The Old Diocesan Issue 10 - Magazine - Page 50
EPIC REPORT:
FROM THE BOYS
Grade 10s tramping through the Cederberg is a brilliant Bishops rite
of passage dating back more than half a century. Once the Adventure
Course, now the Bishops Epic, we last covered it in Issue 6 in 2020.
This time we asked a veteran of the 2023 Epic, Noah Macnab – now
in Grade 11 – to write about his experience. We hope this becomes
a regular collaboration with the school and the boys – our future ODs
E
pic is a camp of sorts, but
to call it just a camp is to
underplay the importance
it holds in the Bishops
community. Grade 10 is the first
year where academics really pick
up, but the saving grace for all
of us was that Epic was on the
horizon – and everyone gets the
opportunity to go. For a number
of boys there is a difficult decision
to make. About 25 are chosen for
international exchange each year,
at schools around the world, with
all but two of those happening in
term four, clashing with Epic. Some
boys are chosen for exchange but
elect not to go, preferring to take
on the challenge in the Cederberg.
Epic is a 16-day experience;
luckily, we aren’t forced to walk
for 16 days straight. Rather, it is six
or seven days of hiking, mixed with
10 days at a variety of base camps,
where you can swim, water-ski,
shoot air rifles, play cards, and
recuperate with friends after the
physically and emotionally taxing
hikes through the mountains. No
doubt about it, Epic is one of the
highlights of the year, and even
of Bishops, for many boys. It is
more than just an outdoor camp
– it is a place to find yourself, and
to become a man.
46 | THE OLD DIOCESAN
The core of the Bishops Epic remains the “coming of age” experience
of adventuring in the wild. A team photo under Wolfberg Arch says it all.
TO DESCRIBE EXPECTATIONS of
Epic as anything other than mixed
would be disingenuous. Some boys
were willing to charge into the
great outdoors, into the unknown,
without fear of failure. Others, more
aware of their nature, were (for
lack of a better term) unwilling.
Deep down, however, everyone
knew – as I know fully now – that
Epic was going to be amazing.
We spoke of it with much
excitement and hope. As the
fateful day drew close, the boys
came to the realisation that
Epic was happening, whether
they wanted it to or not. By the
time we boarded the bus, nearly
every single boy had put their
fears behind them and was ready
for Epic – but I wasn’t sure if Epic
was ready for us just yet!