Eighteen students and three intrepid chaperones started the new year by flying to South Africa for a two-week adventure. The trip, planned by Middle School Science Teacher Nolan Clarke to his homeland, offered the travelers a variety of experiences, sights, tastes, and sounds.
Clarke plans this trip regularly for the simple reason that he wants to share a place he loves with people he likes. “I like the kids I teach, and when you like somebody, you want to share with them some of your experiences,” he said. Having grown up in South Africa, he’s always known it’s a tremendously beautiful place. “You take it for granted when you’re growing up,” he pointed out. “You take for granted when you grow up with access to beaches and mountains and this great landscape.” Older now, and living in the United States full-time, his childhood home has become more meaningful to him. “A natural expansion of what I do as an educator is to give them this experience and challenge them to figure out what they can make of it,” he said.
He knew many of the students on the trip from teaching and advising them in the middle school and coaching them in squash as they grew. Sharing the experience of traveling halfway around the world only deepens that bond.
The group began in Johannesburg, enjoying several meals and a day tour of Soweto. Soweto, an acronym of South Western Township, is an area near Johannesburg set aside by the government for Blacks in the 1920s that eventually experienced civil unrest during Apartheid.
Day Four found the group traveling on a long bus ride to Olifants River Camp, where they registered with African Impact, a program that offers the opportunity to volunteer responsibly in Kruger National Park.
“This trip for me was really impactful,” said Beth Miller, MICDS CFO/COO and one of the chaperones. “I always make a large number of New Year’s resolutions and several of them usually include getting out of my comfort zone. I am comfortable talking with lawyers, reviewing financials, and planning campus projects…not so much student oversight and animal encounters.”
While at Olifants, students learned about local animals and their habitat, and conducted game drives where they documented the wildlife they observed. The data was entered into a spreadsheet for scientists to use. They saw elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses, vultures, and impala. “Did you know that conservation efforts in South Africa have been so successful that while still endangered globally, there are almost too many elephants in this area?” Miller said.
They also got hands-on in the bush, working to eradicate invasive cacti species.
“My favorite part was taking the ‘safari Ferrari’ across the bush and offroad to see a pride of lions up close and personal feasting on a fallen giraffe while the vultures waited their turn,” Miller continued. “The most surprising thing for me was that in South Africa, they will put impala poop in their mouth and see who can spit it the farthest. Hard pass!”
One day, the group took a panoramic bus tour of several scenic sites that included waterfalls and the “potholes,” a striking natural geographic formation. At their last stop at Blyde River Canyon, they encountered a group of churchmen celebrating the new year. While the views were gorgeous, “equally stunning was the church group of men singing in prayer to celebrate the end of the New Year celebration before returning to their separate villages,” shared Rachel Tourais, Upper School Science Teacher and chaperone.
After their work in Kruger, a short flight from Hoedspruit airport took the group to Cape Town, where they enjoyed a variety of activities, including a sunrise hike up Lion’s Head Mountain, a walking tour of the city with stops at the Castle of Good Hope and the District 6 Museum, a cooking class, a visit to Robben Island, a cable car trip up Table Mountain, and seeing penguins at Boulders Beach. As a special treat, Clarke ensured they all got to cheer on his favorite rugby team: the DHL Stormers. They enjoyed a match in the stadium that has hosted a World Cup.
“I appreciated the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone on this trip,” said Zoe Zlatic ’24. “This was the farthest place from home I’ve been to, so while it was a stretch, I knew I would be surrounded by a great group of friends and mentors. Some of my favorite parts of the trip were the opportunity to try local cuisine, exploration of historical sites and the natural world, and immersion in South African culture (including a drumming class!). This trip has provided me with a new life-changing perspective that I am eternally grateful for, and I would highly recommend it to students in the future.”
“I was impressed that the itinerary allowed for learning about South African history, including and beyond the apartheid era, challenges with conservation efforts, and present-day culture,” Miller shared. Overall, I felt like there were more similarities between the U.S. and South Africa than I would have expected.”
She was also gratified to see the bonds between teachers and students on the trip. “One of my first realizations was that as much as I knew teachers wore many different hats, that responsibility and those relationships were more than I imagined,” Miller said. “Rachel and Nolan knew many of these students from their seventh-grade Camp Wyman sleepover and still knew them five years later. And, there was clearly an affection for the teachers by the students, too.”
What does Clarke hope the students take away from this adventure? Reflection. “Initially, it’s enjoyment, then contribution with the service work, but finally, reflection,” he explained. “I want them to consider how they’ve been changed by this experience, and to consider how this trip gives them insight into how they handle different situations. One person cannot change the trajectory of South Africa, but small, individual changes can change a life.”
Well done, Ram Explorers!