After a long journey by air and road cadets initially established themselves at the camp site in Rjukan before their first full day. The day dawned bright and warm as the cadets initially went on an acclimatisation walk to stretch their legs and test their kit as they followed the steep zig-zag path under the Krossobanen cable car – the very path taken by the saboteurs during their escape. Then the cadets took on the challenges of doing their expedition food shop in the local supermarket as they grappled with unfamiliar brands and foods.
The first day of the expedition proper was a little cooler thankfully, making ideal walking conditions, as the two teams headed out on to the eastern portion of the Hardagervidda for their 4-day expedition. Over the successive days they generally headed south back towards Rjukan across the spectacular alpine plateau that makes up much of the Hardangervidda. Covering around 20-25km per day, they wild camped for two nights but were afforded the luxury of a night in a mountain hut for one night to introduce them to the concept of hut-to-hut walking common in continental Europe if not in the UK. As usual with DofE expeditions, they of course cooked their own food with the backdrop of the glorious Norwegian scenery accompanying each meal. The weather remained glorious for the entire expedition with blue skies, gentle breezes and lots of sunshine helping them on their way – a respite from the very wet weather which Norway had apparently endured earlier in the summer months. By the time they reached the top of the Krossobanen on the afternoon of day 4, they had covered in excess of 80km with their large bergens, well deserving of a hot chocolate and a ride down to the valley floor in the cable car!
To recover and celebrate the cadets and staff had a night in the local hostel and an enjoyable end of exped meal at the local restaurant. The following day was a fascinating battlefield appreciation of the whole operation as we visited the museum – the site of the heavy water plant – and the train ferry dock on Lake Tinn. We are grateful to the Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum at Vemork for the impromptu tour around the recently excavated cellars where the raid took place. After that we charted a course for Oslo and the R&R phase where cadets were able to enjoy a day at their leisure before flying home, mission accomplished.
Senior cadet and new Head of Recruits Zara said: “Completing my DofE Gold expedition in Norway was an amazing opportunity that was thoroughly enjoyable as well as challenging. It pushed us to our limits and developed key essential skills on top of the navigation including teamwork, determination and communication. It was a great way to help bond our group of cadets even further to enable us to work together even better at the top of the Contingent in leadership roles this year.”
Senior cadet Georgina said: “My DofE gold expedition to Norway was an experience not to be forgotten! It strengthened my ability to work within a team to be able to complete our goal; from map and compass reading to making sure we got back on track if we’ve been lost. Being in the countryside and walking with amazing views and friends really made the walk worth it and I will never forget the experience.”
We are as ever hugely grateful to the Ulysses Trust for their generous grant which enabled our cadets to enjoy this fantastic development opportunity and to maximise participation amongst the Contingent.
