My recent trip to Kalbarri has left an indelible impression on my mind. Reflecting on my experiences, i marvel at how the trip has thrown up so many opportunities to develop ‘the leader in me’.
During our second day at Kalbarri, we travelled through a towering, picturesque canyon. While passing through this amazing rugged terrain, I took on the role of a Health (ensuring people drink water and don’t injure themselves), Navigation (leading the way and guiding others towards safe paths) and Entertainment Lead (keeping up the group morale on the arduous climb).
We had earlier grouped ourselves into small numbers, with the purpose of cooking for ourselves each night. These cooking groups were given a set task to lead for the day, and the duties rotated daily. My role on the second day was as the Health, Navigation and Entertainment Lead.
Throughout the canyoning, I made sure to hold frequent recouping periods, tried to keep up spirits and morale through directing any frustration towards me and my abominable puns, and continuously reminding people to drink water (it was a very hot day) and have rest periods to do so. When people abseiled or rock climbed, one could hear a cacophony of cheers and congratulations arising from the sense of camaraderie and positive atmosphere of the group)
The next day, we packed up camp and headed to the ‘Four-ways’ canyon. To get there, we travelled across some treacherous, swampy terrain made slippery by incessant rain. It was this day that I had the duty of the foodie – it was my charge to organize and lead the preparation and clean up of breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I took the food and tools we’d need throughout the week at the campsite and distributed them among our team to carry. We also brought the recipe and ingredient lists.
On the fourth day, three of us were picked on a rotational basis to be Leaders. We were to manage our group-mates, ensuring timely running of activities and completion of essential jobs. Fortunately, everyone was inclined to do their best. In the rare cases when they lagged or faltered, I tried to pick up some of the slack.
On the fifth day, we hiked up a crumbling uphill road. Though I was not formally a member of the Health, Navigation and Entertainment sub-group this time, I found myself in that position regardless, trying to regroup when we became a thin, barely connected line of people that couldn’t even hear each other. I tried to read the map and consistently called for wait/drink periods and tried to ensure everyone’s comfort.
After the hike, we toured around the sight-seeing locales of Kalbarri, I took every opportunity to volunteer to help out, cleaning and setting up whenever there was a need even when I was not specifically asked to. Thus I was pro-active.
Kalbarri taught me many valuable lessons. It taught me the importance of self reliance. It also taught me how to the importance of communication and coordination in a group. It taught me how to mobilize people together for a common goal. It taught me the importance of resilience and perseverance. It was a small step on my path to finding the ‘Leader in me.’