Getting worse is always possible
There is not so much to report, so we summarize weeks 3 and 4 of our ‘Africa on foot’ adventure. The tense situation in the camp has not eased as we would have wished. It has become worse.
Many of the year students had to make important phone calls. For example, to book flights. Others still had to clarify things regarding their Lodge Placements. This is a 6-month internship that is completed after a successful examination.
Network failure
The South African mobile network used by most, had problems. It was not available for almost a week. The camp management was forbidden by e-mail to allow the participants to use the local Internet access or the telephones. In addition to the still physically high stress, there was now the mental stress. Mails could not be answered and all communication failed.
We helped as far as we could. Our Botswana network offered at least a 2G connection which allowed communication via Whatsapp. However, we could not provide internet access either. Whenever a message came in, Guido walked around and brought his phone to the people concerned. They could respond promptly.
Exams and a private bush walk
Since many exams were coming up in the third week – which neither of us were taking part in – we took the opportunity of a ‘private walk’ – both of us went off on our own with a guide. What a huge difference to the other walks with a total of 12 people.
The last week was all about the last practical exams – an external examiner was at the camp and accompanied all examinees on a walk and judged their behavior as a backup guide.
In addition to the above-mentioned walks, there was a regular walk for the remaining participants at the same time with the well-known and highly esteemed instructors. We gratefully accepted this opportunity. At this point our bodies were really exhausted.
We met quite wonderful people and will see some of them again after our ‘Africa on foot’-Adventure. Hopefully two of them in the next weeks on a little road trip in Zimbabwe – we will report – and another two in Switzerland. If it wasn’t for that company, this course would have been a success all around.
