After months of meticulous planning and eager anticipation, Union High School’s, Grade 10 learners embarked on their much-awaited Odyssey on Friday, 13 September.
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ง๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด, ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐บ๐ด๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ, ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ถ๐จ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ.
The school expresses immense gratitude to the generous landowners – Peter Plumstead, Dale and Kelly Jackson and Julian Murray – who graciously opened their pristine farms, allowing the learners to hike and camp in areas that few are fortunate enough to experience.
The adventure began as the Grade 10s were dropped off near Nieu-Bethesda.
Following a debriefing by co-organiser Mr David Langmead, they set off into the breathtaking Gats River Canyon, equipped with everything they would need for their wilderness survival. One learner captured the spirit of the trip perfectly, stating, โ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บโฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง!โ
And indeed, this cohesive group was on a mission. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐. The Gats River, flanked by stunning red cliffs and deep pools, left everyone in awe as they trekked approximately 20 kilometers to their campsite at Riverdene Farm.
Upon arrival, the learners quickly set up their tents and indulged in comforting 2-minute noodle meals, laughter and even a spirited game of spade cricket. Mr Hanno Sparrius surprised them with delicious curry vetkoek and as the sun dipped below the horizon, a serene sense of peace enveloped the campsite. The bonfire flickered warmly, casting an orange glow against the cliffs, while Celtis trees stood watch, adding to the magical ambiance. ๐ฆ๐น๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐น๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ป๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐, ๐ณ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ.
As dawn broke, the chirping of birds roused the campers, prompting them to dismantle their tents, leaving no trace of their presence. An impromptu fire-starting challenge ensued, with the girlsโ group claiming victory through their calm and logical approach. The trail called once more, leading them to the tranquil Schoonberg Pools campsite, where they would spend the next two nights. Here, the learners showcased their growing comfort with outdoor living, taking greater care in setting up campsites and campcraft. ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐๐๐ฅ๐, ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐จ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ง๐ค๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐จ, ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ซ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ฅ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐.
Thanks to Mr and Mrs Lemke, fresh supplies of raw chickens and bread flour arrived, enabling the learners to learn the art of bread-making and roasting chicken in the veld. Divided into new groups, they forged friendships and sang joyfully late into the night beneath the Southern Cross.
๐๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ท๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ. Dropped alone in isolated spots, each learner received letters from loved ones and had the chance to pen a letter to their future selves. These hours of solitude offered a rare opportunity for reflection and when they reconvened, a contemplative atmosphere filled the campsite. ๐๐ช๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฅ๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐บ๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ด.
That afternoon, the group embarked on a day hike to an impressive waterfall, which proved to be both technically challenging and rewarding. The 40-meter-high cascade welcomed them with refreshing waters and a picnic spread, making the effort worthwhile. Special thanks to Mr and Mrs Hope, who delivered food and birthday cupcakes to celebrate the occasion.
As the final day approached, the learners felt a bittersweet longing to leave Schoonberg, with many expressing a desire to linger a bit longer. The ascent out of the canyon was a challenging uphill trek, but the sight of the Magnum Farmhouse provided a welcome respite.
Springโs arrival was evident, with green fields and budding willow trees creating a picturesque resting spot for their last night. Mr Pringle engaged the group with tales of Ulysses and his own epic odyssey, enriching the experience further.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐น๐น.At the summit, Mr Langmead encouraged them to leave behind any past hurt and pain. Many took this moment for quiet contemplation, while joy erupted when they spotted the buses in the distance.
The last stretch into town was filled with laughter, singing and celebration. As they arrived back at school, the Grade 10s were met with enthusiastic cheers and admiration. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ธ๐ฆ, ๐ฆ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ถ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ฅ๐บ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐บ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ญ๐บ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ญ๐บ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ.
The success of the Odyssey would not have been possible without the support of many. We extend our ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ง๐จ๐๐ to the landowners, those who accompanied the learners, the parents who delivered food to remote locations and the countless individuals who contributed in various capacities.
๐ฆ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ก๐๐ฆ to Mr Pringle for his ongoing support, the UHS Development Trust for their financial backing and to Mr David Langmead for his unwavering commitment to making this dream a reality year after year.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ.
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