Page 130 - JPGS Magazine 2018-2019

TRIP TO SOUTH AFRICA

The amazing journey to the home of the “Rainbow
nation” began on Valentine’s Day 2019. On arriving in
Durban South Africa, our first glimpse of this beautiful,
culturally diverse nation was the Zulu tribal village.
What a plethora of tribal sounds, beating of drums,
vibrant costumes and dance whilst surrounded by the
majestic thousand hills. For many of the students (and
myself) it was the first time that we visited this country,
rich in culture and breath-taking landscapes.
We then meandered to the Umgeni Valley Nature
Reserve where we were greeted by the friendly zebras
and the most docile wildebeest. Our 3 days were spent
engaging in team building exercise, leadership ventures;
trips to the Nelson Mandela Capture site and Howick
Falls. The Biology students set up camp and went about
sampling various species of plants and conducting
experiments on various environmental factors. A part of
the tiring itinerary, we got to take moonlit hikes in the
lush valley, go sliding down a natural water slide and
enjoy sumptuous South African cuisine. The highlight
had to be the Safari ride through the Tala Game Reserve
and zip lining for 2km through a Jungle.

Searching for aquatic organisms on the rocky shores of
Treasure beach proved to highly competitive and fun
filled. The students learnt a lot about the ocean eco-systems
at WESSA Treasure Beach and were sad to leave the wild
and natural beauty of WESSA.

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