Our intrepid Year 6 pupils went on their annual three day residential trip to Khorfakkan and what fun they had!
Here's a summary of what they got up to...
Day 1
We set off a little later than planned, but finally got to the Oceanic Hotel around 11.30am-just in time for lunch!
The afternoon activities started at 2.00pm. Mr Austin led the hike ‘over the mountain’ and down to the beach, where the group did a clean-up. Nils from 6Red said, ‘My favourite bit was the hike because there was a great view from the tip and I enjoyed cleaning up the beach.’ The trip to Bidiya Mosque led by Mr Gibson involved learning about the oldest mosque in the UAE and doing some art work using pastels of the great views from the watch towers. Joy from 6 Yellow commented ‘I enjoyed seeing things that I never knew existed before.’
The third group went on a town study with Miss Morris, they were learning about Khorfakkan’s economic activity, in particular how Khorfakkan is dominated by the container port. The children also visited the oldest part of Khorfakkan and saw a Falaj system in operation; the children observed how the area had fallen into disrepair and were disappointed at the amount of rubbish in evidence.
When the children returned to the hotel, it was time to have some fun in the pool followed by football and rugby practice on the grass. Excitement was mounting for the barbecue dinner ahead and the disco! (We certainly never went hungry!)
Cleaning up the beach after a challenging hike.
Day 2
The next day the groups rotated and by the end of the day all of the children had visited Bidiya Mosque, completed the town study and climbed the mountain. Our evening activity was the much anticipated Talent Show. Ten acts were to take to the stage, ranging from singing and dancing to a 3 girl comedy show, which had everyone laughing, particularly the teachers. The evening finished off with the final room inspection; everyone was hoping to improve in their previous evening’s score.
Enjoying the Town Study!
Day 3
The final morning included some fun activities on the beach, along with a dip in the hotel pool. Everyone slapped on the sunscreen, drank lots of water and had FUN! Beach volleyball was a great favourite!
Finally it was time to pack our bags, have a final lunch and make our way home. We had all enjoyed ourselves! ‘Awesome, amazing- a once in a lifetime experience’, was how the trip was described by Zahra and Renata in 6 Red.
We would like to thank the Oceanic Hotel, who welcome us year after year. Nothing is too much trouble and they clearly enjoyed having the children. We wish them the best of luck with their refurbishment in 2011 and I hope that we can return in years to come.
A visit to the oldest Mosque in the UAE.
Also, Max Hollands was lucky enough to celebrate his Birthday whilst in Khorfakkan. Happy Birthday Max!
More photos from the Khorfakkan trip can also be viewed on the Photo Gallery page.