26/10 Sun - Today was supposed to be Field Trip day to Ream National Park for the CCPP kids. Ream National Park is 18km east of S’ville and one of the attractions here. It consists of mainly lowland forests, swamps and habitats for several endangered species. Supposed to be, but didn’t quite happen, due to a series of unfortunate events.
First, 57 kids, 2 staff and 5 volunteers had to squeeze into the back of a small truck, which was all wet and muddy from the rain and there was hardly any standing space even for just the children. It was almost a ride headed for disaster – imagine bumping up and down at the back of the truck, standing in the rain, for an hour. So we called for reinforcements – 2 tuk tuks, and got a few of the kids in there, and since the rain had stopped and the kids seemed to enjoy being in there altogether, we decided to let it be and the rest of us got into the tuk tuks with the pots of food. Then, midway, it started pouring again and it began to get really cold for the kids so we stopped and squeezed in more of them into the tuk tuks. When we got to Ream, the staff decided to make a u-turn back to seek shelter at one of the beach shacks. There was no shelter in the park, the rain was just too heavy and everyone was drenched; it seemed pointless to go. At the beach shack we fed the children lunch, and basically just waited out the rain, while the kids played in the sea. But the rain didn’t stop even after a few hours and we decided to head back. We put as many kids as possible (20 of the youngest and weakest ones) in the 2 tuk tuks, and the older kids and all the volunteers got up the truck. The kids donned the raincoats and the volunteers just made do with what we already had on us (i.e. soaked t-shirts) as there weren’t enough raincoats. There was still hardly enough space in the truck and it was still all muddy.
But here was where it started to become fun. The ride back was like a rollercoaster ride. Bumpy roads notwithstanding, the truck driver swerved and jammed on his brakes like there was no tomorrow, causing everyone behind to sway and cling onto our dear lives. Some of the kids were standing the whole way and every time the truck swerved it seemed like a domino effect was about to take place. I couldn’t kneel for an hour on the rickety truck so I just sat down…in the mud. Along the way we all laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. When we arrived and I got up, all the kids had such a laugh making fun of my muddy bum while I chased them around threatening to pass it on to them.
And even though we didn’t really make it to the National park, the day couldn’t be more unforgettable.
