Crawford’s valley of a thousand thrills

An excited group of 16 Crawford College North Coast pupils from grades 10 to 12, left South African soil bound for the shores of far-east Asia, where they began their challenging journey with a visit to the island city of Hong Kong.

The young students ventured off to see the amazing Tian Tan Buddha where they experienced breathtaking views of the Lantau Island.

Their biggest surprise, said grade 12 pupil, Jean-Luc Lamarque, was that they would have a student-lead experience, where one of the expedition members would lead the rest of their peers each day.

After visiting the capital city of Hanoi, the young explorers began their expedition through Vietnam.

Those who thought that it was going to be a holiday filled with rest and relaxation, soon got a wake up call as the group found themselves trekking through the rice paddies of Sapa carrying their whole trip’s worth of equipment on their backs.

They stopped over every day at little homesteads filled with “the most benevolent people”, who gave openly to the young adventurers, despite not having much themselves.

“Blood, sweat, pain, falling in rice paddies, teamwork, slipping down muddy hills, exhaustion and laughing wildly saw us finally complete the four-day trek,” said Lamarque, who added that the “very thought of it is fatiguing.”

They then learned the value of helping their fellow man when they visited the village of Mai Châut and worked together to build a toilet for a disabled man. The labouring students took just two and a half days to complete the toilet, which was gratefully received by the Vietnamese man.

“We experienced tears of joy when we presented the man with his new toilet, as well as other gifts such as a TV, a fan, some toiletries and a toothbrush,” said Lamarque.

Finishing off the trip, the fearless challengers visited one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Halong Bay, where they finally got to relax and indulge in the beauty of the country.

“Overall the expedition was life-changing,” said Lamarque.

“We had to dig deep, we struggled on the trek, but with teamwork we met each challenge head on.”