A few final images...

Me at work - pink top...

The whole team - and the best road sign I've ever seen!

The Final Day!

We spent our last night in Namibia in relative luxury - although I did miss my tent a little (Ashley - you know the reason why!!). Serg was extremely generous and provided numerous bottles of champagne before the meal. But then he did point out that as a city banker, he was just spending our money which he'd received in bonuses in the past!! We had a wonderful meal all together and all stayed up well past what had become our normal 9pm bedtime. We were also treated to a lie in the following morning as we didn't need to leave until 9.30am. Most of us were up early and at breakfast for 7.30am when it started. Old habits die hard!

We were then driven an hour or so to a private game reserve where we jumped on a couple of jeeps for our mini safari. We were extremely lucky to see lots of wildlife - some of which I will confess to not remembering the names.

We started with a couple of crocodiles, before we moved on to what I really wanted to see; White Rhino and Giraffe. I was also fortunate enough to touch the horn of one of the Rhino's who came round the back of our vehicle.

We didn't see any more elephants, but after our intimate experience with them the previous morning, I'm not sure anything else could have compared. We also didn't see any Lion's - but I'm going to save that until next time I visit Africa.

After the game drive, we had lunch at the superb lodge on site (with Warthog grazing on the lawns!). We then drove to Windhoek to visit a wood market and purchase a few souvenirs en route to the airport. I didn't really like Windhoek and hated being back in the bustle of the city. I was much happier when out in my tent, getting up every morning to go and do some physical activity, before retiring around the camp fire each evening. I didn't miss TV, Music, the Internet or any of the technology that the modern day provides us.

Very soon we were on our way to the airport, and had checked in. We said some goodbyes to a few of our number who had quite sensibly arranged to stay on in Namibia and explore a little further. Whilst feeling a little jealous, the whole experience for me had centred around the team and the project and I would have felt a little strange staying in Namibia without this support network around me. So - it was farewell to Namibia - hello cold and hectic Heathrow!

As for my next adventure - watch this space...!

Wednesday 7th October

We had until 11.20am (when the kids have their lunch break) to get the kitchen finished. It was a real "ground force" effort and we worked flat out until the very last minute. The roof and floor had been completed, but we needed to get the sides on, finish fastening the roof ties, install a sink and build a step. We took the "divide and conquer" approach with people quickly sorting themselves out into teams to tackle each element. The roof team continued from the previous day, and the team who had been putting the side beams on took on the role of cladding the side. The role of plumbing in the sink was not one that Faan, our local guide wanted to risk giving to anyone - so he took on this role himself!! We had no major problem with that - and the plumbing arrangements are a little different to the way we work in the UK.

I worked with the team who had to back fill trenches, build shuttering for the step, mixing concrete for the step and the top of the French train. It was actually an extremely hot day and by 9am it was reaching temperatures that we had only been used to in the afternoon. Our work was a little exposed and I missed the shade of the kitchen. There was then lots of running around, tidying up, putting the stoves back in place and getting it ready for inspection by the headmaster and a few of the other teachers and elders of the local community.

I'm pleased to say that - we did it! And we only ran over by 2 minutes! I know what you're thinking; that isn't a kitchen - and how come it took 3.5 days to build that?! Trust me - it was hard graft and something that we feel confident will still be standing in 10 years time and feeding children with their main - and sometimes only - meal of the day.

The school were delighted and the headteacher made some wonderful comments at the presentation ceremony, pointing out to the children that we had achieved so much, but only done this through working as a team. He went on to remind the children how team work is vital. He was spot on! We had worked extremely well as a team and without that, I don't think we could have left as strong a legacy as we had. We also handed over all the gifts we had brought with us to the headmaster and teachers so that they could be handed out fairly and equally to the children. We had 3 large bin bags of clothing, books, pencils, sports equipment that I know will be put to extremely good use.

Unfortunately, our trip was all too soon over and we had to leave the school to get our coach, which was some way down the road, to travel back towards Windhoek and our lodge for the night. We had a great trip out on the back of the "bucky" and waved a very sad farewell to the children and teachers we had set out to help and who had welcomed us so warmly to their community.

Visitors in the Night!

We had gone to bed fairly early (9pm), and a few were still sat round the campfire when shouts went around, "Everyone - get out of your tents now! Get round the fire! Elephants in camp!" I hadn't quite got into my sleeping bag as I'd been packing ready to leave tomorrow. I threw on a fleece and some trainers and we all sat quietly round the campfire, waiting for instructions. Two of the cooks had seen the elephants in the trees right next to our camp. They were 20 meters away!! We could hear trees breaking and rustling, and I was extremely concerned about what to expect! Our guide briefed us on what we had to do. Basically, we were told to get into our tents and to stay there. The elephants were expected to walk through the camp, but wouldn't stampede or tread on us, and in fact would be very gentle. If we need to use the toilet in the night (definitely wasn't going to risk that!) we were told to get out of our tents slowly, look around and if the area was clear, move quietly and slowly. At that point - the small generator that provided some light in camp at night went off - and we were plunged into darkness! So - head torch went on and we scampered off to our tents.

