Blog written by Seb and Nora

Our final full day of the expedition. The day started early at Moose’s house after an awesome night scouting for illegal abalone poachers in Scarborough. We packed up and headed down to the beach again for a beach cleanup; this beach was actually relatively clean, speaking from experience I know that any beach in Asia would have far more rubbish on it. We swept the beach in less than two hours and headed back to PANGAEA for a pit stop and refuel.

Our next activity for the day was with the Laureus Foundation, a surfing session with township kids in Muisenberg. Before we actually started surfing we played touch rugby with two very biased groups (most of us had no idea what to do).

When the kids arrived we started with some exercises for surfing which were supposed to teach the kids teambuilding. Finally we paired up and took turns trying to catch waves, mostly falling flat on our faces. Although we weren’t successful in surfing and we didn’t have so much time, it was great fun and the water was warmer than the air so when it was time to get out none of us wanted to. Fortunately we warmed up with some hot chocolate and a good meal…

Now we are back on the boat. All that is left to do is write blogs, do some water testing and then we will be able to enjoy the last evening together… why does it have to end?

Blog witten by Nadja

Shark diving tomorrow!! To get there was a long drive away however, so we drove there on the 29th and then spent the night. On the way we stopped and had a look at an African penguin colony. We managed to loose each other afterwards so it took us forever to get to the camping spot, but once we finally all arrived we put up our tents and then went and found some cliffs to dive off. The water was rough and cold and the wind was blowing right through us, so no one was very keen to go in, but once a couple of people started most of us joined in. When we got back to the camp site we had a nice braai with Rosewitha`s famous Bavarian potato salad. Danny brought his slackline and guitar and we had an amusing and relaxing time watching people fall off, singing songs and listening to Mike’s stories.

Next morning we woke up early, and left for the shark diving. We arrived all very excited, and got kitted up. We jumped on the boat, and headed for Dyer Island where there is a seal colony which attracts the great whites. We waited with great anticipation …. and waited….and waited. Finally we saw an enormous, dark shadow sliding through the water right next to the boat. With adrenalin pumping, the first seven divers put on their masks and slipped into the cage. ‘Right! Down right!’ yelled those on the boat and the divers took a deep breath and watched the silent predator glide effortlessly past them. To see such a feared animal mere feet away, moving with such beautiful grace, made us appreciate that these animals have much more to fear from us than we have from them. And yet watching them trying to take a hunk out of the penguin decoys also reminded us that we shouldn’t ever make the mistake of taking them for granted!!

Once everyone had come face to face with the Great Whites and excitement was running high, we headed back into town and went to visit Moose, who deserves the host of the year award for feeding 40+ ravenous young explorers and staff! After the most delicious marlin braai any of us could imagine, old and current Young Explorers headed down to beach for poacher patrol. Abalone grows in these waters and poachers come at night to take them, so we went to see if we could foil their plans, but we didn’t see any activity. So instead, after a midnight dip, we made a small fire, sang songs and discussed ideas, plans and projects for the future.

This might be end of the last PANGAEA expedition, but it’s only the beginning for each of us and the projects we will pursue!

Blog written by Seb & Laura

Up early for the table mountain climb, we almost overslept completely as two peoples alarms didn’t go off! But we managed to prepare in time and woke up to the familiar site of Michael & Ben, two staff from our selection camp who were working in Port Elizabeth on the Geberit project. Upon arriving at the foot of the impressive Table Mountain we were also greeted by the Port Elizabeth Young Explorers, making our group of YEPs around 40 strong!

We all started the hike up Table Mountain together and had the opportunity to chat with lots of people form around the world who we haven’t met before, all in the spirit of strengthening the ties between our YEP network. As we climbed higher and higher the wind picked up throwing us around the mountain like leaves and the temperature dropped so we all put on as many layers as possible. Looking around up there you had a 180 degree view of Cape Town city and a fantastic day, we could also see the famous table cloth of clouds that sits just on top of Table Mountain.

We split 100m below the summit into two groups; current Young Explorers along with Mike, and the past Young Explorers. We climbed two different routes, ours called the Staircase, it involved 3 pitches and two short traverses before we arrived at the top of Table Mountain, one of the worlds natural wonders. The climb was really fun and was at a good level of difficulty considering most of us had never properly rock climbed before. We hiked down the other side of Table Mountain through a ravine where Robert and Anika both fell and almost broke their backs. Now we are all sitting in the conference room onboard PANGAEA with all the other Young Explorers and having a great time!

