World Challenge
World Challenge
World Challenge Nepal Expedition – December 2019
Cobram SC combined with Shepparton High School and Wanganui Park SC to take an intrepid group of eight students on an amazing expedition to Nepal for three weeks last December.
What made this trip unique compared to all other school excursions is that it was driven and lead by the students in the team – from planning the itinerary, to booking accommodation and transport in-country, liaising with tour operators, planning their community project, budgeting and fundraising money for a local school. They don’t call it 'World Challenge' for nothing!
The group was accompanied by teaching staff - Mr. Jones from Cobram SC and Mr. Gallacher from Shepparton HS, as well as our World Challenge Expedition Leader Melinda Nicholson, whom we have been fortunate to have lead our previous three expeditions to Vietnam, Borneo and Sri Lanka.
From the bustling city chaos of Kathmandu, the group spent 12 days completing a grueling trek in the Rolwaling Valley in the north of Nepal along the border with Tibet. The remoteness of the trek was incredible, framed by snow-covered peaks exceeding 7000m in height along the way. The team chose to camp in tents on the ascent, though plunging temperatures saw us in quaint tea-houses once at altitude to assist with acclimatisation to the thinning oxygen in their air. It was an awesome experience, requiring the team to push each other on up the valley, along winding paths and at times, seemingly unending series of stone stairs, passing picturesque and colourful villages, devoid of mobile reception, wi-fi and the complications of modern life. It was indeed interesting to hear the challengers comment on how much they enjoyed the opportunity to “disconnect” and really take in the landscapes surrounding them. Daytime temperatures were mild, ranging between 8-12 degrees Celsius under blue skies, however, the nights were frigid, reaching -20 Celsius at the summit of the glacial lake of Tso Rolpa. You don’t get to experience that at home!
Our trusty trekking team of sherpas and their yaks made for great company on the trek, keeping us entertained and well-fed all the way. Heavy snow made for an interesting, albeit slow descent of the valley, but a memorable roll of Kodak moments to remember.
After a quick transit through Kathmandu again, the team finished their time in Nepal in the western city of Pokhara, where we completed a community engagement project in a small and impoverished primary school in the surrounding hinterland. We were treated to a fanfare welcome, with a colourful ceremony of dance and song, before planning the tasks to be undertaken. We presented generous financial donations from the Cobram and Barooga Lions Clubs, which assisted with the purchase of new fencing for the school, which were gratefully received. The team then spent three days repainting classroom buildings and landscaping around a newly-built toilet block, ensuring there was plenty of time for playing games with the school children and engaging in some quality cultural exchanges with the local students.