I then lay in my tent and listened to the elephants munching on the trees all around us. I stuck my head out of the tent to try and watch, but could only see shadows and hear the deep rumbling that they make when talking to each other. After an hour or so, it seemed to go quiet and I drifted off to sleep.

However, at about 5am I woke to hear the same, fairly loud munching, tree breaking noise. I was up at 6am, but camp seemed quiet. And then - I discovered why. Half a dozen of the team were stood at the perimeter of camp watching the family of 9 elephants quietly grazing just meters from our tents. The Bull elephant was enormous and there was also a baby that was just a few months old. I was amazed at how gentle they were. They knew we were there watching them, and they just continued grazing, reaching up with their trunks high into the trees to get the best bits before eating, and watching us, watching them.

Unfortunately it was still quite dark so photo's were difficult. But I did manage to get a shot of them crossing the riverbed when they left us for pastures new at around 7am. What a start to our last day on site!

Tuesday 6th October

Now we were back up to a full strength team, it was all systems go to catch up on some lost time. The aim of today was to get the floor completely laid and the roof on the building. We worked really hard and managed to achieve this - but not without huge effort from everyone shift large amounts of sand and concrete. It was hot and hard work, so we worked in shifts pushing large wheelbarrows of sand, mixing concrete - and then moving this too, which was incredibly heavy. The other key ingredient was water - and lots of it. This meant long trips to the tap, filling the buckets and walking back to the concrete mixer. However, this activity did allow us to interact with the kids who were now all back in school (Monday was a teacher training day) who tended to congregate around the one working tap in the school.

The kids aged from 4 years old to around 13. The older kids weren't really too interested in talking, but the younger kids loved to sit and play and giggle at how old we were. I was most depressed when they always seemed to guess my age - but be much below many of the others!! Maybe it was because I had that air of authority about me - not!!

We also managed to get some of the side struts on the school before having a quick, but very cold shower under the basic shower facilities in the girls washing facilities. These were really needed as we were caked in concrete and sand dust.

We the returned to camp for what was our last night under canvas. I couldn't believe how quickly it had all come about and was definitely ready for a few nights more. One of the other trip members (coincidentally also a facilities manager) had his 50th Birthday so we were treated to a BBQ over the fire - and a small cup of some very drinkable sparkling wine.

We were then given some very exciting news. We were told that the Elephants were in the area and had been spotted approx 1km away - and that there was a very good chance that they may come into the area around our camp overnight, as they like the seed pods off one of the trees which was in the centre of our camp. They had ripened in the time that we had been there and were now falling to the ground...fingers crossed!!

Monday 5th October

What a way to spend a Monday morning! A requirement was needed for a few tonne of aggregate for the school and 6 of us volunteered to be dropped off at a small quarry area to shift the stone - by hand! However, with the views that we had, Springboc skipping around, we weren't complaining about an hours hard graft in the relative cool of the morning (at 7.30am)

We had been told that the Monday was going to be an extremely tough day. The aim was to get the floor completely finished and the roof on. However, disaster struck late morning and one of the team had quite a nasty accident which resulted in a dislocated elbow. We have a Dr with us at all the times on these projects and they were swiftly dispatched in the "bucky" for a 2hr drive to the nearest hospital. We were all really concerned, especially as the casualty had been quite an integral part of the team. We also were then restricted to less risky activities whilst we had no Dr on site with us. However, un-deterred, we undertook as much as physically possible and actually managed to get quite a lot done. The floor was prepared and trenches were dug for water and drainage, and whilst we weren't meant to use ladders, we started on the roof!

A little later that evening, we were taken for a quick drive in the old military truck to go and watch the sun set. It was absolutely spectacular, topped off nicely with a cold can of beer. When we got back to camp that night, we were amazed to see our colleague and the Dr back already. Fortunately they had managed to pop back in her elbow, and whilst she was on light duties she stayed with us for the rest of the trip doing really useful things like making sure we had our hard hats on and keeping the kids away from the tools.

Sunday 4th October

We were up at 6am with breakfast ready at 6.30am. Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. I’m a little fussy with food, so stuck to eggs and toast, with lots of black coffee to try and re-hydrate from what was a surprisingly warm night. We then had time to get plenty of water (treated with iodine in my case) ready for the warm, hard day we had ahead. We left camp at around 7.15am for the short walk up to the village and the school.
Our camp was in a small clearing to one side of a dried up river bed. The river bed was extremely sandy, but was the most direct route to the project site. We were surprised to hear that the river was actually running, but a meter below the surface. It was possible to dig down 50cm or so and find water, and it was obvious that this has been done in a few spots.

As it was a Sunday, the kids weren’t in school so it was quite strange walking through the empty school, with just a few goats wandering around the playground. The school has clearly benefited from other projects in the past and whilst extremely basic, was in fairly good shape. However, the kitchen which is used to make meals for the 200 day pupils was in a major state of disrepair and this was to be our project for the next 3.5 days.

