Haggling!

Gaining the right price whilst away is very important. It can become very confusing trying to work out currency conversions, so it’s always best to take your time and work out whether the deal in front of you is a good one before committing. Remember, you can always walk away!

Please find a few tips below:

1. Research prices before you step foot in the shop or market. Search on the internet or look at guide books, such as Lonely Planet.
2. Ensure it is an appropriate place to haggle. For example a Flea Market usually would be acceptable.
3. Be friendly when you start a conversation regarding prices and test out your local language skills.
4. Ask them for a price first. If they do not give you a price and push the question towards you, start with a ‘silly price'. This should break the ice, give humour and build rapport!
5. Consider asking about freebies and group discounts.
6. Haggling works both ways, so the vendor will be looking for the greatest profit. If the price is not acceptable, you can always walk away!
7. Haggling is supposed to be fun, but be reasonable with the vendor as they will need to make a profit!
8. Relax and you will enjoy it! In most developing world countries, haggling is a major part of everyday life, so it’s a great way to get to know local people and culture.

Do you have a successful haggling tip? Tweet us @WChIndependent

Jungle Fever!

Jungle destinations have always been a popular choice with our challengers, and over the past few years we have taken teams to Borneo, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and the Amazon Rainforest to get close to the wildlife (especially the leeches!), see amazing plants and trees and spend their nights in hammocks...whatever the weather!

Our resident jungle expert in the Planning Department (aka 'Jungle Jen') has given us a few of her top tips for surviving on a jungle based expedition!

1)      A sweat band is really useful when you’re trekking, as you are going to sweat - a lot!
2)      If you have a roll mat, attach it vertically to your rucksack. If you have it horizontally it will catch on the bushes, trees and plants that you trek pass. 

3)      Don’t worry about the leeches; if you do get one on you spray a little bit of insect repellent on it and it will fall straight off.

A challenger on the Borneo exped
at camp!

4)      Foot management! Everything gets wet in the jungle, it’s really important to dry your feet out each night, pop on a bit a talc and keep them dry for the night.  This will stop them turning into wrinkled raisins and help prevent against foot rot

5)      Take time to put your hammock or tent up properly, you don’t want it leaking in the middle of a heavy jungle downpour.

6)      Don’t forget to look around you whilst you’re trekking, is all too easy just to concentrate on your feet! The jungle is an exciting place and you may even spot a bird, massive butterflies or small mammals between the trees.

If you're interested in signing up for a World Challenge independent expedition to any of the destinations above, please visit the website to find out more... http://www.world-challenge-expeditions.co.uk/.

Destination Ethiopia- a real adventure!

Our 14-day Ethiopia expedition is the newest addition to our range of destinations, and is certainly one of the most unique and adventurous destinations we go to! With a fascinating, ancient history and awe-inspiring landscapes and wildlife, Ethiopia has so much more to it than what many of us may have seen on TV or in the news.

Project work with Link Ethiopia

Teams start off their adventure by spending five days with World Challenge's partner charity, 'Link Ethiopia'. All our expedition teams work with this charity to ensure projects are completed and sustained, and jobs will involve continuing work to improve the learning conditions for students. This may include building classrooms, installing toilet blocks or repairing desks and benches...be prepared to get your hands dirty!!




Local guides on the Bale Foothills trek

After the project is a real highlight of the expedition- a five day trek in the Bale Foothills, a place very few people and travellers have discovered and explored. This trek will be completed by travelling on both foot and horseback- teams will decide which! Alongside the guides the teams will also decide each day which hut to trek to, whether to stay in huts or tents, and what food to cook and eat! Along the way is a wide range of landscapes and wildlife, and challengers can learn about the culture and language of the country through their local guides.

As with all our expeditions teams will have the opportunity to celebrate their achievements on a few days of well-deserved r&r at the end! Teams will visit the famous Rift Valley and get the chance to chill at Awash National Park.

