Thank you letter from Threlfall Primary School

A huge thank you to all you hard-working students for painting the Threlfall Primary School Hall.  Follow the link to our website expedition news page and click on the article to see a thank you letter from the Principal and all staff:  Outposts Open Expedition to South Africa.

STOP PRESS!! New pick up times ...

Calling all Expeditioner parents, guardians and those meeting the students from South Africa!!

The bus has only just left London - 9.00

New pick up times are:

Churchill: - 11.30
Taunton: - 12.30

Any questions please call the office 01823 451959

Welcome Home ... and keeping the dream alive!

Good Morning ... and welcome home to all our 'adventurers' who have now landed at Heathrow. 

We are awaiting news that they have boarded the coach and will update arrival times at drop-off points as soon as/if we have any updates to the times already given out. 

Help us to keep alive the dream and share in the memories and unforgettable experiences of  the expeditioners' special time in Africa! 

We hope you have enjoyed reading our updates. Don't forget to share your son's or daughter's photos, experiences, anecdotes, personal stories and experiences with us (via the blog, Facebook, with Fee, or directly into the Outposts' office).

Photo Competition: We run a competition each year for the best photos from our expeditions with a prize being awarded to the winners. Why not enter your best photos by sending them in to us? Winners will be chosen and announced in September. Good luck everyone!

Here's last year's winning South Africa photo:

A special message from Michael Kingscote, Managing Director, Outposts Ltd

Dear Parents and Guardians,

DD (my wife) and I set up Outposts Ltd 17 years ago; the aim for overseas expeditions was to:

·        Seek out overseas locations and projects, particularly in Africa and Nepal, that offer our clients an opportunity to know and understand the culture, ecology, history and true essence of the country.

·        Encourage the development of all who participate to learn about the wilderness environment in selected locations by providing a range of fascinating expeditions, courses and opportunities.

We wanted to enable young people to have the option to travel to far flung places to learn about others and themselves.

Thank you for allowing Outposts Ltd to take your children / wards away to South Africa and Nepal for the last three weeks. Since meeting the first of you at a parents presentation, nearly 22 months have passed and a long distance has been travelled.

Many of you heeded my advice and worked hard with your ‘Expeditioner’ (s) to raise the money for the expedition, getting them involved in the whole process of planning and earning; the reward of this process was the expedition, but the lessons learned have been witnessed by our leaders and will stay with your children forever.

You have read the Blogs from Nepal & South Africa and apart from some minor medical conditions, (parents have been advised when applicable), overall, both expeditions have been a success. The majority of Expeditioners have totally immersed themselves in the programmes, contributed with vigour and have learned a lot about themselves, other people, different cultures, environments and life. A few have struggled with their personal administration and hygiene, as a result they have had to be strongly guided; all will take away something worthwhile from the experience.

If all goes to plan, the expeditioners will arrive back at LHR on Monday, I shall be at Terminal 1 to greet the South Africa expeditioners and then, time allowing, will move to Terminal 4 for the Nepal arrival.

We would appreciate feedback, so please let us know what you and your expeditioner have to say …

Michael Kingscote

MJF Kingscote

Managing Director

Wonderful show put on for expeditioners as a thank you from the whole school. Cultural visit proves an eye-opener!

Expedition leader Tom sends his final report from South Africa: 

Project complete! The team spent the first part of the morning tidying up the inside of the building and generally getting it ready to handover to the school, by mid morning everything was in place and we awaited the arrival of the students. As soon as the break time bell sounded hundreds of students descended on the grassy area outside the hall, they put on a great show with acts including kindergarten rap, traditional dance and poetry. 

Traditional dancing

The whole school turned out to thank us

Formalities complete the team handed out numerous gifts brought over from home and all were very gratefully received. 

Newly painted blackboard put to good use

After a quick lunch we walked out to one of the homesteads for a cultural visit, a formal bowed greeting on approach had us welcomed with open arms. All traditional customs were observed with the boys sat on benches and the girls on the floor, our host talked through the family values, way of life and the making of Palm wine with members of the team trying a small sip of the interesting liquid!

