AYP Training Expedition

On 9&10 February students embarked on their AYP training expedition, 17 on the silver and 13 on the bronze. The two groups started walking in Sai Kung East Country Park and Mui Wo respectively.

Silver Expedition 

The students had been trained in navigation, and after having previously prepared their hiking routes through the Sai Kung hills they set off in search of the first night’s campsite near Wong Shek Pier. Each took a turn to lead their group as they progressed up and down the trails using their maps and compasses to guide them. At the campsite, they set up for the night using the tents they had carried with them and cooked a nutritious evening meal of curry udon with the food and stoves they had also carried over the hills.

The following day they continued into Sai Kung West Country Park, and after tackling some overgrown paths and tricky navigation the increasingly tired groups of students reached Ham Tin beach, where they unpacked their tents again, cooked a second meal with the food carried since the start of the expedition and enjoyed a comfortable night in their tents on the sandy beach.

After recovering a bag that had been dragged into the nearby bushes by a wild boar during the night, the groups embarked on day three, hiking back out along the coastline and over the Luk Wu plateau. As they neared the end of the expedition each student demonstrated endurance and perseverance having completed three days of gruelling hiking with heavy packs on steep terrain. They had become increasingly proficient at map reading and finding their way in unfamiliar environments. It had been difficult and tiring, but they had come out the other end more resilient, better at working as part of a team and each having been leaders of their group.

This was a significant expedition as it was the first time that Island School has run a 2-night overnight camping expedition for AYP since before the pandemic. The final, qualifying expedition for this group of Year 12 students will take place in Lantau in March.

Year 11 students who would like to take part in Silver AYP in Year 12 should look out for sign-up details later this term.

Image 7435 is: Anne Baguio, Cherry Cheung, Elaine Kong, Quenie Lam, Prem Patel, Hannah Lee, Curtis Yip, Anson Chan (all Year 12)