the top of a hill.

On the 29th of July, it was my birthday. On that day, the Duke of Edinburgh Award’s Bronze group (my age group) were the only ones present (we had just got back from our expedition) as the Silver and the Gold group were out somewhere in Bavaria doing their own expedition, so everybody had the privilege of having a bigger portion of pizza to celebrate my birthday. After that most other people had a little table tennis competition, where I lost badly. 

On the next day, our Bronze group went on a 24 hour canoe expedition, where we had to ride on this rubber canoe (which could hold three people), and we headed downstream.  We got changed, and set off for our camp site where we set up our tents. We then did some shopping for dinner, eventually deciding on pasta Bolognese. For dessert, everybody insisted on marshmallows and melted chocolate bars to dip into. When I ate a few, I didn’t find it so good (too sweet), but everybody else kept on clamouring for the sweets until they were stuffed (literally).

On the 31st, we went walking on the top of part of the Bavarian Alps (and the Austrian Alps). As we were walking, we kept on switching between Bavaria and Tirol, and we were constantly either just on the border of Germany and Austria, and for some parts, we kept on zigzagging between the two. It was quite a view from up there (no surprises as it is 2000m and even higher), and I took a few photographs, both of the scenery, and with everybody in my group.

On the last day before leaving we did gorge scrambling, an activity where we had to go through a kind of river feeding a few mini-waterfalls. I would like to note that the water was even colder than during waterskiing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this camp, as it was exciting, adventurous (like getting lost in a forest in the mountains during expeditions, and for some reason, coming across a hunter complete with lederhosen and a feathered hat), and sometimes, just relaxing (like watching movies on the last nights and just talking in our room), and some parts just downright amusing. It was DEFINITELY better than the Ardennes camp where it was raining 24 hours straight, and added to that, having your tent flooded (according to Mr Gregory, it was not supposed to rain like that). I would really recommend this camp, as long as you do not mind being immersed in cold water for a few hours.

Atsuhide Miyagi 4A

 

Ardennes, June 2007

After an early 8:15 meet-up at Grove Park, and with the inevitable forgotten passport problems overcome, three minibuses set off for a campsite in the small French village of Montherme, situated in the picturesque Ardennes region of northern France. With the aim of the trip being to complete both bronze and silver Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions, having arrived at our campsite by mid-afternoon, we set-up our tents and began preparing for the walk that would take place over the following days. While those doing bronze walks relaxed playing football, the silver two groups, who were setting off the following morning, spent the remainder of the evening sorting through their kit, packing rations, looking over the map, and generally trying to carry as little weight as possible in their backpacks.

The first of many extremely wet nights meant that the silver groups found walking on the first day was somewhat muddier and more challenging than expected, but managed to maintain a good pace nevertheless. Meanwhile, the four bronze groups, who had an extra day of preparation, occupied their time devising their route cards, and sorting out their bags. With this having been done, they spent the rest of the afternoon canoeing, enduring extremely wet and windy conditions.

As the bronze groups set off on the first day of their two day expedition, the silver walkers began the longest of their three days walking. More wet weather made conditions difficult, but all managed to reach their destination eventually, and after a long day, despite the limited appeal of army rations, everyone was sufficiently hungry to ignore the dubious taste and tuck in to their vacuum- packed evening meal. Having spent a long and tiring day walking, the campsite beds were extremely alluring, with everyone unsurprisingly choosing to have an early night.

The weather cleared slightly for the final day, and with the majority of the distance already having been covered, a shorter day meant most groups were finished by lunch. Nevertheless, one of the groups managed to acquire a fishing rod on their travels, and after returning to the campsite, spent the remainder of the afternoon attempting to catch their supper!  Several hours later, the best they had managed was a large clump of seaweed, and ultimately accepting defeat, they chose instead to take advantage of the celebratory final night barbeque!

Overall there is no doubt that the trip was extremely successful, despite the extremely wet conditions! A large thank must go to Lt Col. & Maj. Woodhams  for organising the trip, as well as all to the participating members of staff, for their help in making the five days so enjoyable for all involved. 

Nick Worsley J6AJM