Team 2 Awards

At Heathrow airport we managed to host our own Borneo BAFTAs, featuring the enthusiastic presenters Alex B dog, Jessica Leighton and Looord Loooouis. The following awards were given to...

Ben 🐒 The Tarzan Award For an extraordinary love of wildlife — big or small, on land, in the sea or in the sky — and an impressive willingness to get very up close and personal with it. With epic photography skills and the bravery to take photos from the side of a mountain or maybe whilst falling down it, this person truly lived life like a real-life wildlife documentarian!

Ffion 😂 The Golden Giggle Award For laughing constantly, making everyone else laugh and bringing an infectious sense of joy to the entire trip. Also awarded for the immortal words, “I could finish now, I’m satisfied with how hard I’ve worked” — just 1.5 hours into the second day of the hike!

Meg 🌞 The Quietly Crushing It Award This person has been a positivity powerhouse, simply getting on with whatever was thrown at them and quietly demonstrating incredible determination, strength and resilience. For powering through the trek despite a painful knee, never complaining and maintaining a positive attitude throughout. Quote to sum this person up: After eating THE hottest chilli oil plus a chilli ‘that was hot’.

Lily R 💰 The Bargaining Queen Award For discovering a genuine talent for the art of the haggle and being determined to put those skills to good use. This person took great pride in their bargaining abilities — and rightly so. They were persistent, committed and, most importantly, successful!

Hope 💪 The Resilience Award For showing that even when you’re not feeling your best, you can still bring positivity, kindness and sparkle to the people around you. Despite a few challenges this person never let it dull her shine — a quiet positivity queen whose resilience was genuinely impressive.

Jo 🎤 The Chat Show Award For keeping the conversation, humour and energy flowing at all times. This person learnt new Malay phrases daily, said hello to absolutely everyone they met and seemed determined to become friends with every single person in Borneo. There was never a dull moment — or a quiet one!

Lily M 🎨 The Secret Artist Award For revealing a hidden artistic talent and creating something truly beautiful. Despite not studying Art at school, this person painted intricate Rungus patterns onto the columns at the school hostel with incredible care, patience and skill — leaving behind something that will bring joy to others for years to come.

Ollie 😎 The Vibes Setter Award For being someone who can get on with absolutely everyone and always knowing exactly what the group needs — calm and steady when required, and full of fun energy when the moment calls for it. Also awarded for handling the infamous KFC toilet incident which Mr Boughton described as ‘sounding like he was birthing a coconut’, and the subsequent jokes with truly iconic levels of good humour.

Annie ✍️ The Borneo Blogger Award For taking a proactive lead in documenting our Borneo adventure and ensuring that the memories of the trip were captured along the way. This person wrote brilliantly, helped everyone get the job done and became the reason we will remember far more of our adventures than we otherwise might have! You’ll be thanking this person for a long time to come!

Anya 🦎 The Chameleon Award For being brilliantly adaptable, inclusive and exactly the person different people needed her to be. Whether she was being bouncy and bubbly, belting out karaoke, making friends across Year 12 and 13, or simply being there for someone who needed a friend, this person made everyone feel included.

Anna 🚀 The ‘Give It a Go’ Award For proving that feeling apprehensive doesn’t have to stop you from diving straight in. This person always gave things a go, even when looking a little nervous — while quietly keeping everyone else organised and safe along the way. From holding doors open to checking accommodation for forgotten belongings, she was constantly looking out for others without ever needing recognition for it.

Emily 🌱 The Comfort Zone Crusher Award For approaching Borneo with an incredible can-do attitude and being willing to give almost everything a try. From curries to sweet potato fries and plenty of other new foods, this person impressed us with how they consistently pushed themself beyond what was familiar and showed that trying something new can be an adventure in itself.

Harry 🏆 The Leadership Award For finding their voice and becoming an assertive, calm, decisive and fair leader. From leading the Kinabatangan day to taking charge during the river safari, this person showed exactly what brilliant leadership looks like: making decisions, taking responsibility and always keeping the group in mind.

Kesia 👑 The Queen of the Jungle Award For being completely unflappable and embracing absolutely everything Borneo had to offer. From drinking coconuts to getting involved in every activity, this person never complained, never backed down and seemed entirely at home in the jungle. A true queen of Borneo!

Also a massive thank you to all our Borneo Blog fans for the lovely support through the comments. And an even bigger thank you to Annie's family, as we always knew there would be a comment from them in the first 60 seconds of posting. Your devotion kept us motivated through both the highs and the very few lows and we are all very grateful that you guys didn't stop reading the blog after the first week.

Team 2 signing out :)