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Courtney Weatherburne reporting
An adventure: that's what these kids were ready for. With a trekking pole and a cane they started down this grassy trail - leaping, swiping and prodding the earth to find their way.

But they weren't limited to these two canes. They also had to use their ears and make tongue clicks to be able to traverse this dense forest.

That method is known as echolocation: the ability to see through sound. These blind and visually impaired kids are practicing this technique outdoors for the first time.

It took a while for them to orient themselves to this new environment. But with a few tips from the instructor, Juan was able to make it under the log.

The others followed closely behind - with equal success. But the main obstacle on this journey was navigating the rocky and rutted terrain in the cave.

A task seemingly accomplished with ease.

Brian Bushway, Instructor
"The importance of getting outside and using Echolocation is where it becomes more powerful like we could tell the difference of the rock versus the canopy of the trees. All of those things just sound different. Because when we are talking about objects, we are listening for location, we are listening for dimension and we are listening for density and we use listening, but really what is happening is an acoustic image is forming and developing inside all of our brains. If you can hear and look around you, you have freedom of choice to know where you want to go and how to get there."

And it is that freedom that Rowan and his mother have been longing for.

Rowan Garel, Participant
"I have been hiking many places before as well. But the thing is I was always doing it on someone's arm. I have always been holding someone, so this is pretty neat to be doing that on my own and I love hiking, I love the outdoors, I love nature and I could actually d it without holding to anyone now. I could just follow every route or just listen to the clicks. The cave was pretty neat too because we were standing there at the edge of a huge drop, so we didn't go down there. But we were able to tell from the clicks that the cave went on much further and it dropped downwards. So that was really cool. It's like if you were to turn and look onward with your eyes, we could look with our ears through sound."

Milagro Garel, Rowan's Mother
"I never believed that this day would come, that Rowan would need my arm or his dad's arm or his friend's arm to walk around, especially as he goes hiking. Because we have been practicing to walk around in Belize City when we go exercising juts to use the cane, but to go hiking over all those rocks and you know, overhead he has to be watching over his head and under. It's just really a dream come true for us."

Juan Reina, Participant
"Echolocation is really exciting, really fun, interesting to learn, because you want to be independent and you want to have your own life and freedom."

And in order to maintain that freedom, Donovan says he will practice every day at home and in the community.

Donovan Reneau, Participant
"The nicest place to practice is in your bathroom when you are taking a bath, in your bedroom listening on your bed, around the dinner table, in your yard, if you have coconut trees in your yard, the neighborhood shop - you go to the neighborhood shop to practice."

The group also practiced on the streets of Belize City and in supermarkets and stores like Benny's.