This July I went to Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, with my family where we met up with my aunt, who lives there. We did some pretty cool things like watching turtles lay their eggs - awesome; crocodiles jumping - snappy; camping in the outback in an Aussie bivvy called a swag bag; seeing an awesome array of wildlife - parrots, wallabies, monitors; and experiencing Aboriginal culture. However, this isn't the main topic of my post. That stuff was brilliant but there is something really special in the north of Australia - the Great Barrier Reef of course. You could see it as a once in a lifetime opportunity (unless you decide to visit again!).

I had just passed my PADI Open Water dive course, meaning that I can dive in any sea in the world all the way down to 18 metres.

The Great Barrier Reef goes almost right the way round the north eastern coast of Australia and is made up of separate reefs that are packed close together rather than in one continuous stretch. The best dive location is Cairns but you don't always have to dive to see the sea life as you can also snorkel. My sister and mum went snorkelling whereas Dad & I were dive buddies. We went out to the reef on a catamaran and were lucky to be upgraded to a better boat and trip.

We visited two dive sites - each dive was 40 minutes. Once in the water, I completely forgot about life above and took in all the sea and plant life. We saw fish in abundance especially parrotfish, clownfish and angelfish; a shark; two green sea turtles; Christmas tree worms (worms that retract back into their holes when we waved at them); giant clams; sea cucumbers (they squirt out smelly white liquid when attacked); sting rays; a conch and so much more! The plant life was amazing too, I had never seen so many corals ever before! It was fantastic and undoubtedly one of the best things I have ever done.

If anyone is interested in diving I would highly recommend you do the PADI course because the things you can do and see are unbelievable. It doesn't even take that long to complete - mine took 6 weeks.

Unfortunately, I don't have many underwater pictures as I don't have a dive camera but here are a couple. The rest are of the rest of our fantastic trip.

Ardeche Adventure

My school has an annual Yellow Week (last week of the school year), where students go off timetable and enjoy a range of fun activities such as: visiting local fairgrounds, making chocolate, surfing in the North Sea (FREEZING!) and so many more. In addition you can go on a trip to Italy or even America for about ten days. As I am new to the school, this was my first Yellow Week and I went on the Ardeche Adventure. We: kayaked, canoed two days down the Ardeche River, rock climbed, caved, mountain biked, built rafts and visited the nearby city of Avignon. Also, most of my friends were going: Charlie, Matthew, Ben, Chris, Roxanne, Katia, Jasmine, Andrew, Joey, Finley, Elliott and Dan. It sounded great but how were we going to get there?

Unfortunately, a 26 hour coach ride was the answer but it was made slightly better by the fact that all my friends were there. Once we had arrived at our PGL site we were absolutely exhausted from sitting and fell asleep instantly! The day after was our first activity, kayaking. It was brilliant! Everyone fell in and one of the instructors sneaked up on us and capsized the boats before paddling away and choosing his next victim. We did a few rapids and also swam. Canoeing was up next and was almost the same as kayaking but each boat had two people. I went in the same boat as Matthew and it was awesome. These boats were a bit more cumbersome than the kayaks but it meant that the crashes and capsizes were even better to watch. We arrived at our bivouac site without capsizing once. The bivouac was quite basic, with our sleeping bags on top of carry mats with a massive tarpaulin as a roof. I slept in a ditch! At the site we saw a wild boar and also a scorpion. The next day we set off to complete our two day river descent. After, laughing a lot at others falling in, the tables turned as Matthew & I capsized twice but it was obviously the boat's fault and not ours! We then made it to shore where we waved goodbye to the river but hello to rock climbing and caving.

I had never done caving before and the idea of crawling through tight spaces underground sounded quite daunting, but boy was I wrong! It was great and really thrilling. It was also quite slippy so a lot of people fell over. We then switched over to rock climbing which wasn't too technical but quite tough in about 30 degrees Celsius.

On the last full day, we went to Avignon. It was a lovely little city to explore. Best of all we explored on our own. It was a very old, picturesque city that loved theatre more than anything else-apart from tourists. It was great especially when we bought ice cream from a small parlour whose owner we had assumed to be French but actually, he came from Bristol. He told us quite plainly our French was rubbish! The last day had arrived and so had Elliott's birthday. We woke him up around 6 o'clock and gave him ridiculous presents such as: a recorder, a leopard print clutch bag, a bright purple belt and a Tintin book in French. We then mountain biked and built rafts but we knew it was soon time to leave. Around 5 o'clock we left for home but we brought back awesome memories and experiences.

