First World Challenge Expedition to Namibia, Botswana and Zambia
In May 2010, Lyceum teachers Tavis Davidson and Richard Smith accompanied a group of students on the first Lyceum World Challenge Expedition. The three week expedition saw the team traveling through the southern African countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zambia.
Space. Wide open space. This was the first impression given while driving through the Namibian desert on the way to the teams’ first acclimatization trek at Twyfelfontein, a UNESCO World Heritage site renowned for the spectacular carved rock art made by hunter-gatherers over 2000 years ago. The journey continued with a stop at Brandberg mountain for a second acclimatization trek to see rock paintings including the famous “White Lady”. Now that the team was more accustomed to their new environment it was time to set out for our main trek: four days covering 65km along the Skeleton Coast of Namibia.
The Lyceum Team was the first World Challenge group given permission to trek through the Cape Cross Fur Seal Nature Reserve by the Namibian Ministry for Environmental Tourism. As part of this arrangement the group picked up nearly 20 50-liter bags of trash that had washed up on the beaches of the Reserve. During the trek each team member carried four days worth of supplies and tents in backpacks weighing between 12-18kg! On the final day of the trek, the team stuck together and reached the end-point in unison.
Lyceum student Stanislav Ledovskikh writes, “The beginning of the trip offered us a chance to get used to living with budget limitations, sleeping in tents, cooking with trangia stoves and just to get used to each other. Then came a big blow, the trek. None of us were mentally prepared for what this would bring. For four days the ten of us took a journey along the beaches of the Skeleton Coast where our resolve was put to the test. Four days and three nights of walking through complete emptiness with nothing surrounding us but the sand, the sea and a lot of seal skeletons. Four days of sleeping in isolation, no showers and just each other to rely on. But no matter all the difficulties, we all made it.”
After a short reprieve, a several hour drive took the team to a rural community near Omatjete where we spent three days helping to re-paint a small primary school and playground, as well as build the foundation for a new covered cooking structure for the school. Although it did not seem to us that we had done so much, the local community was very appreciative of our help and time. On our last night the head of the school organized a special evening of food, speeches and songs with many members of the community in attendance. Student Claire Deiters presented the head with a Lyceum pennant and explained the ideas behind our school motto ‘Mens Sana in Corpore Sano’ with hopes to link it within their school as well.
A day of rest and relaxation in Swakopmund saw the students taking a boat cruise along the coast or sand boarding on the big sand dunes south of the city. Again the team was exposed to the vast openness of southern Africa as we traveled from the Namibian coast to the city of Maun in Botswana. From Maun, the team drifted through the reeds and water lilies of the Okawango Delta in local hand-made makoro canoes. While in the delta, local guides took the group on two walking safaris in hopes of seeing some of the magnificent local wildlife. Zebras abounded, wildebeests, springbok, warthogs, elephants, hippos and more all crossed our path along the way.
Finally, the expedition came to our final destination after crossing the Zambezi River into Zambia. A trip to the majestic Victoria Falls left all the team members soaked from the spray, but in awe of this natural wonder. The trip back to Switzerland left everyone in a daze, remembering all the things that we experienced over the last three weeks on our expedition to Africa…
