Bronze Adventurous Journey

It was an eventful weekend, 19th to 20th September, which saw Bronze Award participants from the Open Award Centre spending some time in the countryside around Jimena de la Frontera undertaking their Qualifying Bronze Adventurous Journey.  

Early on Saturday morning, the 11 Bronze participants left Gibraltar by coach which took them to the start point of their hiking route for the day. 

After sorting out their rucksacks, they then headed off on foot in two separate teams. 

From the campsite on the outskirts of Jimena, they headed down to the Rio Hozgarganta and then followed the course of the river south to eventually reach Venta La Adelfilla, the end point for day one. 

During the day the teams, working independently and at a distance from each other, navigated their way relying on their skills in map reading to follow their planned route which included fording the almost bone-dry river. 

Having arrived at the end point for the day the participants were transported, by the supervising Award Leaders, to their campsite for the night. Once there they set up their tents, which they had carried with them in their rucksacks, and later that evening cooked their dinner using Trangia stoves. After some socialising amongst themselves, they then retired for the night. 

The following morning the participants had some breakfast, took down their tents, and packed these away once again into their rucksacks ready for day two of the journey. 

They were driven back to the end point of day one and from there the teams set off on their planned route for day two. Over the course of this, they would head along tracks and some back roads heading north to eventually return to the outskirts of Jimena, thus completing a circular route over the weekend. 

During the weekend, the respective teams applied teamwork to navigate and make decisions on which way to go, set up and strike camp, cook their meals, and maintain their morale. The main struggle was with the hot weather coupled with some participants having blisters and aches. However, all the participants pushed through and completed the journey which covered approximately 25 kilometres. 

But that was not all. 

During the course of their journey the participants were required to gather information for their respective Team Goals. 

This is a key part of the Qualifying Journey as the teams are required to make a short presentation on their chosen topic. 

One team chose to seek out the animals and wildlife in the area with the other team concentrating their efforts in cataloguing the different landscapes they encountered. They will, in the coming weeks, deliver their presentations to the Award Leaders and the Adventurous Journey Assessor. 

Experienced leaders from the Open Award Centre supervised the participants throughout the venture to ensure their safety. 

In addition, an Accredited Assessor from the national Adventurous Journey Panel assessed the participants’ abilities to work as a team in achieving the Award's requirements for the Adventurous Journey. 

The award committee would like to thank the adult volunteers for giving up their free time to attend during the venture as well as in the lead up sessions.  

For further information about the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Gibraltar, please contact the National Director, Michael Pizzarello, on 20051971 or email michael.pizzarello@thedukes.gi or visit www.thedukes.gi 

 This is an article provided by The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Gibraltar