World Challenge Expedition: Nepal 2024

After several successful student leadership expeditions over the past 16 years, Girton was delighted to offer another exciting World Challange program, providing students with the opportunity to plan, fund and ultimately lead their own 21-day expedition to Nepal. 

World Challenge is unique in that students have the chance to challenge themselves and lead the expedition team to a developing country, which enables them to develop skills that are prized by universities and employers alike, such as forward planning, communication, leadership and running effective group meetings. 

In addition to completing a challenging trek, the students complete sustainable and meaningful project work while immersed within a local community, giving them the chance to understand some of the issues facing parts of our world.  

Not only does World Challenge offer a chance to travel throughout developing countries and see how lucky we are to live in Australia, but the fact that students lead the team ensures they develop real-world leadership and communication skills that they will use in every aspect of adulthood, whether they go straight into the workforce or further study.

Over the three-week journey, two teams comprising 15 students each, experienced each of the following phases:

• Acclimatisation: Cultural experiences and sightseeing activities of historical and religious significance
• Community service project: Spending 4 to 5 days in a remote community undertaking varied work
• Expedition: A 4- to 5-day hike or physical challenge, much like Year 8 Falls Creek Hike run here at Girton
• Rest and relaxation: Shopping and more sightseeing with some sleep-ins.

Thank you to all the students and staff who attended World Challange 2024. 

Nepal through the eyes of Eva Westbrook (11 Frew)

I wish I could say that it was a warm summer morning but no. We left on a chilly winter night, the 20th of June at about 6pm, to start our journey to Nepal. It was humid and sunny when we landed in Kathmandu. And surprise, surprise, our online visas didn’t work, so we had to start from scratch, which was only the start of our problems on this trip.

We spent the first few days touring Kathmandu and checking out the local scenery. We visited a variety of attractions over these three days, including Durbar Square and the Monkey Temple. Across the trip, we tried various kinds of traditional foods, from thali set to momos to chowmein. It was fun experiencing three weeks with no phones. In our free time, we made fun by playing catch with a rock or a grapefruit and playing lots of card games. 

Our day hike was a pinnacle day for the building of our team. We called ourselves Team Fryer in honour of a local dog (I wouldn’t even be able to guess what breed it was, but we named it Fryer). This was my first experience of just how hard our five-day hike was going to be before jumping on a speedy flight to another major city of Nepal, Pokhara. We went to dinner that evening but got stuck in the pouring rain afterwards and the majority of us did not have our rain gear. We sped back to the hotel but by the time we arrived, we were soaked.

Our hike, which went for five days, was both a physical and mental challenge. Our first day was hot, and with the sun beaming down on us, we rejoiced when we found a water source that we could dunk our heads into. I have to say that was probably the highlight of the hike for me as it only went downhill from there. The next four days of the hike it was raining, almost constantly, and on the second day we were hit with a bucketload of leeches. Some of us got 50 or 60 leech bites on that one day so it was wonderful when we arrived at our tea house for the night, where we could take off our boots and get rid of the remaining leeches. The next few days were much the same, still difficult owing to the rain that surrounded us, but luckily there wasn’t nearly as many leeches. On the final day it was mostly downhill stairs, so by the time we hopped on the bus my legs were almost shaking but I was smiling with joy. We were done and we had made it.

In the next few days, we finally had the opportunity to explore Pokhara. We spent time paddle boating on the Fewa Lake, listened to members of our team play music at the Redbrick restaurant, and went caving as well as to a movie garden, which was a nice and relaxing night compared to the rest of the trip. We also went to Disneyland, where we rode a very sketchy Ferris wheel, which was partly held together by cable ties, and did some roller skating, where you were just hoping that your skates weren’t going to break on you.

We then had an eight-hour bus trip to get back to Kathmandu, but luckily we stopped at a camp on the Trishuli River. Here we spent two hours rafting through the rapids. I know that this was a highlight for many people in my team. 

Our community project located an hour out of Kathmandu at Shree Aatma Bikas basic school was a highlight of my trip. I could say so much about my experience at this school, but this is just a small part of it. Over five days we spent time painting the walls and stairs of the building, painting railings and fences, gardening, and interacting with the children. Their ages ranged from 3 to 12, so you can imagine what would happen when a toddler runs into the paint room. We also learnt how to make momos and do Nepalese dancing.

To end our trip in this country that we had become so fond of, we spent four days in Kathmandu. Here we participated in jewellery workshops, rock climbing, painting classes and cooking workshops, and did a lot of shopping. Guaranteed, most of my money went into these few days. And the ice-cream, two or three a day for those of us who can remember. Those were the just the main parts of our trip, but there are so many stories that all of us will remember for a lifetime.

If you’re a student who’s given the opportunity to go on World Challenge, do it because you will never regret it. Over this trip, I have learnt more about myself and have become so much more independent. But I have also created so many new friendships.

So, while we now return home back to the lives of school students, I will always cherish the memories that I have from this trip. Maybe minus the leeches.

Eva Westbrook (11 Frew)