TY Trip to Carlingford 2010
By Aoife Nulty
Arriving:
On Sunday 3rd October, 31 TY students set off to the Carlingford Adventure Centre in Co. Louth. The bus journey took an hour and a half and we arrived to get our rooms before 7:30. First we were briefed on what we were going to do for the next few days. That evening our first activity, the Nightline was underway. We were blindfolded and sent on a trail through the forest in a line holding onto a rope. We had to tell each other what obstacles were coming up to help our team. This helped us to build trust within our group and it also made us use our communication skills. We then went back to the centre and were allowed do what we wanted until 11 o’clock.
Day 1:
The next day we were up for breakfast at 8 o’clock. In the morning we had a raft building challenge where we were put into three groups to make a raft out of boards, wooden planks and ropes. It was quite hard but we got it done. When the rafts were built we had a race around the pier which of course we lost! When we climbed back onto the land some of us went pier jumping before heading back to the centre for lunch.
In the afternoon we had a high rope challenge based on teamwork and trust. It was very hard and quite scary but it was very good. That evening we went on a very long walk in the teaming rain, up steep hills and through the forest. After this we were all wrecked and definitely ready for bed.
Day 2:
Tuesday morning we were heading out to do archery and “communication breakdown” as it was too windy to go out on the water. In archery we were playing to get our cutlery for lunch and I only got a knife! The communication breakdown was a three-storey maze inside a container and it was pitch black inside. We couldn’t see a thing which made it a lot harder and more fun seeing as we were crawling around falling down holes and crashing into walls! Eventually we made our way out of the maze just in time to walk back to the centre for lunch.
After lunch we went rock-climbing and abseiling. I thought it was going to be an indoor wall but it was a lot more difficult than that- a quarry. It was a good challenge and we really needed to trust each other to do it as some of our classmates were holding onto the rope for us. A few people were too afraid to take part but the majority of the class did. Not as many people done the abseiling as it was very difficult and frightening.
Later on we all took part in the “Carlingford Challenge” which was great craic. There were nine rounds and five teams. The challenge included an eating competition where one member of each team had to try eat as many dry weetibix as they could, a drinking competition where other people had a race at who could drink 2 litres of water the fastest, a drawing competition and many more. It was very enjoyable and our team “The Hob-Knobs” won.
When the Carlingford challenge was over, Mr. Sharpe and Ms. Sweeney took us all out for a meal in The Carlingford Arms. We had a choice of either chicken goujons with chili sauce and chips or roast beef with potatoes and vegetables. Most of the boys went with the beef and the girls went with the chicken. It was very tasty and to finish we had jelly and ice-cream.
Day 3:
Wednesday came too soon and it was time to pack our bags. We still had a day of activities ahead of us though. First we went Canadian Canoeing. We went out in the canoes and the instructors brought us into a tunnel. We then went back into the boats and went pier jumping.
After lunch we did a challenge course that had lots of small activities such as mazes and building challenges to do. At the start we didn’t think it would be good but we were pleasantly surprised as it was actually very good and took a lot of thinking to do.
At quarter past five we left the adventure centre after a debriefing session and headed home.
Altogether it was a very enjoyable trip that everyone enjoyed.
Below are some photos from our trip