With the last day of the project complete everyone took the opportunity to relax before a delicious fish supper and bed.

Tomorrow will see a relaxed day spent down on the white sands of the bay before our final night in Africa! - Tom 

Community Project Work nears completion with fabulous results. Teaching requires some improvisation!

Expedition leader Tom reports to Michael Kingscote:

Today: (Thursday): Progress at the school today went on at lightening speed! The outside and inside have both now been finished, the black boards have been re-painted, holes in the floor concreted and a great octopus mural is nearly complete on the end wall creatively designed and painted by Jenny and Louise. Tomorrow will see the finishing touches put in place before a hand over ceremony/concert at lunchtime. Josh, Matt, Harry and Jordan participated in a maths lesson this morning and once the equations became too taxing they proceeded to teach the pupils gangnam style that could be heard throughout the school and drew an audience to every window! Lucy, Nicola, Dani and Lydia started the day in a Zulu language class much to the students' amusement they couldn't understand a word, luckily the timetable changed later that morning. 

Great job Jenny and Louise!

Louise takes centre stage in refurbished classroom

Yesterday (Wednesday): Renovations continued at speed with the outside walls now compete, two coats of blue paint on the bottom half and the windows painted. The base coat has now also been finished inside in preparation for further coats and colours tomorrow. We continue to put Harry's height to good use on top of a step ladder reaching the higher parts of the building whilst Lina and Kate resembled smurfs by the end of the day by sporting large quantities of blue and white paint. Annabel and Aaron tried their hand at some basic maths, almost being thoroughly out done by the class in attendance. Louise and Jenny also spent time interacting and teaching with an older group, all four thoroughly enjoyed the experience. After finishing late afternoon everyone took the opportunity to get some washing done and put it out to dry in the breeze before one of Tommy's legendary beef stews and some fire side stories with me.

I'm pleased to report that those with tummy bugs are now well on the mend - so all's good at Kosi Bay. - Tom

Happy in their work - expeditioners put undercoat on outside

... and walls get an undercoat inside too. 

Inside painting is finished - looks smart!

Playing ball at breaktime

A bit of colour makes all the difference as the first coat of blue goes on.

Kosi Bay and Community Project Work begins

Expedition leader, Tom, reports from Kosi Bay:

Progress at the school has been outstanding. All worked like Trojans to scrub, scrape and generally clear the hall inside and out. After only a day the outside has had two coats and the windows have been sanded back and under coated. The building is bigger than originally thought and we will need more paint, I proposed we use the money originally earmarked for the Zulu village (not up and running) to buy enough paint to finish the job in full, this was met with a unanimous 'YES' vote. We finished at three and took a leisurely stroll to the estuary mouth to wash off some of the paint and admire the view (see our photo below). Spag Bol for supper and an early night. Tomorrow we begin the teaching phase in conjunction with continued renovations. I think the whole team have now had a chance to reflect on how lucky their own school life has been. There were some upset tummies for 12 hours or so following the Pongola River phase but other than that all is well in Kosi. - Tom

Expeditioners hard at work on Community Project

Hardworkers break for lunch on Community Project

Kosi Bay on the Indian Ocean - perfect for washing off the paint!

Sunset from Expeditioners' camp at Kosi Bay

Adventure, fun and lots of wildlife on the Pongola River

Report from Expedition Leader Tom sends report to Michael Kingscote: 

All well here (Monday), we were out snorkelling on the river when you rang.

After arriving at the Pongola dam around noon we were meet by Peter and his team, a quick bite of lunch and out onto the water. Two to a boat and the first obstacle was the weir, nearly all took the plunge with Josh and Camala becoming well acquainted with the fish after a fantastic splash.

