This past Friday and Saturday, a group of 12 enthusiastic Grade 7 learners from Union High School had the incredible opportunity to participate in a Social Sciences ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป to the stunning KAROO RIDGE – Conservancy, located just 50 kilometers northeast of Middelburg.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ โ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ช๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐บ,โ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ง๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ง๐ต ๐ข ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ด.
The journey began early on Friday, 18 October, as the learners departed the Union grounds filled with excitement for the days ahead.
After a scenic drive, they arrived at the picturesque River Lodge at the Karoo Ridge Conservancy. Following a light lunch and a chance to unpack, the learners were warmly welcomed by Helen Wenham, who introduced them to the unique environment they were about to explore.
๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ผ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฝ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ด๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฒ. This engaging hike not only allowed the learners to appreciate the breathtaking landscape but also provided valuable insights on erosion and its impact on the environment. After an invigorating walk, the group returned to the River Lodge for some relaxation time, which included a refreshing swim before dinner.
๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ด๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ, ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐น๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ป๐ต๐ฎ๐บ. This experience provided them with a close encounter with the local wildlife, further enriching their understanding of biodiversity in the Karoo region. The day concluded with a delightful dinner and braai in the Boma, where everyone gathered to reflect on the day’s adventures.
Saturday morning kicked off with a hearty breakfast cooked over an open fire, setting the stage for another exciting day ahead. The learners joined David Hall for a ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐น๐ธ, which included discussions on the local flora and fauna, alongside a hands-on activity in small gabion building.
Following a brief comfort break, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฝ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ณ๐๐น ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ, ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐๐๐ต ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น. This hands-on experience reinforced the importance of sustainable practices in farming and conservation efforts.
After a well-deserved lunch, the group wrapped up their enriching excursion and prepared to depart, leaving with a wealth of knowledge and unforgettable memories.
Union extends its ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ง๐จ๐๐ to Mrs Hanli Rose-Innes for organising this memorable trip, as well as to Pete and Helen Wenham for their generous hospitality and guidance throughout the excursion.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด’ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ฐ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ด๐ค๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.
