Gorge Walk by Liam Mc

On Tuesday, Group 1 went to the gorge for our first activity.  Marie met us on the Monday afternoon when we arrived at the centre in the field studies room.  She told us a bit about the week and then gave us our red waterproofs and told us where to keep them.

 

The next morning, we met her again and she advised us to wear a lot of layers so that we could stay warm.  Once we had all our gear on we got in the minibus and went to the gorge.

 

When we arrived we had to go through a graveyard to get to the gorge.  In the graveyard there was a big gravestone and Marie told us that it was for a woman who had been the first woman to qualify as a doctor in the UK.

 

At the gorge, there were lots of trees around a small stream that was travelling downhill over rocks.  The trees were quite annoying because you kept banging your head on them.  Some of the trees were so high that you couldn't get over them so Marie let us crawl underneath.  The water got into my shoes and it was freezing. 

 

The first challenge gave us was to climb up through the keyhole.  It was a rock face with a ledge that water was pouring through.  You had to duck under the rock, stand on the ledge and push up through the gap.  Unfortunately (fortunately if you like to get soaked) the water poured onto your legs and splashed onto your face.

 

Next came a pool where we were allowed to go in for a swim.  The pool was cold and I took on the challenge and swam through it.  I felt good about doing it but it was very cold afterwards.

 

After that came the famous Rock of Africa.  You had to lay down in the water and then you swam under the rock.  You needed to put your head sideways as it was quite a small space and you wouldn't be able to breathe if you didn't.  Only me and Alex completed this challenge.  The others didn't want to because they were freezing.

 

At the top, Marie told us to sit down along a ledge in the water so that the water would build up behind us and then she let us slide down the rock into a pool below.  This was a lot of fun.  When I got back up I'd dropped my glove and Saul slid back down to get it for me.

 

Afterwards in the minibus I was thinking about a shower but I didn't get time because we were late for lunch.

 

I would gorge walking to people who like challenges and don't mind freezing cold water.