Paddling on the Pongola

On down the river negotiating various rapids and white water, until we reached our overnight camp right on the bank of the river. A large fire burned to dry everyone off and a huge spread of BBQ meat, potatoes, salad and homemade bread had everyone stuffed before bed. The boys opted to sleep out under the stars round the fire and other than us getting a little damp in the dew all enjoyed it thoroughly. A leisurely morning started with some warm up games instigated by Nicola before we hit the water in blazing sun ( the first for a while). Stunning bird life along the way included fish eagles, green pigeon, egret, bee eaters and numerous others. White water and rapids resulted in Dani and I taking a dip whilst taking photos! A mid way swim and chill on the beach let everyone build up some energy before padding the last few km to camp.

The amazing sight of main camp situated on terraced levels of sand right on the waters edge was warmly greeted and after a large lunch, beach volley ball, fishing and sun bathing were the order of the day. Ellie P celebrated her birthday in style round the camp fire, presents and cards from family and a large cake cooked by our resident chef. 16 more took the opportunity to camp under the stars and after a morning of snorkelling we hit the road for Kosi!

Tom

Tom reports on ... Elephant Interaction, Bush Camps & Walking Trails

Expedition leader Tom sends a report from Saturday:

"Well ... off road minibus driving is something everyone should try! We're on the open road!

We set off from Umkhumbi on Thursday morning and after a short drive arrived at the Elephant interaction in blazing sun, everyone had the chance to get up close to Rambo (the 'Daddy') and Mum, Rachel, feeding Rachel copious amounts of horse nuts and feeling Rambo's tongue and tusks. A short journey then had us at the northern end of Abu Madi reserve, the bush camp took everyone by surprise with flushing toilets and paraffin shower! The group erected military style 3x5 canvas tents and then we headed out on an afternoon game walk with Dillion, Gareth and Ryan our new guides. Black rhino tracks were encountered but nothing seen, wildebeest, warthog and impala were enough to wet our appetite for one day.

The evening started smoothly with a starry sky, at 0400 the heavens erupted into thunder, lightning and torrential rain, the tents stood up well and no one got wet but the night watch had to evacuate to the main veranda after the fire died and the watch tower turned into an outdoor shower. Friday stayed wet from morning onwards, however after a full day out on the reserve the groups had seen white rhino at a distance of 40m, mongoose, wildebeest, zebra, eagle owl and tracked numerous black rhino. Although very wet and muddy everyone was in high spirits and thoroughly enjoyed mountains of steak and homemade sausages round the camp fire. On Saturday a final walk produced a jackal and a few other small game but the black rhino remained elusive as ever however Dillon reckoned we were within feet at some points. After striking camp we set off towards the Pongola River* and the next leg of the adventure! " - Tom

Memorable moments include:

• The girls creating a rain dance that proved very productive! 
• Ellie P finally realised Africa is South of the UK
• Matt found the lightning a little scary and huddled up close to the other boys 
• Danny was nearly flattened by a warthog living in an aardvark hole

Photos just in of walking trails! Pongola River Phase next: Kayaking over the BIG drop, setting up camp at the riverside … and fishing for Tiger Fish!

Michael Kingscote reports:-

Spoke to Tom Saturday morning. They had just completed the walking trail, which had been conducted in wet and overcast weather, nonetheless they saw white rhino, close up; many varieties of plains game, they tracked black rhino, but did not get close enough to see him / her!

The walking trail was described by Tom, expedition leader, as being: "superb, with plenty of game, much excitement, no other people and just wilderness".
The intention, muddy tracks dependent is to drive to Pongola for lunch and then set off on their paddling along the River Pongola. They will be out of touch until Monday morning. But, everyone is well, spirits are high and they are looking forward to the ‘next phase’! -  Michael

Photo taken by expeditioner on walking trail

Guide & Ranger Tommy prepares an African BBQ called a 'Braai'

Lots of excitement on walking trails

PONGOLA RIVER PHASE:

On arriving at the Pongola River the team would have found two-man canoes waiting for them on the Riverbank along with their guides. They will have been paired up and then have taken to the water!

