From Friday 21 to Sunday 23 April we took part in our Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition.  Equipped with backpacks, maps, compasses and lots of food, the Londoners were released into the wilderness.  We had a great time over the course of the weekend.  On the first day, we had some refresher sessions on our navigation and hiking skills and went back to the camp to cook our marinated steak burritos; the first meal of our luxury menu.  On the second day we had the pleasure of walking 15km which only took us 5 hours including breaks.  Luckily, we were not the group to get lost in a middle of a military training ground for 3 hours.  They survived.  Sunday was a smashing triumph, finishing our 9km walk by 11am.

It is safe to say that the success of our group lay in our team spirit and constant encouragement of each other, and of course our map reading skills.  We kept our spirits high, even when we found ourselves in a field of angry bulls, amidst the cold mornings and a necessary ten minute walk to the toilets.  We are itching with enthusiasm for our qualifying expedition in June.

By Wiktoria, Abigail and Jonathan