KS 3 & Year 10 Residential Trip to Rustaq ... by Mrs Byrne, Miss Beckett and Mr Trim

The adventure began on an unusual day in Oman which consisted of cloud, rain and a cool wind. Thirty year seven to ten pupils piled their vast luggage and their excited selves into six four-wheel drives and a bus.

With roads like rivers the journey took some time but eventually we arrived at camp close to Rustaq. The well-landscaped site was based in the valley of the beautiful mountains that dominated the skyline all around.

The group trekked, climbed and travelled over sand before returning to camp with the intention of setting out the tents. However, suddenly the sky turned grey, the heavens opened and we ran for cover with great speed. The strange weather didn't end there. A rare phenomenon then occurred. Out of the dark sky fell huge balls of hail like cannon balls. An exceptional occurrence that was reported in the local papers.

A decision was made to transport pupils and staff to a nearby hostel for the light until the rain ceased. Again the group piled their bags and bodies into the transportation, onwards to the dry and warm.

After a wonderful nights sleep and luxurious showers, again we departed to the mountains. The week went extremely smoothly after this initial hiccup. Sun shone throughout and the deep blue of the sky never broke.

An exciting, active week followed in which we fearlessly abseiled, calmly climbed, expertly explored local village, performed a lively talent show, aimed and fired in Archery. We enjoyed wonderful, character building and fun days packed with interesting, adventurous activities.

We survived, remained smiling through the warm days, the cool nights and the basic facilities. A wonderful character-building experience for both the staff and pupils involved.

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Residential Trip to Rustaq .....by Amanda Wong Y7

This Activities Week we went camping in Rustaq.

At the beginning (a rocky start as we had to have another bus with seatbelts), we split up into two groups so we could travel by two different ways: minibus and some four-wheel drives and for the first and last day's activities.The journey took about 3 hours and by the time we got there, it was lunchtime-cheese sandwiches, samosas and chicken drumsticks. While there, we met Natalie, Ludor (a.k.a Noodle) and Patrick who would help us in our activities.

My group did rock-climbing, which was amazing. Two people were needed to do rock-climbing, one to climb and one to belay-which is when you have to control the rope through some devices and when the person is abseiling. Climbing is REALLY nerve-wracking, most of the time you feel like you cannot breathe, and you are going to fall. At the same time, the other group went walking through dunes and wadis, which was quite scenic and quite tiring. Upon returning to the camp, they were greeted with heavy rain and some hail (so much for sunny weather). After our happy reunion, we had dinner-spaghetti bolognaise and cake. The heavy rain forced us to move to a guesthouse (where some of us had our only shower to come for 5 days!).As we were tired, we retreated to our rooms and slept heavily (cough).

Next morning we woke up, changed and ate breakfast-which was yoghurt, toast, cereal and juice, we returned to camp after splitting up into three groups.One group did archery and abseiling. Archery was fun and challenging. The bows are large and the targets were relatively easy. You had to put three fingers on the bowstring and pull it back and release- if you were lucky you got a bull's-eye! After that was the Flying Fox-where, a rope is suspended from a mountain (which was 20 metres up) to the ground and you swing down on a harness-which is exhilarating and one of the most fun things to do.

The other group did Snake Canyon-which is a one in a lifetime opportunity. In the beginning it is slightly challenging- there is lots of rocks to clamber over and ridges and pools. Then it gets tough- water, and lots of it. And it is freezing, slippery and frog-infested (gulp!) but it is thrilling with its sheer drops, caves and waterfalls. It was brilliant- so many things and challenges!

The last group did orienteering and MORE rock-climbing… Orienteering is hard and it takes you exploring. Orienteering is navigating using a map and we have to find markers all over a village. The people were friendly (on most occasions) and the scenery breathtaking with beautiful fields and quaint houses.
After that, we had lunch-turkey and cheese sandwiches and croissants.

We drove back to the camp, rested, chatted, ate dinner-chicken and rice, and then resumed chatting around the campfire. After that, we walked around talking until 10:00 when we had to sleep and woke up at 7:00!AHH! We repeated the routine, ate breakfast and switched around our activities.
During which we had lunch once again-burgers, sausage rolls, juice, crisps and oranges… returned to camp and ate dinner-paratha-bread, salad, barbecued meat and had marshmallows to finish-gooey and delicious. Slept again, woke up, then switched activities once again-had lunch (cheese rolls, crisps and juice) and had dinner (our last dinner-stew) after which we had a talent show- which the boys won with their (cough) interesting, original, creative dance. Some of the examples of the talent shown was- singing and dancing, imitating students and poetry and flight demonstrations.

Last day! We switched to two groups, switched activities- one rock-climbing and the other hiking and went home ready for a bath and other luxuries. In addition, I would like to add that another fun part of the trip was the driving. Yes, the driving. The drivers did fun things with the cars (like skidding and driving crazily). I think some people felt sick but it was still very fun.

I would like to thank the staff helping because on the whole they made it more enjoyable and also Natalie, Ludor and Patrick, the drivers (who also brought food) and the cooks who made the camp wonderful and enjoyable. To add, I think everyone enjoyed it as they made new friends and experienced wonderful things.