Parktown Girls High School - TPA
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TPA - EXPEDITION |
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Client: |
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Venue: |
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Area: |
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Date: |
30 September – |
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Delegates: |
Jasmina Govind |
Cassady Morris (bronze) |
Josie Everatt (bronze) |
Yumna Bham |
Sonal Vanmali |
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Wasifah Noorbhai |
Ketsepame Mataboge |
Janita Ramanlal |
Karishma Lukman |
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Facilitators/Guides: |
1) Andre Horn 2) |
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Purpose / Outcome |
1) Explore the Magaliesberg Biosphere, and learn to move around in it. 2) To complete their Bronze and Silver exploration within the given time allocated |
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Route: |
The Area: The Magaliesberg are among the oldest mountains in the world, almost 100 times older than Everest. They stretch for 120km from Bronkhorstspruit Dam east of With its variety of habitats, the Magaliesberg provides the ideal setting for over 130 species of trees and a magnificent collection of flowers, ferns, grasses and fungi. The activity: Day 1- On arrival the participants were thrown in the deep end. Camp craft was the first on the list. Tents were pitched, bags were packed and unpacked. And soon their temporary home, away from home was set. The girls were then engaged in an orienteering briefing. What is orienteering? How do we do it? Where are you now? Where do you need to go? And how are you going to get there? All questions that formed part of the learning. Through the class the girls even managed to relate the process of orienteering to everyday life, as part of goal setting. Day 2-The morning started very early for the participants. With a compass in hand, clip board and whistle, off they went into the landscape to start the Orienteering. It was a day hike in its own, to get to the start. Each point was named quite creatively, stimulating all senses in finding the correct spot- this was called upon when the compass deceived them a bit. With some guidance from the facilitators, everyone was back on track, looking for their next point. After orienteering is was a long hike to the top of the summit (+/- 2000m above sea level). On our way down we stopped at the Western pools for a quick cool down. Day 3-On the last day we woke up in pouring rain. Miserable. As per usual, we cooked, had breakfast, and got ready for the day- all in our rain suits. None of the other campers moved. We were the only brave and determined group to set out into the field. Last night the participants had to do research on the plants and tree species of the Magaliesberg. They used the book written by Vincent Carruthers: The Magaliesberg as their guide. Today they had to lead the nature study, and identify and explore a given list of plants and trees. It was like the orienteering on the first day all over. Instead of looking for the marked points, they were looking for flora, camouflaged in the field. After exploring the flora of the area, they had to discover the geology of the biosphere. We hike to the Rock Gardens, to view the different types of rock formations found in the area. The last three days of exploring rock formation, terrain, flora and weather, gave the participants a clear view of what the Magaliesberg biosphere is.
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Incidents: |
Sonal Vanmali Sprained her ankle on the second day. It was treated with the necessary first aid, and she continued with her activity. On the second evening she also experience mild hyper ventilation. Again it was quickly managed by the facilitators. Within 30 min, she was okay, and continued with the evening activities. |
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General: |
I believe in the value of Experiential learning, and I believe in the power of the wilderness. You could, in only two days, see what effect the environment had on the participants. If we can facilitate life-long change within the participants, over a constant time, one would reach great outcomes. This is where the Presidents Award programme is so strong. |
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