Norfolk ACF Wilderness Expedition 2009

On Sunday the 18^th of October Army Cadets from across Norfolk gathered at the week end training centre at Thetford for the start of a two week expedition to South Africa.

The visit will include a five day wilderness trek on foot in the Umfolozi game reserve, two days staying in a Zulu village and a two day visit to the Anglo-Zulu war battlefields of Isandlawana and Rorkes Drift.  The trip concludes with a treetop experience on the Zulu run Karkloof canopy trail, river rafting and a day sightseeing in Durban before returning home.

During the wilderness trek the cadets will be the only group in the reserve and will have to carry everything they need for the whole five day period. They will have a close up experience of the African bush including wildlife ranging from Giraffe to Elephant and Rhino. This phase of the trip is supervised by local park rangers who will show the group how to survive in the bush and how to treat the animals they will meet.

This trip was not based on the ability to pay, Norfolk Army Cadet Force quite rightly prides itself on not excluding young people from its activities because of their family income.

Norfolk ACF does not have the financial resources to fund this type of activity so group and individual fund raising had to be planned to cover the total cost of over £28,000. This was raised by grants and donations from organisations and individuals as well as by the cadets themselves carrying out activities like bag packing at local supermarkets.

Expedition leader, Colonel Dave Hedges said, "This trip is a chance for the cadets to experience not just the African bush but is also a great opportunity to witness at first hand the culture of a great people and to experience how vastly their lives differ from ours"

Cadet staff sergeant Sam Carter from Starston, who was celebrating his 18^th birthday, said "I am looking forward to the trek the most, it should be awesome". His father, who was there to see him off said "This is wonderful, it's an excellent opportunity for him".   

Captain Jan Hawkins

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