CAMPING AT FRASER'S HILL
By WO. Voon Zhen Yi
FRIDAY, November 24-27, 2006

JERIAU FALLS, Fraser’s Hill - 20 Boys and 1 officer departed the YMCA at 9.10am, having been delayed for 40 minutes. The bus ride took a couple of hours, with a short toilet break in Fraser's Town itself. That would be the last time the would have of a taste of civilization. Originally, the bus was to stop at the Old Smoke House, where the Boys should've got off and descended on foot to the Jeriau Fall's campsite. However, the bus carried them 3 kilometers down saving valuable time but was not able to go further due to road conditions.

Left: The Boys' buying supplies two days prior to camp. Center: The first thing we did was cleaning up the campsite. Right: Setting up tents.

The campsite was used by 3rd KL members exactly a year before, however the place has been developed, losing the 'natural feel' of the campsite once had. Nevertheless, the camping joy was still present. The first day was all about setting up camp and getting used to the surroundings. As usual, the 'noobs of camp' lacked tidiness, skills and experience on the first day. As predicted by the camp commandant, all squads retired to cooking instant noodles for lunch. Some were even afraid of jumping into the chilly river waters to bathe! Talk about hygiene..

Sometime close to midnight the Primers and Mr. Ng Yee Khai joined us at camp. After vesper, the nightwatch begun and it was the end of a relatively relaxing first day.

Left: Making our own food. Center: Off to solo camp! Right: The Primers at the waterfall.

The second night begun naturally with the early morning routines - the usual refusals to wake up, wash up and of course.. breakfast. There was a quick time of devotion and at around 9.30am, 2 of the 4 squads adjourned to another campsite further down the river. It was to be their solo campsite, where they are free to do whatever they want. It is also a test of how a bunch of them can work together without anyone telling them what to do. The other 2 remaining squads went out in search of wood and material for their two chosen campcraft projects. This was to be repeated by the other two squads the next day, where they practically exchange task. The following day the ones on solo returned at around 8-9am in the morning, and the next two teams went for their turn of loniless. The second and third day was pretty much the same with all four squads performing well.

The fourth and the final day was about packing and cleaning up. The bus was to meet the campers up at the Old Smoke House around 12.30pm, so they begun walking from our campsite at around 10.30am after clean up and a final inspection of cleanliness. However, it was times too early and instead of stopping at the Old Smoke House, the Boys' march up all the way to town, even having lunch.

Again, the bus was late but the transfer or personnel and equipment went smoothly and the Boys were on their way back to Kuala Lumpur.

 
The Jeriau Campsite!