All ready? Let's go!

There is a surprise in store ... where they will canoe over a weir with a 3 foot drop (from the screams and excitement you would think it was the Victoria Falls!) - always great fun and a sense of achievement for everyone! Especially those who manage not to capsize!

The 'BIG' Drop! The Weir on the Pongola River

They will make camp by the riverside for the first night - before continuing down the River to the Pongola River Camp for the second night. They will have enjoyed sitting round the campfire in the evening, sharing experiences and laughter ... and listening to the unique night sounds of Africa!

Beautiful, idyllic African River: The Pongola 

Pongola River Camp

Keeping warm ... and tea!

Sunset over Pongola River viewed from camp

Rhino & baby sighted on Game Drives ... more photos just in ... and now on walking trails!

A short update from expedition leader Tom:  

Wed: A superb day today! Started with a 0430 wake up call followed by a chilly open truck drive to the park. The early start however was well worthwhile, numerous species encountered, including: elephant, warthog, rhino, giraffe, buffalo, wild dog, bee eater, vulture, impala. 

On return from the park we had supper in the main lodge followed by an early night!

We head off on walking trails tomorrow.  

- Tom

Mother and baby photographed on today's game drive

Aaron tries out Hippo teeth on boat trip in St. Lucia Estuary earlier in the week

Expeditioners photo 

Great photos just received from expedition leader Tom ...

Our intrepid Expeditioners get up close and personal with the African wildlife ... 

Wow!

"What's all the fuss?"

Our transport.

Meryl enjoys some Cheetah Interaction

Morning Bush Walk

Very rare sighting - Wild Dog. One of only 454 left in the wild!

Hippos, Crocs, Buffalo, star-gazing ... and Warthog dissection make for exciting times in Africa!

Report received from expedition leader Tom:

Monday: Another fantastic day here in Africa! An early rise this morning was followed by a great boat trip round the St Lucia estuarine system*, hippo, crocs and numerous birds including the pied kingfisher and white pelican. Lunch at a local restaurant was followed by a bit of retail therapy in St. Lucia. The girls found a few necklaces whilst the boys got stuck into the biltong shop! We ventured out on a walking trail for a couple of hours encountering buffalo (the cantankerous old men of the bush due to their grumpy nature!), antelope, water buck and hippo, the whole group behaved flawlessly impressing both Tommy (our guide) and me! The crocodile centre put some 'flesh on the bones' of the croc sightings earlier in the day. Annabel reluctantly held a year old croc ... and enjoyed it! After trying to feed at least a few of the students to the waiting jaws we still left with a full bus.

After supper we took the team out on 'Bush Quiet Time' where each person sat for half an hour - in silence - with time for reflection, star-gazing and listening to the sounds of the African night. There were mixed reactions to this ... but everyone finished the night in high spirits.
 

Tuesday:  Another great day in Africa! Warthog dissection was eventful but all participated and no fainting, a quick dip in the pool before heading to a local market and the cheetah reserve where everyone had the chance to stroke a cheetah and interact with the Caracal Cat.

Wednesday: Early start tomorrow - up at 0530 for what we hope will be a very exciting game drive! - Tom

Note: Tom has tried to send more photos ... but unfortunately the internet connections are not good and we haven't received them yet ... will post new photos if/when we receive them). 

 

St Lucia Wetlands Reserve - Indian Ocean

Hippos in the St Lucia Estuary  as viewed from the boat

Need we say more ... the biggest population of hippos in South Africa is here in the St. Lucia Estuary.

St Lucia Town
- where the hippos have been known to walk down the main street at night on their way to and from the water.

Caracal at Cheetah & Cat Interaction Centre

... the spectacular African Southern Night Sky with the Milky Way clearly visible! 

and finally ... only in Africa! A sign you may find amusing ... or not! 

