The EXPEDITION Project

I am a South African and what makes The Expedition Project quite rare is that it is open to international and local volunteers. Usually experiences like this are too expensive for locals to participate in the way international volunteers do, however The EXPEDITION Project makes special provisions for locals to participate. I run an NPO and wanted to work with The Expedition Project during periods when I was not busy with my project duties and similarly The EXPEDITION Project wanted to see what my NPO was all about so for me it was an exciting opportunity and i enjoyed it thoroughly!

The most exciting aspect about The EXPEDITION Project is the fact that it is not a project based in one place so it was an opportunity to be able to see SA and travel. Joining the TEP team gave me the opportunity to make more contacts in the industry while volunteering for a good cause. Our day would consist of a team breakfast in the morning where we planned out our day ahead which would be driving for a bit of the day and then visiting projects, charities or adventures as part of our tour whether it was visiting a Cheetah rehabilitation centre or a local school.

When I finished high school back in the 90’s I decided to set of on an expedition of the world. This became my ‘University of Life’. 8 years and 27 countries later I return home to assist a friend in setting up her dream of a volunteer organization based in Knysna, South Africa. We worked solidly and within 3 years we had won a South African Tourism award for our initiative and achievements. I resigned my responsibilities with the successful ‘voluntourism’ in 2011 and once again ventured off in search of a dream.

After a couple of weeks of sketches, brain-storming and visions, I decided I wanted to once again explore, however this time I wanted to start with my own country of South Africa. The idea sparked one day while staring at the beauty of the South African Western Cape mountains – I decided that I wanted to head off on a documentary/reality trip in a 4x4 for 365 days leaving and returning to Cape Town. As I thought more about the idea, I decided to develop specific goals and tasks to do on the trip. The concept then turned into a 200 town, 365 day trip starting in January 2012. Several tasks would need to be completed in each of the 200 towns and with that a compilation of information would be gathered to create a documentary and eventually a television series for South African TV by 2013.

The foundation is environmental, the medium is ‘rough around the edges’ filming and photography and the result is the first of many annual expeditions around South Africa, and then around more countries as the template is designed and refined.

From there I decided that I would love to have team-members joining me for periods of the journey each year. This would be in the form of local researchers and international students.

Next?... Year 1 – 1 Team – 1 Route – 200 Towns – 365 Days – South Africa – 2012 – The beginning!

From South Africa to the world, back to South Africa and now global once again, my experience in beneficial tourism projects and passion for my country and my planet has led me down a new and exciting path. Will you join me?

Initiate – Implement – Expand. That is our 3 year plan 2012-2014.

- 2012 will be an observation exercise in order to access, identify and document the social and environmental situation of South Africa.

- 2013 will see the start of the implementation of new projects as well as support to current initiatives.

- Collaboration and partnership with government, municipalities, NGO’s, NPO’s, charities, corporate entities, local and international team members will be essential in the sustainability of our aims.

- 2014 will see the development of our expedition templates in order to expand to new areas of not only South Africa, but Africa and the World.

Each year we will be producing a compilation of footage in order to broadcast locally and internationally. The footage will be in the form of documentaries, 13 part television series’, as well as photo journals and other expedition merchandise.

Local communities will get increased focus and support via our expeditions, voice, and eyes, and will hence have a platform to express their ideas and passions.

Finally, the support of international team-members or volunteers will be instrumental in providing man-power, development, international press, and various skills and experiences as needed.