The first thing we had to do was to carefully dismantle the existing structure as we wanted to reuse as much as it as possible or let the local community have whatever we didn’t need. Building materials were very scarce and extremely valuable in this environment. Within an hour, the old building was neatly stacked to one side and we were starting to break out the remaining concrete and excavate the base of the wooden pillars.

The aim of the first day was to have done all the ground work and form the basic structure to the new building. With everyone pitching in and pulling their weight, this was comfortably achieved even in the 35 degree heat that we would have to get used too.

Saturday 3rd October

Arriving at Windhoek was really quite strange. The plane started to descend but rather than seeing a town or city on our way down – there was nothing! It was like we were about to land in the middle of the desert. The airport consisted of a small terminal building that has one international flight per day and several internal flights within Africa. No need for an air bridge or bus to the terminal. A short walk and we were in the chaos that was passport control. It took over 45 minutes to clear with some very officious staff struggling to understand that we were camping and didn’t have a fixed address to give them. We managed to explain ourselves and were let through to collect our bags, meet Faan (our wonderful local guide, mentor and project manager) and jump on the bus to be on our way.

We quickly realised that timings don’t really mean much in Africa. A 5hr journey turned out to be much closer to 7hrs but it was a great opportunity to see the country – and the wildlife! On the drive from the airport to Windhoek we saw several troops of baboons on the side of the road. It also became clear that the airport was a good 40 minute drive outside Windhoek. Windhoek was a strange place. It was quite modern and didn’t seem to have many original buildings. I was also amazed by the vibrant purple and pink trees that they had – and even more confused by the road names. At one point we turned on to Nelson Mandela drive – which led immediately off Robert Mugabe Drive! Two names you don’t immediately put side by side.

I was immediately struck by the beauty of Namibia, with its mix of mountains, desert, wildlife and vegetation. It was very warm, but we had all the windows open on the bus which allowed a nice breeze and kept us cool. We saw more baboons and loads of termite mounds. At one point there was a huge baboon sat on top of a termite mind, however we were travelling too fast to take photo’s – and clearly this sight was nothing new for the driver as he didn’t seem to think it was anything worth slowing down for. However, the tarmac roads dried up quite quickly and we were soon on hard packed gravel roads. These were a little bumpy but generally in very good shape.

After a stop at Omararu for a “rock shandy” and the use of the most immaculate toilet on the entire trip, we were finally dropped on the side of a sandy track, where the bus could go no further. Fortunately it was only a short walk into camp and our large bags were put on the back of the “Bucky” and driven to camp for us. The Bucky is basically an open top landrover and we all had the experience of riding in the back at some point during the week – which was a real thrill.

We arrived in camp at around 5pm, but this was too late for us to visit the project site, as the sun goes down at around 6.30pm. We were therefore given an hour to sort ourselves out in our tents before having dinner and settling down for the night. We were lucky enough to have a tent each on this trip as they weren’t very large. I’ve slept in a lot of tents, but never one that has had an open mesh at the top which meant that it was possible to lie in your sleeping bag at night and look up at the stars. With no light pollution and a full moon, this was a fantastic way to go to sleep – and after travelling for over 24hrs, an early night was definitely on the cards.

Friday 2nd October

We were due to all meet at Terminal 5 at 13.45 on Friday afternoon so we could check all our bags in together. We had been asked to not exceed more than 15kg on our baggage allowance so that the emergency and med kit could be checked in as part of our allowance. All went smoothly and we were able to check all our bags in direct to Namibia which bearing in mind we had to change at Frankfurt and change from BA to Air Namibia was good news indeed! My hand luggage was pretty heavy though as I’d put all the school books in my rucksack just to make sure I could get them through OK. I also had a load of tennis balls (thanks Carol) but had put these in my main bag as they were nice and light.
What then followed was a bit of time getting to know the others on our trip whilst we had time waiting time in Heathrow, and then Frankfurt. There were 18 of us in total, with Sid our trip leader and Sian, the Dr bringing us up to a total of 20. The journey consisted of a short hop over to Frankfurt, followed by a 10hr flight down to Windhoek, arriving at 9am in the morning on 3rd. The journey was fairly uneventful with most of us managing a fair amount of sleep, ready for the adventure ahead.

Tomorrow!

We're off tomorrow! I am really looking forward to the trip and am so ready for it! My fundraising has really picked up and Carol at work has dropped in some tennis balls for me to take, which I'm really grateful for. Apparently we will be working on the school kitchen as part of our project, which sounds really worthwhile.

I was sent the picture in this blog yesterday. I'm fairly sure there are no lions where we're going to - but need to try and avoid those late night trips to the "long drop" whilst camping in the bush!!

So - this will be my last post until I'm back, where I'll be telling you all about it! Can't believe the time has now come. Really excited! 'Till next time......