Multi Activity, 'Tropics Eagle', Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia, Apr 2010, ID 947
65, 86, 2384 Sqns ATC
On Sunday 4th April 2010, a group of 32 staff and cadets from 65 (Bridgewater), 86 (Heston) and 2484 (Bassingbourn) squadrons left Heathrow to head out to Borneo to take part in Expedition Tropics Eagle, a two week expedition to Sabah in Malaysian Borneo. This was the culmination of many months of planning, training and fundraising.
After a long journey via Singapore, the group arrived in Kota Kinabalu and were met by the staff who hosted them during their time in Borneo. A short coach journey took them to the Jungle Centre that would be a base for the following week.
The first section of the Expedition was a Jungle Trek. Initially the group undertook training, which covered setting up of hammocks, lighting fires in the rain, animals and plants likely to be encountered and living in the heat, humidity and rain! This prepared the group for their three day trip into the rain forest. The group headed into the Jungle with slight trepidation, especially after the training, but these fears were unfounded as they were able to deal with all the challenges of walking and living in this unique environment. They spent two nights sleeping in the Jungle and overcame all of the challenges including cooking in two very heavy thunderstorms!. Well they were in the Rain Forest. On the third day a very weary group came out of the Jungle and met up with the White Water rafts that would take them back to the Jungle Centre. It was a welcome and exciting trip, cooling everyone off after the humidity of the Jungle.
The next item on the trip was the community project. This was the refurbishment of a foot bridge that was the local village’s only link to the outside world. It involved ripping up the planking, refurbishing or replacing where necessary and tidying up the wiring. Even with the help of the villagers, it took two days of hard work, sometimes out in the tropical sun. But it was well worth it when it was opened by the local MP and the villagers started using it, even riding their motorbikes across it.
After all the hard work, it was off to Kundasang to visit the Death March Memorial. This commemorated the events of the end of the Second World War where the Japanese marched over 2,000 British, Australian, New Zealand and Commonwealth Prisoners of War into the jungle, without food or clothing, purely to kill them. Only 6 men survived by escaping. A poignant and moving ceremony was undertaken by the expedition, with the cadets laying a wreath and reading out poems written by the survivors and the relatives of the dead. The cadets paid their respects to the young men who had made the ultimate sacrifice.
After such reflection, the group moved to the bottom of Mount Kinabalu, the 4095m high peak that dominates Sabah. It was a daunting challenge, with a day climbing up to the Mountain Hut and an early start to reach the peak. The group battled up through the jungle and into the clouds and finally made it to the summit in time to see the sun rise spectacularly and witnessed the phenomenon of seeing the shadow of Kinabalu cover the land around it.
After such a stunning achievement, it was a hard slog back down to civilisation and to Kota Kinabalu, the main city of Sabah to recover and do some souvenir shopping.
By then the news of the Icelandic Ash Cloud and its restrictions had reached us, so the group moved to Singapore for the R&R with trepidation as to how long they would be waiting there until they flew home. They undertook a tour of Singapore, visiting Little India, Clark Quay, Raffles, The Singapore Flyer and Sentosa Island. During the day, the staff were told that the flight had been cancelled and started the hunt for accommodation for the group. Then Group Captain Coombes, the Defence Attaché came to the rescue. He put the group in touch with the US Navy in Sembawang, who provided accommodation for the whole group. The group then stayed in the base, waiting for the trip home, taking advantage of all the facilities on the base. A few days later the restrictions were dropped and with two hours notice the group said their goodbyes to their new friends in the US Navy and headed home.
The expedition was a resounding success, with all members taking part in all the activities. It gave the cadets and staff memories, experiences and new skills unique to Borneo. Flt Lt H Tanner, the Expedition Leader, said “It was a great trip. The cadets were taken out of their comfort zone and proved themselves up to the challenge. The community project really made a difference and left the villagers really grateful for the work performed by the cadets and staff. Once again the young people from the ATC really lived up to their motto ‘Venture, Adventure’!
Thanks to
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