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'Like stepping onto a different planet'

'The Scotch Nepal trip was a life-changing experience; from the moment our plane touched down, stepping into the streets of Kathmandu was like stepping onto a different planet.’

STORY: MR PETER RICKARD, TEACHER-IN-CHARGE, NEPAL EXPEDITIONS

Photography: DYLAN COLEMAN

The above statement, made by one of the boys on Scotch’s recent expedition to Nepal, perhaps sums up well the challenges Scotch boys faced from their first moments on the trip. The expedition challenged boys mentally, physically and emotionally in ways well beyond the classroom.

Weary from a long flight from Australia, on the first morning in Nepal the boys were led to the ancient Hindu holy site of Pashupathinath. There, amid beautiful stone temples, monkeys and a valley full of mist and smoke, the cycle of Nepali life was laid bare before them on the opposite banks.

Open air cremations were evident, with grieving families anointing their deceased love ones with waters from the holy stream, before carefully wrapping their bodies in colourful saffron-coloured robes. Finally, they bid farewell to their loved ones, despatching them to a higher life through the power of fire.

The spectacle was quite surreal and led to much reflection by the boys on our own customs and rituals related to death. And this was only our first day.

After visiting the Buddhist stupa, Boudhanath, and enjoying the magic of Durbar Square with its bustling market stalls, the Scotch tour left the next day for Pokhara where final preparations for our 10-day trek took place.

There, the stunning scenery of the Annapurna could be seen in the distance, with Machapuchare (or 'fish-tail' as it is commonly known) rising almost 7,000 metres above sea level, looking down on us for most of the next two weeks.

The 25 Scotch boys, accompanied by three staff and three parent doctors, as well as 54 porters, cooks and guides from World Expeditions (led by our lead Sherpa 'Rinzin'), headed into the depths of the Annapurna forests for a memorable and challenging trek, rising eventually to Poon Hill and descending along remote paths through rural fields.

On trek, the temperature, while very comfortable during the day, dropped at times to 12 degrees below zero by 8pm, and made us all certainly feel we were far from our Australian summer back home. Never have warm sleeping bags been appreciated by so many!

The boys’ understanding of the principle of philanthropy also was given time to develop through the Nepal tour.

For a period of 12 months prior to the trip, the 25 boys on the 2013 expedition worked together at raising charity funds for the Bhadure School, the Child Haven Orphanage Kathmandu and the Fred Hollows Eye Institute Kathmandu, raising a total of $11,600 for these charities.

Having raised the money in Australia, the boys in Nepal then toured the orphanage, visited the school, and then inspected the hospital. The impact of their hard-earned funds on the Nepalese people was tangible, particularly at Child Haven where hundreds of new tracksuit pants, shoes and a range of new sporting equipment, as well as a repaired solar hot water system, were immediate evidence of the impact of our donation.

I wish to thank Dylan Coleman and Josh and Katie McNeill for all their efforts leading up to and on the tour itself, and particularly the three parent doctors – Dr Sally Munday, Dr Madeleine Price and Dr Anthony Cross – for caring for us all so well on the tour.

The next Scotch tour to Nepal departs in late December 2014. Please direct enquiries about the tour to peter.rickard@scotch.vic.edu.au.

DAY two of trekking – 'a little bit up, a little bit down'.

Lachlan Coulthard and Campbell Rome (both Year 11) at the Bhadure School.

Felix Dunphy and Hilton Venter (both Year 10) with holy men at Pashupathinath, Kathmandu.

Updated: Monday 24 June 2013