Nine intrepid explorers from Rydal Penrhos School travelled to Borneo to explore the region and to take part in community projects over the summer break.
With over a year and a half preparation time, with various practice expeditions and fundraising initiatives including a table top sale and sponsored cycling marathons, the team were raring to go.
Following a 30 hour journey from Colwyn Bay to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the Malaysian Sabah district in Borneo, the pupils (aged 15-18) arrived at a base camp at City Park Lodge and where they were left by the expedition leaders to put their training to the test and organise food, transport and accommodation for the each phase of the expedition.
The group navigated their way to the Kinabatagan River, and then on to their camp site deep within the flood-plain rainforest, where they learnt about the plants and animals vital to the area’s ecosystem. In stifling humidity, the group set about beginning their community work, collecting over 1000 saplings to aid in the afforestation of the area. The following days included clearing out an area where a very stubborn and invasive species of elephant grass had overtaken the land previously cleared by logging. Four hard hours of chopping and slashing the grass with machetes saw the group clear an area three or four times larger than the expedition leaders had been expecting. Before leaving the rainforest, the group planted one hundred saplings which will provide oxygen for over 600 people living in the area.
Before setting off on the next phase of the adventure, the pupils paired up and were assigned homestay families, where they completed further community projects including building a boardwalk. The pupils also came together to entertain the village with a cultural display of the best of British sports.
Undoubtedly one of the many highlights of the trip 
was a visit to the Sepilok Orang-utan rehabilitation centre, where the group witnessed the morning feeding session and were also treated to an unexpected performance by a group of Macaque monkeys.
The final phase of the three week trip saw the group head to Miki’s Survival Camp at the base of Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South-East Asia standing at 4095.4m. Before ascending the mountain the group took part in a survival master class, learning rudimentary skills such as fire and trap building.
The climb began the following day with a five hour trek before arriving at the hut which would be home for the evening, 800m below the summit of Mount Kinabalu. The group began climbing the final 3km at 3am the following morning, and despite suffering with altitude sickness, fatigue and a lack of oxygen, the group reached the summit at 7am where they experienced stunning views and a great sense of achievement.
Thomas Warrington, outgoing Head Boy said of his experience, “Each of us knew that we had learnt many new things about ourselves, our capability to work as a team in difficult situations, our own personal thresholds for fatigue and how to cope with extraordinary and life changing opportunities and so many other life lessons that will undoubtedly remain with us for the rest of our lives.”
The next adventures for Rydal Penrhos pupils are already being organised, with a group set to travel to Jordan during half term in October to experience the culture and help with community projects. A trip to Uganda will take place in July 2013 along with a planned trip to Thailand. Educational trips enable pupils to experience other cultures around the world while reinforcing the Methodist belief to give back to the community. Rydal Penrhos School holds a number of charitable events throughout the year to help support and raise funds for local and overseas projects.