On Tuesday the 10th of September, with the Junior Certificate results still looming, the Syntax group of 2013/14 set out on their Outdoor Education Trip to Rostrevor, Co. Down. We stayed in the East Coast Adventure Centre and aside from some cramped living conditions, settled in very well. Having been separated three-ways each group took turns participating in new activities and exciting challenges.
By general consensus, it was felt that the best activities on offer were the water sports, which included kayaking, pier jumping and banana boating. Bouldering was also a much loved sport, which consisted of scaling up a rocky river and diving into freezing cold plunge pools. It was activities like these that helped keep our minds off the impending Junior Certificate Results butwe all knew that we would have to face them eventually.
On Wednesday the 11th of September, the time had come and we gathered in the Centre’s Community Room, where we were presented with our envelopes. After time to reflect on our grades and share the good (or bad) news with others, we headed up to the main shed to enjoy a barbecue.
Evenings provided a range of opportunities for us to try our hands at new things, ranging from archery and zip lining to team building exercises, but by far the most memorable experience we can draw from this excursion was the overnight camping trip. Rising bright and early, we made it through a two and a half hour hike to reach our destination. There we foraged scrap wood from nearby to build our temporary shelters for the night. Thankfully, the weather held up so we could enjoy a leisurely evening around the campfire.
Sadly, on Friday the 13th, our journey came to an end. We said our goodbyes and boarded the buses to travel back to Clongowes with outstanding memories still fresh in our minds and new stories to tell about the great experiences we had in Rostrevor.
Sean McMahon and Michael Binchy
