Five things to expect after OBS expands to Coney Island

If you haven’t heard already, Coney Island will soon host a new Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) campus, which is expected to complete in 2020. This provides more nature spaces for new and improved activities for students.

Here are five things you can expect to do when the new OBS campus opens on Coney Island:

1. You might get to live on a raft

Here is your chance if you have wanted to be like a pirate.

With the new campus, there will be more opportunities to explore the waters between Pulau Ubin and the mainland. These are chartered waters, which means that activities like live aboard rafting can potentially be introduced.

In live aboard rafting, you get to build your own raft and stay overnight on it. During your stay at sea, you can learn basic survival skills like how to purify your water, maybe catch your own fish for food.

Doesn’t it sound like our very own Singaporean version of Pirates of the Caribbean? (Minus the sea monsters and cannibalistic mermaids, of course.)

2. More fun sea activities

Every pirate ship needs a sail, and that means every pirate needs to know how to use a sail. If you’re craving for something more extreme than kayaking, then you’re in luck.

The Coney Island campus will offer better access to the open waters between Pulau Ubin and Tekong. These waters provide excellent conditions for sailing and rowboating, which are more challenging than traditional kayaking.

You may get to learn how to hoist a sail, operate your sailboat and use it to navigate the seas. Might as well start calling yourself Captain Jack Sparrow right now!

3. Cycling is now a recognised camp activity

Coney Island has been a hot spot for cycling since its opening, and now you get to join in the hype!

In addition to the usual sea and trekking expeditions, the new OBS programme may include cycling. Even better, you could find yourself completing a new variation of a triathlon in one expedition.

For instance, you can cycle from Coney Island down to Changi, and kayak back to camp from there.

4. Less waiting time for better high element activities

With the expansion, OBS plans to add new and improved facilities for high element challenges.

At the current campus at Pulau Ubin, the inverse tower is a challenge ropes course which only allows two people to take part at a time.

However, at the Coney Island campus, facilities for high element challenges can accommodate six to eight people each time.

Think of it as training to become super-spies.

5. Cave expeditions right here in Singapore

It won’t be a full Indiana Jones experience if there aren’t any caves or dark tunnels.

At the new campus, you might get your hands dirty through outdoor activities that are usually offered in rustic national parks overseas, such as caving and tunnelling.

There may be artificial mazes or tunnel systems to create a cave experience. You will have to overcome challenges like operating in the dark, or with limited information.

Are you excited already?