Blog written by Ollie & Nadja

Our second day at the Masiphumelele township started with a warm welcome and songs performed by the choir of the local elementary school. We were welcomed by the principal of the school and were then grouped up in teams for tree planting. We picked up our shovels and trees, listened to a simple intro to tree planting from the guys from GREENPOP and then started digging our holes. The plan was to plant 50 trees around the soccer field and with 40 kids helping out it was easy work. We were pleasantly surprised when the weather turned from raining and cloudy into a bright sunny warm day. The kids who we were working with were all part of the schools’ eco club, so they were all very excited to work with us, always ready and eager to learn.

After a very successful tree planting session and handing out first aid kits, we joined a street football tournament. We played two games and lost both! The kids we played were from the local schools primary and high school. We rewarded the winning sides by handing out a couple of first aid kits the organizers, which they will be able to use for the tournaments and events in the future.

We then presented to a group of Youths, talking about the PANGAEA project and what it was we were doing in their township. We didn’t know what exactly to expect, but when we arrived at the library and went into the classroom, they welcomed us warmly. It was great for both sides that we could talk more relaxed, laugh and that’s what really connected us to our audience. They were all impressed by the project and had a lot of questions which was a clear sign they listened to us carefully.

Afterwards we said goodbye to our guides through Masiphumelele and went back to the boat where we tested water samples taken from the Orange River and a stream in the township. It was very surprising to find a huge amount of Phosphates and Nitrates in the township water.

The rest of the night we spent listening about plans for climbing Table Mountain tomorrow and testing out our gear.

Blog written by Nora and Robert

Today we spent the entire day in the township of Masiphumelele. The name of this township means success and it recently won an award for being exceptionally peaceful. We met our guides, Ali and Charlotte, from the international volunteer organization i-to-i who gave us a tour of the township.

Along the way, we visited several kindergartens to meet the kids and give them first aid kits. The kids were extremely friendly and excited to see us. As soon as we walked in the door, they ran up to hug us and take photos.

We also met Yandiswa who makes art from plastic gathered from local beaches. She was able to make amazing figures, jewelry, and masks from what most people would consider trash. She gave us a brief lesson on making our own, but we found it was much more difficult than it appeared to be.

Following lunch, we joined a music class at the local library. The young kids danced and sang surprisingly well. It was a unique experience to hear the national anthem and many other traditional South African songs from the kids. Next, we had a brief drawing lesson where we attempted to draw a portrait of Nelson Mandela which produced some very amusing pieces of art.

At the end of the day, we joined the old Young Explorers on Pangaea to hear stories of Mike’s exciting adventures. We are excited to return to Masiphumelele tomorrow to plant trees and distribute more first aid kits.

Blog written by Seb & Anika

We sailed through the night and arrived early this morning just outside of Cape Town where we picked up several celebrities/friends of the PANGAEA project. After a brief introduction and a great breakfast of croissants we hoisted and set sails heading straight home to Cape Town. We arrived to a fantastic and extremely jubilant crowd of ex-young explorers, journalists from all over the world and of course the faithful sponsor representatives.

After a short press conference type event we invited everyone on board PANGAEA for a sail. There was a great turn out and we possibly had more people onboard than ever before. Hoping to impress Mike ordered all sails up and off we went; along with the past young explorers we grinded and grinded those sails up! During the sail we had more time to get to further know the other young explorers and the rest of the entourage. We ended the night with a nice, well-deserved dinner on land and we are going to sleep comfortably in the harbour tonight.

written by Robyn and Leni Team 1

Today was a successful day of planning and organising for half of our group.

We had an early start to the day arriving at the school as soon as possible in order to get as much work done. Time is officially of the essence. We kicked off the day with a giant community clean-up collecting… bags of rubbish. It was an eye-opening experience walking through the littered fields!
 
The planting in the food garden has now begun! An exciting day for everyone, symbolising a successful task!

The installation of the completed benches has also begun and the school is truly looking beautiful at the moment! The murals are completed, the bins are being used and the school yard is looking clean! We are all very proud!

