The first of the Cempaka Awards Scheme (CAS) Expeditions is the Bronze Expedition. This year, the expedition took Cempakans to Saujana Camp in Asahan, Malacca for two days and one night, from Friday, 1 May 2009 to Saturday, 2 May 2009. Situated at the very foot of the mystical Gunung Ledang, Saujana Camp proved to be an immaculate campsite for about 100 Cempakans from both Damansara and Cheras campuses, sports facilitators, and teachers.

On Friday, Cempakans gathered at the link bridge of the school at about 7.30am and were sorted into groups of 10. They departed from school at 8.15am and arrived in Saujana Camp at approximately 11.25am.

After some refreshments, the first of the activities, namely the flag making and war cry presentations, began. Members of each team combined efforts and creativity to design their team flag and to invent war cries respectively. At the end of 15 minutes, teams Cheetah, Penguin, Lion, Porcupine, Wolf, Elephant, Snake, Panda, Kangaroo and Cow managed to complete a flag and a war cry each. The 10 teams presented their works with spirit and teamwork.

After that, Cempakans were taught how to set up their tents and had lunch. Then, teams one to five were grouped into Groups A and teams six to ten, Group B. Group A were scheduled for land sports, while Group B went for water sports. At about 2.30pm, the activities began. There was survival cooking, knot tying, obstacle courses and the Flying Fox. The groups carried out each activity in turn, rotating one after the other.

Group B, on the other hand, had water confident training, paddling training, and a rafting challenge. Cempakans swam in a dam under the watchful eyes of the facilitators and rangers. The water was cold and refreshing, providing Cempakans with a calm and tranquil environment for the water activities. The students learnt to paddle properly and their swimming skills were honed.

At 5.30pm, Groups A and B assembled at the campsite for the war games to commence. The two groups competed against each other as well as against the teachers. Students learnt about teamwork and had fun at the same time. All three teams were provided with small plastic bags of coloured water. The students were given red-coloured water and teachers, green-coloured water. Throwing the small bags at each other as well as the teachers proved to be good fun.

By 7.00pm, the war games ended. The students were allowed to rest, shower and were provided with a scrumptious dinner. After about an hour, Cempakans were taught how to use a compass. At 9.30pm, the orienteering challenge began. The students were given a specific set of directions as well as bearings to follow, taking them all over the campsite. For Group A, the charismatic Cheetahs emerged as champions while in Group B, the courageous Cows obtained victory.

Later that night, at about 11.00pm, students embarked on a night walk through a path leading to the foot of Gunung Ledang. The fresh mountain air, and the clarity of the night sky brightened the spirits of Cempakans that night. As the sky was clear, many stars were visible, unlike most parts of Kuala Lumpur city. The guide revealed to us that the paths to Gunung Ledang was close to, if not right on the Malacca-Johor border. As it was the case, Cempakans were literally in two places at once that night.

By the time the students arrived back at the campsite, it was 12.45am. Exhaustion and sleepiness was obvious in their expressions. After a short supper, it was lights out right away.

The next morning began with a round of exercise at 7.00am with the provided breakfast at 8.00am. After breakfast, the same activities commenced. This time, Groups A and B exchanged activities from yesterday. Both land and water activities that day proved to be as exciting and vigorous as the day before.

12.30pm marked the end of all sports activities for the Bronze Expedition and the beginning of lunch. After lunch, Cempakans packed, dismantled their tents and prepared for the journey home. At 3.00 pm, all students and teachers departed from Saujana Camp. About three hours later, they arrived at Cempaka Damansara.

The Bronze Expedition proved to be a success and Cempakans gained outdoor knowledge and experience but most importantly, had a lot of fun.