Mount Buller

Weather: Snowing/Raining
Turnout: 35
Venue: Mt. Buller
Day: 18 – 20 July

What started off as a Malaysian club expedition to Mt. Buller ended up as a International expedition. With students coming not only from Malaysia, but China and Thailand soon joined in on the dun. The first event of the second semester of 2008 started off on a gloomy and wet day. As for the mood of the participants – sleepy, as we were required to gather at 7.30 am on a Friday morning. On any other day, one would start a Friday at noon. Well, one has to sacrifice for the sake of enjoyment. It was rather a good start to the day as everyone gathered relatively on time with all their bags and food with one exception. In the rush of being on time, 1 participant who goes by the name Cheang Wai Leong forgot all his stuff less his clothes.

Upon arriving at Mt. Buller, everyone settled in within the lodge as it provided some warmth and at the same time freshen up from the 4 hours bus ride. Rooms were assigned to everyone and then there was the all-important lunch. Choices were given to the members to have anything they want. After everyone was well fed, a snowball fight broke out. It was a dangerous place to be as who you thought to be your friend might just be your foe. As snowballs were flying in all directions, so did laughter, as a person’s demise is another person’s entertainment. With fun, time always flies by and it was time to gather everyone to collect his or her equipment.

Just like any other events, ice-breaking activities are a must. This trip is no exception. Everyone was required to introduce a little bit about him or her, and later on follow by a memory game. It was slow at first as everyone was trying to grasp the concept of the game. As it progressed, it got faster and more enjoyable not only for those who are still in the game, but for those who are out of it as well. Some wrong doers were punished for not acting in a certain manner as required by the game. A Thai student was required to do a Thai dance as she did not ducked when her name was called. Our very own Mak was required to sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” for the very same reason. Another was asked to do the penguin walk twice. And lastly, for not stepping out of the way, one was asked to consume a fair amount of water in one go.

On the second day of this expedition, it was time for us to do what we came for – ski and or snowboard. Our day started off at 9am with a 2 hours lesson on how to ski and snowboard. After the lessons were done and dusted, it was free and easy. Overall, everyone enjoyed themselves although there was a fair bit of falling on their behind. The casualty report for this day would be 2 injured, 0 death. From a group of 35, this is a very good ratio. One could not ask for more. After returning their ski equipment at 4.30 pm, it was free and easy for everyone as there was no scheduled activities. That did not stop the group having fun on themselves.

On the last day, 10 of us went for archery and rock climbing. It was relative fun, but disappointment was expressed with the equipment and facilities. It was not up to everyone’s expectation. With that aside, everyone who went for it still found ways of entertaining themselves with what was a available. Our worst sharpshooter was our very own president with negative scores. And our best climber was Ernest with a time of 49 seconds, climing up a height, which was equivalent to 4 storeys high.

To sum up the trip, it was a total success all thanks to the brilliance and coordination of our very own Nicholas Chong. It was him that planned all the activities, it was him that made the trip available for everyone, and it was him who made it possible for everyone to have a time of their lives. Without caring much of his own personal enjoyment, he selflessly made the trip a success. Even our lodge manager, Michael said that and I quote “In the 4 years that I have been the manager of this lodge, this is by far the most organized group I have ever seen.” That is why, one would like to thank him for organizing this trip. And one would also like to thank Mak in advance for the beautiful pictures that he took. Without him, we would not have much pitures to look back to in the future.