On our arrival to Kota Kinabalu, we spent two days making further arrangements such as transport and accommodation for the remaining days of the expedition. On the third day, we made a six hour bus journey to Kudat ‘the tip of Borneo’ which is the second poorest area in Malaysia where we were to undertake five days of volunteering within the community. The projects included: building a chicken coop for a local family, painting a local road side shop and building various bee hives and bird boxes to support a wider community cooperative project to improve the quality of living. On the final day there, we arranged and ran an activity session on the beach for the local school children. With the great support and hospitality of the locals, despite the heat and hard work, the five days sped by quickly and we found ourselves thoroughly missing the community and amazing food when we left.

The next phase of the expedition would be the most physically challenging and greeted us at the base of Mt Kinabalu, standing at 4095m above sea level. The arduous climb was to take six and a half hours and consisted of woodland, steep staircases and areas where we had to pull ourselves up using ropes. Although the weather was initially good, as we neared the top, heavy wind and rain set in. In the mid-afternoon we reached the Pendant Hut where we were staying overnight. Initially our aim was to resume climbing at 2am and begin the four hour climb to the summit. However we woke to 35 kmph winds, meaning the summit was closed to all climbers. We began the climb down at 8am and although we were sad we didn’t reach the summit we were still proud of our achievements.

After all that hard work it was now time for some well-deserved rest. We began the rest and relaxation phase of the expedition at Sepilok jungle resort to meet the sun bears and orangutans as well as enjoy some sun by the pool. For some, the Orangutans were the highlight of the trip – especially the rehabilitation nursery for Orangutans under the age of 3.

We then returned to Kota Kinabalu, where we remained for the last four days travelling to the Tar Islands to go snorkelling and to go white water rafting. On Sapi, we spent hours exploring the shallow reef, seeing clown fish, sea urchins and lots of coral. We also visited Manukan Island, which is famous for its beautiful beach and relative quietness. Here we performed an impromptu beach clean up after being absolutely appalled by the amount of litter both above and below the surface of the sea. All in all, after everything we’ve accomplished over the past three weeks, the R&R phase of the trip gave us a chance to reflect, recharge and re-unite after what has been a challenging yet amazing trip.

We all learned a lot about ourselves and each other coming away with stronger friendships and, taking the advice from our leader, we will draw upon these experiences when dealing with tough situations in the future. The trip required us to book our own accommodation and travel, which due to the language barrier, was a challenge at times, it taught us to be more independent and resourceful. We are all very grateful to all the people who made this trip possible for us and especially to the expedition leader Nicky and the teachers, Miss Holley and Miss Ford, for looking after us.

Carolina, Anastasia, Grace, Anna, Paula, Sara, Joelle, Giorgia, Francesca