Burma
Trail
After listening to the fabulous Paul Jennings story, Mr. Hodge said, “I believe we have to get ready for something.”
I was immediately suspicious. I had heard a rumour about a Burma trail, and I was wondering if this was it. I was right!
The groups were led out into the unknown one at a time. I was nervous, but excited at the same time. After waiting anxiously for our turn, our group was finally called to follow Mr. Hodge. I was led across the road. It was so black that I couldn’t see the back of our group line.
A shrill scream tore through the silent night. Suddenly, I felt cold all over and a shiver went up my spine. Even though the temperature was cold, and many people were shivering, I felt a different type of cold. It was a strange feeling.
Finally we reached our destination at the edge of the uninviting, dense bush. By this time, I could hear many screams. Mr. Hodge’s torch shone in our faces, causing me to squint. He told us to go to the rope that seemed to disappear into the middle of nowhere. We were told to hang on to the thick, brown rope and not to let go of it no matter what happened.
I was behind Shaun, and luckily for me, his shirt was white. As we groped our way blindly through the dense bush, we heard other groups screaming ahead of us and others chatting behind us.
Our first scare was a grunt coming at us out of the darkness. It sent a shiver down my spine, but the full impact was ruined by someone tugging at my shirt and choking me while screaming. This happened throughout pretty much of the Burma Trail. Whenever I sped up to catch Shaun, the same person tried to choke me.
The shaking of branches, water coming at us from the darkness, roaring like that of a lion were some of the things I experienced on the Burma Trail. Some of these experiences left me feeling shocked and at times, really scared. I was pleased when I finally arrived at the roadside where we had started.
Luckily Shaun and I were the only casualties, with my sore neck and the lump on Shaun’s head.
When we were sent to our dorms, I was tired and wanted to sleep, but of course I couldn’t, as everybody was talking.
I have tried to find out how and where the activity “Burma Trail” originated. Unfortunately I have not been able to find any information about this, only what a Burma Trail is.
By Robert