Here are a few pictures and videos of what we did.

Helvellyn

If you read my last post you know that on the 29th of June I took part in the Cyclone event in the North-East. The day after I decided not to rest after a full-on, tiring day but to camp and climb Helvellyn-one of the most famous mountains of the Lake District- with my dad, Charlie and Tony. The plan was to drive up to Glenridding; (a nearby town) take all of our gear on our backs; (tent, food, clothes, cooking utensils) walk up to Red Tarn (halfway up Helvellyn) and then pitch our tents and eat a dinner of dehydrated couscous and dhaal (lentils). The next day-a teacher training day (Monday)-we would get up early, leave our tents, take only necessary gear, climb up to Helvellyn's summit via Striding Edge, enjoy the view and then descend to where our tents were pitched via Swirrel Edge. We would then pack up and hope to be home by about 3 o'clock. Well, that was the plan...

Upon arrival, it absolutely chucked it down, so we hot-footed it down to the local pub where we spent about two hours sitting and hoping if we waited long enough the rain would just disappear! Alas, the rain didn't stop but it did start to recede so we grabbed our packs and were off before it decided to reappear.

It took us half an hour to get to Red Tarn but it was getting late and quite chilly. We hurriedly put up the tents with the backdrop of the beautiful Lake District behind us and the magnificent yet imposing peak of Helvellyn in front. Once set up, I instantly jumped inside to warm up whilst dad rustled up a three course meal of couscous and two different dhaal dishes with hot chocolate to wash it down. The dhaal dishes were slightly tasteless and to be honest not very nice probably because they were dehydrated! I then fell asleep immediately.

On Monday, we awoke to an almost perfect, clear day. As we ate breakfast and prepared for today's climb, we were in awe at how lucky we were to have such brilliant weather. We waved our tents goodbye and started the ascent of Striding Edge. Striding Edge is a brilliant scramble with quite sheer drops down both sides and a glorious view of the surrounding hillside. It was hard work but awesome fun. Once we summmitted Helvellyn, we began the descent.

Swirrel Edge is nowhere near as dangerous or technical as Striding Edge but it was probably the best way to come down and good to experience both edges of the mountain. We arrived at base camp, packed up and set off, arriving just after lunch in Glenridding. It was a fantastic end to an awesome three days that I won't forget it in a hurry.

Passing the time whilst waiting for the rain to stop

Striding Edge

Cyclone

Every year, mid-June, there is an event in the North-East called the Cyclone. This event is a chance for any cyclist to challenge themselves to complete 33, 63 or 103 miles in one day depending on how committed they are to cycling and if they practice professionally or if it is just a hobby. It can be quite a social event as everyone is so friendly and easy to talk to, especially about bikes.

Last year I attempted the Cyclone for the first time but since I had done no training I completed the 33 mile ride at a leisurely pace on a mountain bike. Using a mountain bike is a lot harder on the road because there is unnecessary grip on the tyres and the frame itself is bulky and heavy-not ideal for climbing steep, smooth, tarmac roads. However, this year I was more prepared and attempted the 63 mile challenge on my grandad's (Poppa) vintage road bike which had slicker wheels, a lighter frame and altogether a more suitable bike. I also trained a bit before the ride and did three forty mile bike rides over separate mid-week evenings. In addition, I was doing the bike ride with my dad, Paul, my friend, Charlie, and Charlie's dad, Tony.

It was a first for us all and especially Charlie and I who had never ridden more than forty miles in one day. Whilst we were preparing to set off, one of the officials came over and was instantly on top of Poppa's bike taking photos of the frame, brake discs and old fashioned gear levers. He even brought his mates over to discus how such a retro bike had got into the hands of a teenager! As this strange event was taking place I was thinking how chuffed Poppa would be if he could see this too. When we eventually set off, on the 29/06, we were excited and nervous about the journey ahead and as we set off, semi-professionals and competitive riders whizzed past us on lightweight, tailor made bikes desperate to achieve their personal best. Apart from this distraction, we really enjoyed the first forty miles of our ride and were making good time by the time we made it to Wallington National Trust. We had a calorie-packed lunch and rested before we hit the road again.

For the next ten miles or so after we set off, Charlie was starting to feel very tired and was running on empty. It was looking quite bad until he had several Geo bars and a few energy chews then he was back on track. The only question was whether the energy boost would last...

