TRIPS & EXCURSIONS
2021 – 22
NAMIBIA 2022
We set off on the 11th of July 2022 to Namibia and returned on the 27th of July 2022 . Our epic adventure began with the outward journey , which involved two flights and a nine-hour stopover in Frankfurt airport .
After landing in Namibia , we were introduced to our bus driver , William , who drove us to our first stop , Windhoek , to collect supplies for the project and provisions for the next few days . We were quickly on our way again and were pleased to arrive at our home for the night , the Hedger Game Lodge , where we relaxed , went swimming and prepared ourselves for the journey ahead .
The next morning , we set off on a fourhour bus journey and arrived at our destination , The Jesus Omrise Omuwa Kindergarten , which is located in the Omaruru region of Namibia . Our mission was to re-paint the interior and exterior of the school building and construct playground equipment . The next four days were a flurry of success as we achieved everything we set out to do .
On our final day at the kindergarten , we had the pleasure of meeting the children who attended the nursery . We had great fun watching them play on the new equipment and showing them their newly renovated building . They especially liked the murals ; with a favourite being the rainbow .
Later that day , we headed to the nearby prep school where the children challenged us to a game of netball and football . We were winning the game until Sophia , the Head teacher from the kindergarten , decided to play ; she helped the prep school team to a very convincing win ! Unfortunately , we were no match for the football team either who beat us 8-0 ! After the games , we all went back to the kindergarten to have one final thank you and a massive , tasty meal .
The following day , we travelled to the Africat Game Reserve , which is located in the Okonjima region . On arrival , we were given a tour of the reserve , received an education in their practices and ethics and witnessed a pride of lions in a closed off area in the reserve . Activities also included a mountain trail to experience and learn about the Namibian landscape and open top game drives , where we saw animals in their natural habitats . The days at Africat absolutely flew by and we were all very sad to be leaving it behind .
Our last couple of days were spent at the Etosha National Park where we observed elephants , rhinos and giraffes at the watering hole . We also went on long game drives in both an open top truck and our large truck . It was over all too soon though and we had to head back to Windhoek to begin preparing for the return journey home .
We spent our final night back at the Hedger Game Lodge . We enjoyed a celebration meal at Joe ’ s Restaurant and Grill where some of us tried exotic game meat . We used this time to reflect on what we had witnessed , our achievements and the journey we had all come on together .
For our final day in Namibia , we went out shopping in Windhoek and then said our goodbyes to William before heading to the airport for the journey home which turned out to be a lot longer than we had anticipated ! Due to industrial action in Germany , a trip that should have taken us 15 hours , ended up taking nearly 30 hours and brought a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘ trains , planes and automobiles ’ as we had to navigate several forms of transport to finally land in the UK .
The team at Schools Worldwide , our travel company , deserve a thank you as they managed to put together an alternative plan to get us home … tired but happy and safe !
72 THE POCKLINGTONIAN