By: Syena Elfostria (CIDE Youth)

All we wanted to do was to stay home under the warm blankets not thinking of leaving the bed. The rain sprinkled down the exterior of the bus as the sound pierced into our ears. We took wonderful pictures of Sydney’s architecture, all gasping of how amazing they looked in the drowsy weather. Despite of how cold it was, we were still energetic and eager to take on this bush walking challenge. We all ran furiously out of the bus, group by group, unpacking our belongings to an area that we thought was suitable for us to be protected by the rain. We jumped, we screamed, we complained but this was an experience that we should thank Allah SWT, because many of our brothers and sisters across the world may be living in this weather with no shelter.

As we all had our groups we took off and started bush walking, some in gum boots, some in white shoes and others with plastic bags wrapped around their shoes. This walk was approximately 8km back and forth – walking through water, trees and rocks.  This highlighted that we should appreciate our beautiful environment that Allah SWT has given us with a magnificent ocean view.

As we all arrived back to our area, the parents started to heat and prepare the food, as the bush walkers dried their wet clothes and socks. We also got ready to pray dzuhr, even though it wasn’t at a place that was covered and cosy, we were still able to pray. After we prayed and ate, we had fun activities that were planned for us.

From this experience we had the chance to communicate and learn more about each other – some that we know and don’t know, and I think it was a great opportunity to meet new friends. We laughed and engaged together and sharing new. Being a Muslim had so many elements to it, and this was one of it. Going on adventures into the outside world reciting hadiths and du’a hoping Allah SWT will protect us throughout the journey as we also absorbed Islamic knowledge of what was surrounding us outside.