Nomad: Africa Diary
The Coopers' Company and Coborn School
NOMAD organises a four week tour of Africa, including a community project, for sixth form pupils from The Coopers' Company and Coborn School.
At NOMAD we have always tried to accommodate a wide variety of travellers’ requests in addition to running our own set guided tours.
In 2004 we expanded operations into a new area when one of our previous clients asked us to organise and guide a group of pupils from the school where he taught. When the publicity went out the demand was fantastic, so to avoid too much disappointment we decided on two groups, leaving U.K. one week apart.
The itinerary visited the desert area at Sesriem, Swakopmund, Cape Cross seal colony, Twyfelfontein, Waterberg Plateau, Etosha National Park and Khaudom National Park, before returning to Windhoek.
This was an action packed trip. At Sesriem we climbed the dunes for stunning views of the desert, before exploring them from a very different perspective whilst sand boarding in Swakopmund. At Twyfelfontein a local singing group entertained us and students joined in traditional dance. Waterberg provided the opportunity to undertake the Wilderness Trail. Isolated on the top of the plateau for four nights we experienced tracking rhino, the solitude of the wilderness and the challenge of both open topped vehicles and open topped ablutions. Etosha did not disappoint with sightings of lion and aardwolf and congregations of flamingo on the eastern edges of the pan.
During the two years leading up to the tour students had raised money to enable them to carry out a project in Namibia. This project was based in the bushman area to the north of the country. Visiting the bushman villages allowed students to understand the way of life and skills of these people. The village men organised demonstrations of fire making and showed students how to construct poison arrows for hunting, whilst the women demonstrated how to make bead jewellery. Students were also able to visit a local school and meet the teacher. The project that the students carried out was based in Khaudom. Here they constructed new road signs and disguised the game hides with animal skin camouflage so that they would blend more sympathetically with the surrounding bush.
Living under canvas in the bush, close to the wildlife, provided many unforgettable experiences for the students and an added bonus was the opportunity to develop their cooking skills before moving on to university.
A new group of students will undertake a second Africa tour in 2006. This time our route will be from Windhoek through to Livingstone, visiting Waterberg, Etosha, Popa Falls, Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park and finishing in Livingstone. The project will be based in the Sinde area of Livingstone, where we intend to enable a new school to be built. If you would like any further information about this project or you would like us to arrange tours for your school or group please contact us.
You can find images from the Coopers School trip on their website http://www.namibia2004.co.uk
At NOMAD we have always tried to accommodate a wide variety of travellers’ requests in addition to running our own set guided tours.
In 2004 we expanded operations into a new area when one of our previous clients asked us to organise and guide a group of pupils from the school where he taught. When the publicity went out the demand was fantastic, so to avoid too much disappointment we decided on two groups, leaving U.K. one week apart.
The itinerary visited the desert area at Sesriem, Swakopmund, Cape Cross seal colony, Twyfelfontein, Waterberg Plateau, Etosha National Park and Khaudom National Park, before returning to Windhoek.
This was an action packed trip. At Sesriem we climbed the dunes for stunning views of the desert, before exploring them from a very different perspective whilst sand boarding in Swakopmund. At Twyfelfontein a local singing group entertained us and students joined in traditional dance. Waterberg provided the opportunity to undertake the Wilderness Trail. Isolated on the top of the plateau for four nights we experienced tracking rhino, the solitude of the wilderness and the challenge of both open topped vehicles and open topped ablutions. Etosha did not disappoint with sightings of lion and aardwolf and congregations of flamingo on the eastern edges of the pan.
During the two years leading up to the tour students had raised money to enable them to carry out a project in Namibia. This project was based in the bushman area to the north of the country. Visiting the bushman villages allowed students to understand the way of life and skills of these people. The village men organised demonstrations of fire making and showed students how to construct poison arrows for hunting, whilst the women demonstrated how to make bead jewellery. Students were also able to visit a local school and meet the teacher. The project that the students carried out was based in Khaudom. Here they constructed new road signs and disguised the game hides with animal skin camouflage so that they would blend more sympathetically with the surrounding bush.
Living under canvas in the bush, close to the wildlife, provided many unforgettable experiences for the students and an added bonus was the opportunity to develop their cooking skills before moving on to university.
A new group of students will undertake a second Africa tour in 2006. This time our route will be from Windhoek through to Livingstone, visiting Waterberg, Etosha, Popa Falls, Okavango Delta, Chobe National Park and finishing in Livingstone. The project will be based in the Sinde area of Livingstone, where we intend to enable a new school to be built. If you would like any further information about this project or you would like us to arrange tours for your school or group please contact us.
You can find images from the Coopers School trip on their website http://www.namibia2004.co.uk
posted by Nomad at 2:18 PM
