November 2006 - Canoeist Magazine

Recipe for real adventure
Take 12 teenagers aged between 14 and 18 yrs. Add mountain
walking and kayak training. Blend in some fund raising. Simmer
slowly over 12 months. Extract commitment and team work. Transfer
to the edge of the Sahara desert and point them north. Leave for
eleven days. Collect from the other side of the High Atlas Mountains
after crossing it on foot and in kayaks. This is what Explorer Scouts
from North Yorkshire did during their Easter holidays in 2006.
Record snowfalls for 40 years, bad weather and high rivers made the
174km 11 day journey more challenging and problematic than first
envisaged.
Providing a challenging and testing expedition for youngsters in
today’s politically correct climate is to put your head on the chopping
block. Society encapsulates young people in so much cotton wool
with expectations of not getting even a scratch after something
‘adventurous’ so our young people experience dumb down adventure.
However, with careful planning, preparation, training, constant
(realistic) risk assessment, using a suitable destination as a relatively safe
but adventurous environment, it is possible to provide real adventure.
Morocco provides an ideal venue for real adventure. With very
experienced instructors and careful group management, risks can be
greatly reduced and the rewards of personal development
immeasurable. This adventure is about the personal development of 12
young people, helping them develop valuable life skills.
This was the second trekking and kayak expedition to Morocco I
had organized. The first was in 2004. With the help of Hamish
McMaster, the boss of Water-by-Nature, a global rafting and kayaking
company, I was able to create a wilderness travel experience for my
Scouts.
A year of build up
Preparation for such an expedition starts at least a year before
departure. A fair amount of the time is spent fundraising (we raised
£13,100) as a team which not only helps keep the overall costs down
but also helps develop teamwork and commitment.
The 2006 team consisted of myself as expedition leader, Mike Reid
(assistant leader), Ed Collins, James Child, Steve Hickey, Simon
Walmsley, Stuart Fairbairn, Jack Newsome, Thomas Hughes, Stuart
Wallace, Matthew Harris, Oliver Gibson, Richard Davill and Sam
Lowe (team members).
One of the reasons I chose a kayak expedition was because each
team member would be required to develop a new skill and would
need to rely on this skill to keep him safe. I was already a Level 3
coach and able to do much of the training. Most of the team gained
their 3 Star or were not far from achieving it and several had achieved
their 4 Star. All could roll and all had been on white water river trips.
Most had done the Canoe Safety Test. Also, Ed and I did the White
Water Safety and Rescue course. On the trekking side, all the team
had done the Scout Mountain Activity Award. Overall, I was satisfied
that the team were adequately trained.
After more than a year of planning, training and fundraising,
18
CANOEIST November 2006
departure time had finally arrived. Our flight touched down at
Marrakech airport late Friday evening. The following morning we
were woken at 5 with the early morning call to prayer from the
numerous loudspeakers on the Youssef Mosque. We needed an early
start as we had an 8 hour journey in front of us to cross High Atlas
Mountains to the Sahara Desert, first by minibus and then later that
afternoon transferring to the back of a truck when the road stopped
and dirt track began. Although not very comfortable (and very dusty)
it was fun and added to the adventure.
Loading the mules.
Berber whisky, bread and 4x4s
Camp that night was literally at the end of the track, just outside the
remote village of Amajgag. Tents were pitched and evening meal soon
being served by our Berber muleteers, who would be carrying our kit
on their Berber 4x4s (or mules). Omar was our Berber guide, who
spoke reasonable English as well as French, Arabic and Berber.
Breakfast (bread, jam, cheese, honey, tea and coffee) was ready for
7.00am and departure from camp about 8.00am. This became the daily
norm. The first day’s walk was relatively easy, mostly on the flat. The
first couple of hours were spent wading through ankle deep river,
flowing through spectacular red rock gorges towering 200m above us.
Beyond these gorges were fertile plains with villages perched on top of
small hills and beyond this the Mgoun mountain range, rising to more
than 4,000m, which we would start crossing the following day. A local
invited us into his house for mid morning break of Berber bread,
dipped in olive oil and Berber whisky which is sweet mint tea.