During the holidays, i went to OBS sabah for a 12 day expedition. There were 3 expeditions, the kayaking expedition, sailing expedition and the Crocker range expedition.
Kayaking expedition
We were split into groups and my group name was Mat Salleh, a group named after a Legendary warrior. So before we set of for the kayaking expedition, we were given basic supplies such as water, cooking ingredients and ground sheets for the expedition, we were responsible for our own group's item. so we set off for the expedition early in the morning. before that we were taught the basics of kayaking, we were paired up and used the double kayak. The kayaking was tough, we had to kayak against the waves and many of us got sea sick. After 3 hours of kayaking, we reached the destination and were faced with one more challenge, to get to shore, we had to get to the beach without capsizing in the break water, the waves were huge and violent so me and my partner capsized along with the rest of my group members. As soon as we reached our camp site, we had to prepare food,fire and the tent before it gets dark. We had to use the machete to cut our own wood for fire. So in the night we were told many stories by our instructor.Sleeping was near impossible as we were being bitten by mosquitoes and millipides so we spent only a few hours sleeping.The next morning we had to kayak in the river, we had to kayak upstream, it was really demoralising when we went into the swamps, there were ALOT of mosquitoes and spiders and they would often go into the kayak and bite. And the smell was terrible, the water was terrible too. After a few hours in the swamp we finnally reached the huge resevoir, the water was soo fresh that we could just drink it, so we ended our kayakng expedition soon after reaching a village and we were picked up to the OBS head quarters by a small bus.
Sailing Expedition
Before going on the expedition, we were briefed on the different parts of the sailboat and on how to move the sailboat, our sailboat was a 'Whaler' a sailboat that could fit 12 people. So we had to plan our own course to go to an island. However, there was very little wind so we had to row all the way to the island, on the island our centreboard got stuck in the corals so we had to swim to shore. The water was beautifull and there was alot of beautifull corals. Despite being warned about the jellyfish, one of my group member got stung by one.So we had to prepare for the night. We were unprepared, there was a storm and we tried our best to keep the fire alive by sheltering the fire with our groundsheet but the wind was too strong, we were freezing, because of the rain and the strong winds, our intructors told us to wear our lifejacket to keep warm, it worked but it was still cold. We had our dinner in the freezing rain. When the storm subsided, we soaked and our tents were soaked too. The night was far more worst, we were being bitten by sand flies and some weird insect so once again, sleeping was near impossible.In the morning, we had very little for our breakfast because our food supplies were soaked and we couldnt use them as they were damaged by the storm. so we had to row back to OBS headquarters.
Crocker range Expedition
Crocker range is the name of a range in Sabah, its soo long that it takes a few months if one wants to really hike the whole range. But we only hiked for 4 days before going back to the OBS headquarters. The hike was very very very very very challenging, both mentally and physically, we were faced with many challenges such as the risk of getting lost and wild animals such as, wild dogs,snakes and spiders which we had encountered during the hikes. The scenery was beautifull, and at night, it was freezing cold as it was 6000ft above sea level, we also faced challenges such as collecting firewood and the rationing of food. We passed by a few villages and we got to know them too, they were friendly and welcoming, we even did batter trade with them.Sabah, to me is the best place that i have ever been to.
-SSGT sholihin
Sailing Expedition
Before going on the expedition, we were briefed on the different parts of the sailboat and on how to move the sailboat, our sailboat was a 'Whaler' a sailboat that could fit 12 people. So we had to plan our own course to go to an island. However, there was very little wind so we had to row all the way to the island, on the island our centreboard got stuck in the corals so we had to swim to shore. The water was beautifull and there was alot of beautifull corals. Despite being warned about the jellyfish, one of my group member got stung by one.So we had to prepare for the night. We were unprepared, there was a storm and we tried our best to keep the fire alive by sheltering the fire with our groundsheet but the wind was too strong, we were freezing, because of the rain and the strong winds, our intructors told us to wear our lifejacket to keep warm, it worked but it was still cold. We had our dinner in the freezing rain. When the storm subsided, we soaked and our tents were soaked too. The night was far more worst, we were being bitten by sand flies and some weird insect so once again, sleeping was near impossible.In the morning, we had very little for our breakfast because our food supplies were soaked and we couldnt use them as they were damaged by the storm. so we had to row back to OBS headquarters.
Crocker range Expedition
Crocker range is the name of a range in Sabah, its soo long that it takes a few months if one wants to really hike the whole range. But we only hiked for 4 days before going back to the OBS headquarters. The hike was very very very very very challenging, both mentally and physically, we were faced with many challenges such as the risk of getting lost and wild animals such as, wild dogs,snakes and spiders which we had encountered during the hikes. The scenery was beautifull, and at night, it was freezing cold as it was 6000ft above sea level, we also faced challenges such as collecting firewood and the rationing of food. We passed by a few villages and we got to know them too, they were friendly and welcoming, we even did batter trade with them.Sabah, to me is the best place that i have ever been to.
-SSGT sholihin
