On the 31st of January we took advantage of the “Allemannsrett” in Norway and went on an overnight trip at Jegersberg just ten minutes away of the University of Agder in Kristiansand. The “Allemannsrett” is a traditional right in Norway which is the right to roam / the right to access. It means that everybody can walk, make a fire and camp nearly anywhere they want. It ensures that everybody get to experience nature as long as they treat the nature with respect and consider a few rules (like go not on cultivated land, stay away more than 150 meters from civilization and stay not longer than two nights at the same spot).
The area at Jegersberg had forest parts (with rocks, bushes and trees), a big open field which was covered in ice by that time and a toilet-hut. After arriving there we started to set up our tents. Together with Linda and Laura we chose a flat spot in between some trees in the forest which protected us from the wind and kept some heat inside. Furthermore we made sure that we get rid of stones and branches to make sure we sleep comfortable on a flat ground. Then we made sure that the outer tent doesn’t touch the inner tent by using tent peg and ropes. Moreover we established one big tarp for the whole class to sit underneath for cooking and to use it as a shelter. Due to the weather (was raining slightly the whole day) this was a great idea to have a warm and dry meeting point for doing all necessary tasks (like cooking etc.) for everyone. After we all set up our tents I come to know that it is better to choose a spot for the tent that is going downhill a little bit which prevents the tent for swimming in water in case of heavy rain.
For the rest of the afternoon every nation introduced and played one dynamic, cognitive and fun game with the group. Therefore I learned a lot of new group games which I can use later in my daily routine in school with the pupils for sure. All the games were a lot of fun and my favorite game was called the “chicken in a henhouse” introduced by the English. After this every group got some ingredients from Len to cook a warm and nutritious dinner in 20 minutes. It is amazing how quick it is possible to cook a delicious food with little ingredients. What is important to choose ingredients which are compact packed, very nutritious and fast cooked like couscous, rice or pasta as a base. Furthermore it is a good idea to just bring a few spices as it improves the taste of the food a lot. For the cooking we either used a storm kitchen or an “open” stove with gas or red spirit. The advantage of the storm kitchen is that the food can cook faster and it needs less gas because it shelters the wind but on the other hand it is more weight to carry which can be negative especially for longer trips.
Afterwards we made a little campfire to eat some marshmallows and stick bread. As we didn’t have a lot of logs we searched for more in the woods and put it next to the fire to try it and use it later. To get the fire started we cut some splitters from the logs and used a tampon. Just before we went to bed we made a little hike to get warm again. All my equipment worked quite well and I had a comfortable night in the tent.
In summary it was a great and fun experience, especially for trying out all the equipment.