We handed out the new recycled stationary packs to a majority of the classes and organized the rest of the donated goods, counting and packing them, for tomorrow’s distribution!
 

Tuesday July 24, 2012 – Team 2

written by Saskia and Lani

Take 240 kids, 9 teachers and 4 Young Explorers (plus Michael) to interesting places and you get a day fully packed with fun and great memories.

Today we organized a visit to Bayworld which is a museum with sections about reptiles, dinosaurs, sea life and the highlight: a pool with seals, African Penguins and sea turtles. The kids were fascinated by all these animals that they have never seen before and were especially excited about the seals swimming majestically in the pool.

Just before we left we were lucky to see a little show with the seals in which they performed a few tricks in exchange for their lunch. The kids enjoyed it a lot and had a good laugh when the seals playfully waved their flippers at the end of the show.

After a well-deserved lunch at Bayworld, the kids filled up the four busses again and we were ready to head off to the Sea View Lions Park. Here you can go on a mini safari to see giraffes, zebras, tigers and of course lions. When Simon asked the kids at the beginning of the trip if they were excited to see the lions, they all yelled “YEEEEES”. But when these seemingly brave seven-year olds were separated from the lions by a mere fence, they didn’t seem to be too self-confident anymore. However, in the end they thoroughly enjoyed waving at Joseph, or, Judith and some of the other characters in the park. The visit to Bayworld and the lion park ended up being a whole lot of fun and the kids went home with big smiles on their faces.

Tuesday 24th – Tanguy and Ollie

Day 15! Today we were spoiled with the largest breakfast of the trip. Erik, the owner of the Bushman Cave area campsite where we stayed the night, prepared the most fantastic breakfast. We ate toasted sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, and the left over’s from the wonderful south African Braai last night. After the good breakfast we set out for the last 35 km into Clanwilliams. The last kilometres we all completed together as a team, we flew along the roads in a peloton.

As we cycled we all appreciated the stunning landscape and all the vineyards and orange farms along the road. We could also appreciate Seb 4th jump of his bike in the sand. At the finish line we were all pround of what we had achieved, we had learned that much more about our limits and how to exceed what we once thought was too much!

We then packed up the bikes into the back of the trailer to be cleaned and serviced before we hand them out at the Township, and were then hustled into back of the vans for the car ride back to PANGAEA.
We were squeezed into the back of the van for the two hour ride all daydreaming about our favourite foods and trying to catch a little shut eye where we could.

Once we got to the boat Luke handed out the marching orders, and instructed us to scrub the floor, and get the boat ready for the arrival in Cape Town. Once the boat was all clean Mike told us to gather in the conference room. Wenger, one of the main Mike Horn sponsors, gifted us huge present that no other young explorer received before. Each one of us was presented with a brand new Wenger Explorer Watch.

The watch is beyond perfect, and we were all amazed and grateful for the huge gift they gave to us. It really made us realize how important the program is and how big our responsibility is to go out and make a difference in the world we live in. Although we now have the watch we still have to earn the right to wear it within the next 7 days.
 

It was a sad day for the 20 Fontein kids at Shamwari. It was their last day on the reserve and they all enjoyed the experience very much. We woke up early and after some coffee we drove to the Born Free Foundation centre.

Glen, the guide spoke to the kids about poaching and taught them more about the skulls in the information centre. As Glen grew up close to the school he could relate to the kids and spoke to them in Afrikaans. They were very excited and asked lots of questions.

After the information session we went to look at the leopards that were saved from the Sudan. They were caught by soldiers as cubs and raised as guard cats. The Born Free Foundation saved them and brought the leopards to Shamwari to live out their days in their natural environment.

We came back to a hearty cooked breakfast, where after we slowly packed up our things and left. With sad hearts the kids said goodbye to a once in a lifetime experience. Us as the young explorers can only hope that they will use these 4 days to make a change in their lives and in the lives of others around them.
We arrived back at the school and jumped straight into planting seeds in the food garden and finishing the murals. Every time we come back to the school the kids get more and more excited and they want to help with everything we do. We worked till very late in the afternoon and I’m sure all the YEP’S are going to have a lekka sleep tonight.