DofE Practice Expedition

4-5 May 2026

Hannah, Jakub, Greta, Viki, Laura, Snizhana, Samo, ZD.

I was dreading it. I had no idea how this was going to play-out but I had images of “lefty eco-warriors taking themselves too seriously” in my head. I completed my DofE in 1988 and imagined (as with a lot of things today) the original concept had been lost and watered-down that all that remained was the name.

When HRH Prince Phillip launched the Duke of Edinburgh’s award scheme in 1956 it was to encourage personal development, skill-building, leadership and physical activity among young people. To encourage young people to embark on expeditions, pursuits, and develop fitness. Following the 1956 launch, the scheme was extended to include local education authorities, the armed forces, and schools.

Two days prior to leaving I tore muscles in my back lifting helicopter components and had difficulty just standing straight, which added to my trepidation as the thought of putting 35kg’s in a rucksack and dragging it across Slovakia was NOT an attractive prospect, BUT, when I looked at the names in this group my first fears were dispelled as I knew and taught most of them and felt I knew them enough to not have any fears….I couldn’t/Wouldn’t miss this one.

Developments: Throughout the week the group, via Greta kept me well informed of developments, routes, plans schedules and time-tables so it was with great pleasure I entered the school to see “All present and correct” everybody smiling and excited, enthusiasm is infectious. I was greeted/presented with a handful of DofE paperwork to check through, forms to sign before we all had a quick briefing together to discuss hopes, expectations and last-minute additions/detractions before we set off. That completed we set off for the first stage, the bus journey to our start point.

It's fair to say that at Brezova the map-reading was to all points of the (unused) compass but a one minute demonstration of “how to orientate a map” and land-mark observations were all that was needed to set the group straight. In hind-sight I believe over-eagerness and excitement might have been responsible for this initial N,E,S,W “It’s this way!” start.

Thereafter the scheduled stops, check-points, group discussions and debates followed smoothly and the group dynamics were established, We had a “Group mother” checking everybody had drank enough water, a “chief Map-abuser” who’s sole purpose in life seemed to be to bend, fold and tear the map in such a way that it soon resembled a centuries-old religious jig-saw relic that somebody’s dog had shredded! We had the jokers, the calm quiet steady ones, we had them all.

The walk itself went perfectly. The scheduled breaks were adhered to, maps checked fluids taken. At no point can I remember hearing any complaints at all. No whining (and the pace was at times harsh). Some real leaders emerged along the way and at no point did I spot anybody “looking out for just themself”, it was a real Team-Effort and there were no quarrels, disagreements of stress induced arguments.

At Dobra-Voda we stopped for an elongated rest to reorganize supplies and liquid intake. We travelled to a natural spring to refill water-bottles and meet the guardian of that spring, a brown labrador who was ferociously friendly to everybody.

TEMPO: Once we got going and the team had developed I ran ahead and observed. They worked continually as a team and never fragmented into sub-groups. We were given perfect conditions with sunshine and breeze and I think this contributed to the high spirits (Perhaps some rain might have shown different group dynamics). One of the things I spotted with their plan (they clearly hadn’t noticed it) were the contour lines of hills. There were some 1in2 meter gradients, very steep hills that hadn’t been noticed so to maintain their schedule they had to REALLY “dig-deep” in their bag of effort.

I’m good carrying weight up hills at face pace so blasted ahead. I told them “You don’t have to keep up with me” and Greta replied “Don’t worry Mike, the thought never occurred to me!” shows the spirit and humour of the group. Hannah’s laughter (audible through 2km’s of forest!) was a constant reminder they’re not too far behind. I was racing ahead to the next check-points, checking the map and terrain and questioning the Navigator “Where are we, where do we go next, which bearing?” and only twice did they get it wrong and a “you sure about that?” usually brought the correct answer. This group did almost everything right. They shared responsibilities, the looked-out for each other, balanced work and play perfectly and were a pleasure to be around from start to finish.

As the sun started setting we were 45 minutes from our final objective and one of the team was looking like he or she was starting to suffer. I called the Team Leaders together and told them what I was observing and gave them a proposal to put to the group (this was after a particularly grueling uphill battle od one hours duration): The options I asked them to put to the group was stop and set-up camp there, where we were, or to push-on for 45 minutes to the final objective. I was positively encouraging them to give up. They went back to the group, discussed it and unanimously voted to keep going, which impressed me so much. THIS is where strength of character and team-work happens.

We arrived 40 minutes later, rucksacks were thrown to the ground and celebratory smiles ensued. I had to remind them about the sunlight remaining to set up camp and this is where my only criticisms come up. At the final objective I held a “foot parade” where I looked at everybody’s feet to check for hot-spots and blisters as more than one person I noticed with slight limps (myself included).  

A practice expedition is after all to MAKE mistakes and learn from them. We had tents carried but no poles, we had tears, frustration but we also had solutions. Team-mates helping team mates, concessions and compromises. The weather was after-all great and the urgency for overhead cover. Jakub and Samo really came into focus here as they busied themselves with building an extremely well-constructed and safe open fire (dug into the ground and surrounded by stones) for everybody which was a huge morale booster!

By the time people had eaten, changed socks, t-shirts and generally started to unwind the fire was now in full effect and the evening was a really social release. They exuded pride at what they’d achieved and I was extremely proud of what they had completed.

There are some small points that can be improved upon for their actual expedition, but almost none of them are on the performance side of things, just in the preparation. Equipment can be checked and/or repaired before departure, tent erection practiced.

I carried a LOT of extra equipment with me as I fully expected shouts of “I forgot my….” at the destination so I’d be able to help. I could have saved myself a lot of weight as this was a group who put the work in beforehand (we’ll forget all about the tent-poles though!!!) Simple inexpensive things can make your life “in the outdoors” a lot easier and I hope to pass on my knowledge to these and other groups. The “5 sardines in a tent” fought a battle of cold and a downward slope all night and I’d suggest didn’t have the best of sleep, the guys who slept around the fire too battled the cold once the flames died down. I slept like the dead.

From start to finish this group was an absolute pleasure to be around. They were organized, committed and a well-balanced mixture of characters who seamlessly blended into a team. I think they planned their route well and researched it almost as they should. They had a plan but flexible enough to bend it a little while still achieving their goals and meeting their time-table. I find it difficult to believe the subsequent groups could better this performance. For me THIS will be the group to emulate and try to beat. In honesty, this has been the high point of my time at the school and it wasn’t even at the school!   It was an absolute honor to be with such a pleasant fun-loving group of people committed to a single organized goal. They kept a sense of humour and a final objective in their minds and 100% achieved it. HRH Prince Phillip died in 2021 but this group lived up to his legacy.

 WOW.