From Fieldbase to project sites - a journey!

Jim announced the project groupings on Sunday, or Alpha groups as we call them on Raleigh, so everyone knew quite early where they would be going for phase 1. Alpha 1 is heading to Oshana School in the north of Namibia, close to the Angolan border and includes Danielle Jackson, Natasha Davidson, Chi Hung, Kwai Wai, Jamel Harvey, James Burdett, Mairi Cunningham, Rhosyn Harris, Mathew Laband, Nikolaj Biggar, Charmillar Kaaheke and Nambuli Usiku. The Project Managers are Kim, Caz and Pete.

Alpha 2 is going down to the Sperrgebiet, or Diamond Area 1 as it is known locally for the first environmental project. The group includes Luke Young, Breeze Harker, Gavin Prow, Man Chun, Skakira Jones, Rachel Withers, Joseph Day, Nick Duke, Dominic Elwell, Sophie Fisher, Jessica Hague, Veripi Kangootain and Eustacia Kamusuvise. The Project Managers are Dave, Tom and Fionna.

Alpha 3 is the trek group for phase 1. They will be trekking along the dry river bed of the Ugab river, around the Brandberg mountain and Messim crater before finishing at the Atlantic Ocean. The trekkers are Andrew Stevenson, Paul Nisbet, Wendy McLeish, Yung Pang, Erik Simmons, Angharad Jones, Alexander Coghlan, Charlotte Green, George Kinloch, Megan Lloyd and Christophine Karomuini. The trek leaders are Andy, Helen and Tim.

Alpha 4 will be heading five hours north of Windhoek to Otavi where they will be building a playground. The groups consists of Alistair Scott, Laura Dey, Michelle Freel, Wing-Sze Yam, Craig Harding, Melvin Simons, Jack Warren, Rebecca Cubitt, Thomas Gourlay, Ross Stewart, Victoria Middleditch, Christopher Murphy, Virginia Muudjuu and Rejoice Kaudorozu. The Project Managers are Rob, Charlie and Lottie.

Everyone is very excited about their projects and can’t wait to get started. They spent all day yesterday packing up three weeks worth of food and equipment and got up at 4.30am this morning to deploy. Four buses left shortly after 6am, just as the sun came up and we have since heard that Alpha 3 and 4 have arrived safely at their destinations and that Alpha 1 and 2 have made it to their campsites before completing their journeys tomorrow.

The participants have arrived!!

All of the participants for the ten week expedition arrived safely on Saturday morning and after a quick cup of tea and a biscuit (we thought we’d be nice seeing as it was their first morning!) they got straight into training and setting up camp in their groups. Everyone has been learning how to use HF radios, build a fire, use tools safely, mix concrete and cook for fifteen people on a camp fire. The cooking has actually been very impressive, we definitely have some budding Jamie Olivers and Nigella Lawsons on the expedition, for which the rest of us are extremely grateful!

Everyone has done a practice trek, which involved packing a full rucksack and walking in groups up the hill beyond Fieldbase, past the Gingerbread House and to the rather spectacular viewpoint over Windhoek. There have also been lots of team building games and energizers; you really know that you are on a Raleigh expedition when ‘Giants, Wizards and Dwarves’, ‘Amebas and Monkeys’ and penguin races are the order of the day.

Everyone is in really high spirits and making new friends very quickly. The Fieldbase shop is open everyday selling drinks, chocolate and crisps, which is probably helping people with the early mornings and cold nights!

Photos from Etosha

Photos taken in Etosha National Park during Caz, Rob, Charlie and Pete's project planning visits.