This year’s Grade 7 trip to Kerala was an unforgettable experience filled with adventure, teamwork, and cultural discovery! Early in the morning, the entire grade met at the Burger King outlet in the international airport in anticipation for the trip. We took a direct flight to Cochin, one of the biggest cities in Kerala.
We kicked off our journey with a lovely cruise on a houseboat, exploring how local fishermen capture fish. We then visited a coveted fish farm, where we got to feed fish, and for those who wanted to, they could hold crabs. Then, on the great ride back to the hotel, we had the opportunity to steer the houseboat, as well as watch the sunset. The next day we had an early start, packed up our things, and headed out to Fort Kochi, our last activity in Kochi. We learned about the interesting heritage of Kochi, as well as visited an art biennale, which had some of the best and most unique art that most of us had seen. After all of that, we headed on a long and treacherous journey through the Western Ghats to Munnar, where we would spend the rest of the trip. We had dinner in our new home and called it a night.
The following morning was the earliest start yet, as we had an early morning hike. It was 3 hrs long and into the mountains of Munnar. To further add to the physical activity, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and eat before making our way to adventure activities. We split up into groups to do fun and new challenges like zip-lining, jumaring, tightrope walking, commando net and much more. Zip-lining was the clear favourite among the grade. After those amazing activities, we sat down and watched a martial arts show that is traditional to Kerala, which displayed different fighting styles and athleticism. Additionally it had a great ending in which the performers used fire to create dazzling views. This remained one of the favorites with the entire grade!
The next day we headed back, where we got an informative lecture on the history of Munnar’s vast tea plantations, dating back to when India was colonized by the British. This lecture led up to the entire class having an opportunity to buy quality tea directly from the source itself, which was an amazing deal! Next up – the environment was perfect for learning survival skills, which is what we did. We started off with raft building.
We were split in two teams and had to use limited resources to build a raft, which would be then used to cross the lake. This was a fierce competition, each team member forced to work together, and one mistake could cost the entire team. Each person played a vital part, whether it was designing the raft, building it, transporting resources or more. Both rafts were a success, and made it across the lake. We then moved on to fire building, in which we were split into smaller teams, and had to get resources from the wild to build a nest, which would be set on fire.
Each team had the hope of maintaining their fire, and being successful in lighting a fire. In the end, only 3 out of 10 teams were successful, and only 2 on their first try. Then, we moved on to the last and one of the most important survival skills: shelter building. We were split into three groups and all teams were successful in building an efficient shelter with the resources they were given. After that long day, we headed back to our hotel, but our day was not done yet.
Since this was our last night here in Kerala, we enjoyed a musical night, with the teachers playing music for the students to dance on, or just relax if they wished! This was the perfect way to spend our last night on the trip.
On our last day on the trip, we packed our bags, had breakfast, and headed out. But before we ended our trip, we had yet to have the opportunity to experience and buy spices, which were of high quality in Kerala. Then we made our way to the airport, and eventually back home!
Overall, the Grade 7 trip to Kerala was a tremendous success — a perfect blend of adventure, learning, and unforgettable memories