With only fifteen more miles to go, we only had one more challenge to overcome before the easy downhill finish. These were the Ryals. They were two short but extremely steep hills on top of each other. Luckily they had a short downhill gap between them but it was still ferociously hard work. In the end, we managed it and we stopped shortly afterwards at Stamfordham before we finished the event in a time of seven and a half hours. Overall, it was a tough but fun experience and I would love to do it again next year. The Cyclone website is https://virginmoneycyclone.co.uk/.

Scout funds Medical Centre completion in Nepal

If you have recently read my blog then you will know the West Gosforth Scouts and I have been raising money for a Medical Centre situated in Daldale, Nepal by doing a sponsored parkrun on Newcastle's Town Moor. The Medical Centre was originally funded by the Shree Prithivi Samaj Sewa Club - local community club - but unfortunately there was not enough money to complete it. With help from the Nepal Schools Trust we have managed to plan what we intend to use the money for and with the help of  Scherie Nicol (a volunteer for the Trust) the Medical Centre has been completed. Altogether  we raised £600 which has gone towards resources for the building to be completed and basic medical supplies. £300 has been spent on roofing materials and £100 for plastering the interior of the building; waiting room chairs; an examination couch and a lockable medicine cabinet. One of the main reasons the Trust has decided to help is that the left over money can be used to help fund their health education programme. This programme will provide: a School Health Policy, a presentation on basic healthcare (washing hands), drinking water vessels and posters all put in place in the Medical Centre and surrounding schools. The Trust also helped to find a  few medically experienced workers to run the Medical Centre and treat the patients. Among them is a woman called Deu Rupa who works from Surya Kiran (a local school) and provides pre and post natal care for mothers in her community, after school hours. She works alone and has decided to leave the school to work at the Medical Centre. This means the Medical Centre is now ready and has workers who are prepared to treat people in the Daldale community. However, this does not mean the project itself has ended. After the opening of the Medical Centre, it was agreed that it required another consultation/meeting room meaning that two patients could be treated at once. We are working towards raising more funds with the help of the Nepal Schools Trust. So far, £20 has been raised due to a raffle but I do hope we can raise more money for this cause in the future.



The Medical Centre was just an empty shell when we first decided to raise funds to complete it.



Now the Medical Centre is a proper building where the Daldale community can go to get treatments for any illness or conditions they have. They had a great opening ceremony and the link for the video of the opening ceremony is http://vimeo.com/54500492 .

Scouts raise £600!

As you know from earlier posts, I have been involved with a charity called the Nepal Schools Trust after going on a holiday to Nepal at Easter 2012 to see the work they had done. We also visited a partly built medical centre, in the community of Daldale, needing only a roof to complete its structure. I was ill in the mountains and was treated by a nurse who was from the area and hoping to go home and work in this medical centre once it had got a roof. This is vital as there is no available healthcare for this region of Nepal. Me and my family decided to raise the £300 we were told was needed to put the roof on. We decided to get my Scout Group (West Gosforth Scout Group in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK) involved by doing a sponsored event all the Scouts could be involved in. Me and my sister decided one Saturday we could do the 5km park run http://www.parkrun.org.uk/newcastle/home as a sponsored Scout fun run, as I explained in an earlier post.The people involved in raising this amount were: me raising £325 (with help from the Newcastle Justice and Peace Group and my family), Jacob Williams (a Scout and friend) raised £100 and a Scout barbecue was also held in our Scouts Centre raising another £175. I am thoroughly grateful to all those who raised this money or contributed in some way.
Our main target was exceeded! A whopping £600 was raised, doubling the target for the roof on the medical centre! The extra money is going to pay for: plastering the interior of the medical centre; waiting room chairs; a patient couch and a lockable medicine cabinet. There will also be money left over to support the Nepal Schools Trust in their latest education programme which will teach the whole community about hygiene and basic healthcare. Chris Dickinson and the great people at Nepal Schools Trust http://www.nepalschoolstrust.org.uk/ are going to make sure the money is spent properly and will check on progress and let us know.

As this event has turned out to be a great success I am thinking about organising more to contribute to the Nepal Schools Trust and improving health in Daldale. It has been a great pleasure to organise and take part in.

Scouts run to fundraise for Nepal, Medical Centre

Easter 2012, this year, my family and I went to Nepal and donated a laptop and camera to a Nepali school. When we were shown a medical centre that was almost finished, needing only a roof to complete it, we promised we would help raise, with Scouts, £300 for the roofing materials. I organised a run for Scouts to participate in and get sponsored for so we would raise the required amount. It was a great success! We are not to sure of the amount raised so far but we are well over halfway.