Elizabeth Moir: Day 1!!!

The day started for the 24 children arriving from Elizabeth Moir at 8:15 when they pulled up to Borderlands base camp. The third group from Elizabeth Moir quickly jumped off the bus for five minutes around camp before heading to the put-in point for the first adventure filled activity of the day: white water rafting.

A quick lesson in river hydrology ensured they would know what to do in order to lead the raft down the river (with some reassurance and help in case of panic from the guides), then everyone was kitted up in life jackets, splash guards, helmets and paddles – the last quickly becoming a tool to gently hit people over the head with.

Following the safety briefing, all students leapt into rafts and began to iron out the kinks in the teamwork, such as paddling all at the same time and not hitting each other in the face with paddles, and leadership was shared amongst the teams.

The first rapids were easy for them; the students were in charge of figuring out which lines to go down on the river. There was more than one occasion of approaching a rapid with students questioning every single move until hitting the first wave.

Killer Falls brought the first swimmer…or two. Named for the tiny gap that the raft needs to fit through before dropping back to the river, the lurch forward brought two students plus paddles into the water, where they safely floated to shore. No flips before lunch and the extremely team oriented students brought the group to lunch break earlier then planned.

After hungry students devoured their lunches, everyone went on a short hike up to the canyon. Many students had gone canyoning before with previous Elizabeth Moir groups, and their challenge was to develop their leadership skills through helping other students down the canyon. Suffice to say everyone was amazed by the students trust and rising to the challenges presented!! Sliding down the smooth rock and doing back flips into deep pools was encouraged by everyone who cheered for each person!

Finishing the canyon with time to spare, the decision was made to take the enthusiastic students down the extended canyon. The students’ teamwork was brought to a whole new level as they supported each other from pool to slide to jump to pool, not letting each other fall, and let their leader qualities shine through as they directed less experienced individuals through the difficult spots.

The group gathered at the end exhilarated and sped through the short hike back to the river for rafting the lower section. As students took even more control over the steering and direction of the raft, their confidence in their team, them selves, and their leadership capabilities grew.

The final river float back to camp was filled with games, trying to get the boats to do “wheelies,” and seeing how many people get pushed off the raft. Pulling into camp, the tired students took another leadership role with cleaning up and organizing all the gear, before retreating to their tents to shower and get changed.

Dinner was a relaxed affair, filled with laughter and fun. Students picked up a guitar and singing to various tunes could be heard from across camp. Avicii’s Wake Me Up was heard more than once. Students went off to bed exhausted and ready for another fun, adventure filled day. Sleep well Elizabeth Moir students!