When I heard that the Cub Scouts are going to have a camp out and a day out on October 7th & 8th, I was so excited, because it was my first time camping.
I packed whatever I needed for camping in a big travelling bag. Even though it was sad to leave my family, when I see my friends and teachers, I knew that it is going to be quite fun.
We started camping at the Junior School premises. Firstly each sixer was given a different corner to keep our belongings. We cleaned our corners and had our lunch in a mini restaurant made by our Akelas in one of the classrooms.
Following that we had many exciting events. We had treasure hunt as our first event. After a long search our friend Nenuka found the treasure. It was a packet of biscuits!
Then we went on a train ride. We learnt how to buy a ticket and to keep it safely as we had to return it. We had fun buying ‘wadai’ from a vendor in the train. Our sixers performed their dramas and we sang songs and had a happy ride.
In the evening we had a good wash and put on our pyjamas. After the dinner we had lot of fun in a talent show. Then we went on to our sleeping mats and had a good sleep.
The next day started with morning exercises. We got dressed in our Junior School T-shirt and packed our belongings. When we were ready, we were given instructions by our Akelas. With the prayer of our Headmaster and the Principal’s wishes we started our journey.
We visited Aluvihare Cave Temple in Matale. It was a historic location where the ‘Pali canon’ was first written down completely in text on palm leaves. We saw many caves with celling paintings, some were describing the punishments that await people who commit sins.
From there we continued our journey to Dambulla Popham Arboretum, which is Sri Lanka’s only dry zone arboretum.
We enjoyed the walk as we listened to the birds chirping. We had our lunch inside the cottage, and we also made animals out of sticks and dry leaves.
This was an unforgettable day in my life. I thank all the Akelas who took very good care of us and guide us in this adventure.
It was an amazing experience and I learnt to become more responsible and to do my work independently. Also, I learnt that we need to adjust to the situation and we cannot have comfort all the time.
A review by Cub Scout M.H. Hamza
