The Chronicle 2022

OUTDOOR EDUCATION

E BLOCK CAMP Staff in charge: Mr Mark Blew, Mr Herman Visagie

stretch, we were served our lunch and the combo of a hotdog, bar-one and coke never tasted so good. Overall, this camp truly strengthened the bond between us E Blockers. We were all in agreement that these memories would remain with us throughout our Michaelhouse career. I couldn’t have been prouder to do it for my House and with my brothers in-arms. D BLOCK PONDOLAND HIKE Staff in Charge: Mr Gerry Noel, Ms Carika De Swart n a warm Saturday afternoon in September, armed with their backpacks and packed lunches, 130 D Block boys piled into the buses, some very rowdy and others somewhat cautious, to finally start the first leg of their journey into Pondoland. The Pondoland experience is fast becoming an exciting feature of the Michaelhouse Outdoor Education Programme. On the first night, the Bryden’s welcomed us to their farm and spoilt us all with a delicious meal and an opportunity for the boys to set up their tents and try out their camping equipment. Upon arrival in Pondoland on day two, the boys and staff were divided into six groups. Three of the groups were based around Ndengane Village on a northern rotation, and three groups were based around Rhole on a southern rotation. Each group stayed at a traditional homestead for two nights and ended their journey with a night’s stay at Msikaba River close to the ocean. Exposure to traditional ways of life and learning about how to be a good ancestor are integral to the curriculum. The days were filled with the boys doing various hikes in between the homesteads where they were taught about the symbiotic relationship with the natural environment around them. Each day also brought with it its challenges; some of the boys became ill and the rainy weather was cause for grumpy and miserable faces at times. Even so, these challenges taught the boys perseverance and grit and on a positive note, created a unity amongst the boys as they all banded together to help each other out where they could. Being able to take in a place’s sights, sounds, smells and textures is truly special. There is a deeper understanding and appreciation for a place that comes with experiencing it through the senses. The bracing smell of the ocean interlaced with freshly baked pot bread, the taste of lemongrass, the sensation of rain soaking through your clothes and squelching in your shoes, the low hum of the ocean, the stories, the dancing and the very rare sight of a endangered Cape Vulture and a clear starry night (on what proved to be a very rainy trip), are all part of what made this experience so special. O

Written by Rhys Watson (McCormick, E Block)

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e are sitting in the theatre. The entirety of E Block. “Due to predictions of poor weather, you will be staying at school for the duration of camp” Mr Blew and Mr Visagie announced. There are mixed emotions and sentiments towards this change of plans, “This camp is pointless”, and” We should all just go home” were opinions that are echoed amongst the E Block boys. Despite all this negativity, the boys of McCormick were ready and excited for the much anticipated camp. As we fell asleep on Sunday night before, we looked forward to the upcoming series of events. We woke up rejuvenated and prepared for the day ahead and its activities. We meet up in the theatre once again to start this adventure. Our tutor, Mr Gruijters, finds us and does roll call to make sure that we are all there, which we are. After all of that, Mr Blew and Mr Visagie inform us about the day’s events which were raft building. We made our way up and they told us how it was going to work. We had to make our way as a House to Top Gate where we would get our supplies. Although we weren’t the first House up, we were most certainly the most organised. We built our first model, but disaster struck when we put it on the water. The entire raft fell apart. Despite feeling completely lost and hopeless, we sprang back into action, getting the pieces together and trying to reassemble them. Quickly, we built again and better. We were up against Ralfe, an easy victory but we were also racing for time. “3,2,1, Go!” the swimmers started well and ended off well with a time of 3 minutes and 4 seconds. That was the winning time. Already, the first activity and we were in the lead. The next day brought on its trials including the reserve orienteering, which involved us going to certain landmarks of the reserve and collecting tokens that were representing the ingredients for the next activity, the potjie challenge. The potjie challenge required us to cook a potjie for Deputy Rector Mr Gittins with the ingredients that we earned in the reserve and to finish the night off, we had the night race. The night race around campus was an event where we had to complete several activities in an hour and a half. Some of these were telling a joke to some of the teachers, telling a scary story and a basketball challenge where we had to score as many underhand basketball shots as possible in three minutes. The final major event of the camp was the 20km hike from school and back. This pushed our limits thanks to the conditions and the mud that came with it, especially during the ascent to the top of one of the treacherous hills. Eventually, during the final

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