Queen’s College participate in the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award

The participants presented themselves for a kit check and discussed their route card with their assessor at the designated starting point at Lluc and then proceeded to begin the first part of their journey hiking to the campsite at Es Pixarells.

On arrival to the campsite, the team successfully pitched their tents and organised their belongings in light of the wet weather which had been threatening throughout the day. In preparation for the next day’s hike, the team decided to undertake a reconnaissance of the nearby wooded area in search of firewood and get some navigational practice using their maps and route cards. They correctly identified their first checkpoint for the expedition the next day and then returned to camp to make a fire and prepare to cook a hot meal under cover in the barbeque area.

After a hot meal and with the rain now pouring and the temperature beginning to drop, the team after revising their route card for the next day tried to relax as best they could before trying to get some sleep in preparation for an early wake-up call the next day.

Day 2 the weather much improved from the previous evening the team got away after breakfast and packing away tents and rucksacks at around 9.30am. They set out to make their way back to Lluc via a circular route which would take them through the tricky first leg to their first checkpoint at the recreation area about 20 minutes northeast from camp, before making their way eastwards to the GR221. The mountain route would then lead the team via Binifaldo to the mountain hostel at Son Amer before arriving to their final checkpoint at Lluc at a little after 1.30pm.

The assessor de-briefed the group and was pleased to inform the participants that they had successfully met the criteria of the expedition and have completed the Adventurous Journey component of the award.