Ru'a Fiola 2006

As we all waited quietly for the boat (Goldeneye) to arrive, we were all given numbers according to our height, and were also given a life jacket each. Soon we heard Goldeneye as it raced through the water to collect us and take us to Ru’a Fiola. When we arrived on the island we were allocated our bed space. After unpacking our kit we were given time to explore the island before tea.

On day two, a meeting was held and we were arranged into groups, once this was done our team was told our activities for the day. We were kayaking; the whole team wore life jackets and wet suits. We had to walk up to where the kayaks were kept and were then shown how to board and more tricky get out of the kayaks. Eventually we entered the sea, paddling around to a quiet spot where we played canoe polo, chariot races and canoe dodgems.

On our return to the campsite, we all went head under in the mud pit. Everyone enjoyed this very much.

One of my favourite activities was rock climbing, where some managed Quarts Knobble and many failed Kiwi climb. Next on our list of adventures was abseiling, having been shown how to make a harness out of two pieces of sling. We first started on the easy cliffs and then tried some whacky descents, such as blind folded, three legged or having your legs tied together. We then gradually moved on to the slab and the overhang, the biggest cliffs on the island. The challenge here was to do this in three bounces down the cliff face.

The next morning we were shown how to pack our bags properly so we could leave for Survival Training. This is where a group of us go out for 18 hours and have to survive with food and water taken from the land and sea. Before we set off we were shown how to make a Bivey out of two plastic sheets to sleep under and how to collect and cook certain foods that we could eat, like sea-weed, limpets, wood-sorrow and thistles.

After eight day’s we returned to Merchiston tired, but having gained much experience in survival and living off the land. A big thanks to JRB, all the team at Ru’a Fiola and the parents who helped with the transport.

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