During the morning of 3^rd August 2025, 18 intrepid students, 2 tired staff, & 1 mountain leader returned from a trip of a lifetime to Borneo, Malaysia.

And what a trip it was! 

We flew, we hiked, we bused, we toured, we worked, we jungled, we built, we camped and we saw … we saw Orangutans, Sun Bears, pig-tailed Macaques and Tarsiers, geckos and monitor lizards, stick insects, tarantulas & the David Bowie Spider, hornbills & sea eagles & a brown wood owl, sea turtles, pond turtles, and fish – lots of fish; we saw vipers & striped bronze back snakes, and scorpions that glow in the dark.

Did we contribute?  We built the foundations of a school classroom in a nature reserve, we sang with local kids and played sports on the beach, we built bee-boxes and bird boxes and painted walls, we supported the work of a local museum, and we shared the joy of traditional food cooked from jungle produce.

Personal highlights?  Seeing the Sun Bears, avoiding the leeches, witnessing the release of tiny sea turtles (only 1% survive to adulthood – nature is cruel!), and working alongside a fantastic group of young people.

Personal lowlights? I never, ever, ever, want to sleep in a hammock again – a dark, hot, sweaty coffin! Never again!

Thank you to World Challenge for providing such an excellently organised visit; thank you to Louisa, for being such an awesome leader; thank you to Anne, Mrs Mita-Kita, for continual support (and being a magnet for mosquitos, it meant I was rarely bitten ????), and finally, thank you to all our student adventurers – my admiration for you, not only for you positivity during the trip but for the hurdles you had to cross even to be part, is boundless.

IMH