Tommy, the group's main ranger/guide at the Crocodile Centre

*Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park

South Africa's first Natural World Heritage Site and third largest park. Home to the country’s biggest population of hippopotamus, approximately 1,000 crocodiles and a wealth of plant and animal life. The park has 280km of near pristine coastline and comprises of 328,000 hectares of magnificent scenery. Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park encompasses an immense mosaic of habitats ranging from marine systems (coral reefs and beaches) and coastal forests (from salt and fresh water marshes to the open estuarine waters of Lake St Lucia itself from lush coastal plains to the drier woodland areas. There are over 500 different species of marine, wetland and forest birds. 

Up close and personal! Snakes, spiders and scorpions. Bush Walk and reflections round the campfire!

Expedition leader, Tom, shares with us some written thoughts and reflections from the guys as they sat round the campfire on Sunday evening:

"Since we've got here, we have many new, different views about our own lives. In the few days we have witnessed the poverty side of South Africa as well as the wealthy side. Seeing the way the people on the poverty side live can be so uplifting considering they have very little compared to what we have. Even a little wave can put a smile on their faces and then makes us mirror their happiness. This has impacted us greatly and has made us realise how much we take for granted back home and we will now respect (what we have) a lot more.

A photo taken on Sunday's Bush Walk

Recently we have visited a game reserve and witnessed wild animals in their natural habitat. The fact that we made the animal superior and respected the eco-system, has given us a more in-depth view on how important their existence is to us. A talk was given in the evening about poaching and the effects it will have on our heritage; this talk was so inspiring we want to spread the word." 

Up close ... and personal - expeditioner's photo

 Michael Kingscote reports:

Sunday was wet! In the morning Anton* gave the group a morning of instruction on snakes, scorpions and spiders (see expeditioner's snake photo above). 

Becky J, whilst shaking with anxiety, managed to hold many varieties in her hand and overcame her fears.

In the afternoon they went for a long bush walk and saw giraffe, warthog, grey duiker and zebra (see expeditioner's photo above). It was most enjoyable, despite the rain.

Today, Monday, it is off to St Lucia for a boat trip up the estuary to see hippos, crocs, perhaps an African Fish Eagle and other wildlife.

On a lighter note: Harry D, enthusiastically, challenged Tommy (the Guide) to a chilli eating competition … and lost! It was also Leader Tom’s birthday on Sunday and he was fêted accordingly!

*Anton and Emma Roberts are the owners of Umkhumbi Lodge with a passion for wildlife and conservation. Anton is a world-renowned expert on snakes and other reptiles and has been a guide and logistics expert for TV series’ such as Venom Hunter. At Umkhumbi Anton has a Gaboon adder breeding project, two king cobras, chameleons,  other reptiles, frogs, mantids (praying mantis), spiders and scorpions.

Umkhumbi has an abundance of birdlife and small game like nyala, grey duiker, red duiker and rare suni. Evening visits by bushbabies and genets are frequent in the camp. 

Now at St Lucia Wetlands Park and Albizia Camp at Umkhumbi Lodge ... ready to start their environmental awareness course

Michael Kingscote reports having just spoken with expedition leader Tom: 

Friday was the day that they visited Rorke’s Drift and learned about the 2nd/ 24th Foot’s gallant defeat of the Zulus and the awarding of 11 VC’s. This was an emotional day as the story comes alive when told on the actual battlefield site. Thereafter they went to visit the Bead Basket Factory and had a major Braai in the evening followed by 'Reggie's infamous Fireball hockey'. 

Saturday was a transfer day from the Zulu Battlefields to the St Lucia wetlands Park and Albizia Camp at Umkhumbi Lodge. Arriving just before dinner they settled in and are now preparing for their Environmental Awareness Course (EAC).

This morning the sun is shining, although it did rain in the night. The boys in the group were up well before Tommy (their very experienced and knowledgeable guide) and looking forward to starting their course.

Breakfast on first morning at Umkhumbi Lodge

Camp accommodation at Umkhumbi Lodge

The Lodge at Umkhumbi

View from the balcony of Umkhumbi Lodge