Overall this expedition offers a great opportunity to experience an exciting country and culture with a rich history, and explore Ethiopia's beautiful and undiscovered landscapes- suitable for those looking for a real adventure!!

More information on the Ethiopia expedition and how to apply can be found on the website
http://www.world-challenge-expeditions.co.uk/page240/Ethiopia-independent-expedition.html

Fundraising Top Tips...from our returning challengers

As our 2011 challengers return from expedition they have been asked what their most successful fundraising event was, and their 'top tip' for next year's challengers! Here are just a few of their great ideas...

“I did a fundraising event in a restaurant, where i sold tickets to fill the venue and i sold every single ticket, they gave me money off each ticket I sold and money for every drink that was sold, I raised over £500 in one night, I was very pleased.”

TOP TIP: “Keep going, if you take a short break then you kind of give up, keep focused and you will be surprised how easy it is to raise the money”

Stuart, Project Uganda

“Selling produce at a farmers market, buying in ingredients and producing food and preserves then selling at a higher cost.”

TOP TIP: “I would suggest getting a part time job; it was a majority contributor to my funds and teaches you the value of working for money at an earlier age. I also found it to be very sociable and enjoyable.”

Oliver, Bolivia

“I signed up for a world challenge abseil in the Manchester velodrome which helped me to raise a large bulk of my fee.”

TOP TIP: “You have to be 100% dedicated to the fund raising and always be thinking of the next way that you can be raising funds. Also, don’t discount sources of finance which may only bring in a couple of pounds at a time as it all adds up.”

Sarah, Namibia

“A St George's tea and cake afternoon”

TOP TIP: “don't always rely on 'donations', where you can, make it a ticketed event”

Jane, Andes and Amazon

“I organised a barn dance in my local village and raised over £1000 profit.”

TOP TIP: “Start early, get a job, plan big events rather than small ones because they raise more money, enhance the project phase to raise more money, tell everyone what you're doing, get absolute confirmation of people coming - take money in advance or people are inclined not to turn up when they said they would, use friends who aren't also raising money to help with setting up etc in return for a reduced price ticket, keep very in-depth accounts.”

Stevie-Grace, Bolivia

Remember if you're fundraising for your expedition next summer, or thinking of ideas before signing up you can find out more by checking out the Fundraising Team's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/World-Challenge-Independent-Travel/111785966725?ref=search&sid=547530405.2230364487..1#!/groups/26018479101/ 

Spotlight on...Mt Kilimanjaro

Standing at 5895 metres above sea level (19,340 feet), most would agree that Mt Kilimanjaro is a pretty sizeable mountain. As the highest peak in Africa, this mountain is often climbed by many looking to take on a tough challenge to raise money for charity (see Chris Moyles & celebs climbing it here for Comic Relief http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJpEF1Xc7WA!) or for those who want to physically and mentally challenge themselves and 'tick a box' of climbing one of the biggest and best mountains in the world. 

Climbing 'Kili' is a real acheivement for anyone (I've never done it myself!), especially for a young person still at school or college. However, on the World Challenge Independent Expedition to Tanzania young people are able to take on the challenge as part of a 4 week trip. By completing pre-departure training and a series of day treks in the Usambaras on arrival, teams acclimatise alongside their qualified Expedition Leader so that their climb is as safe as possible.

Although Kili has an interesting environment and many endemic species some of its features are at risk- including the glacier on the summit (and which once covered it); experts believe Kilimanjaro will be ice-free by 2020 due to a mixture of climate change and deforestation. However from 2011 each expedition team will work alongside a local charity to plant a tree on the slopes of the mountain to offset this trend!

Tanzania is a beautiful country and teams will also enjoy working on a community project, often in local schools planting vegetable gardens or helping with construction projects. However, the Tanzania- Mt Kilimanjaro is really an expedition for those looking for a real challenge, a good trek and something to conquer!!

Find out more about the Tanzania- Mt Kilimanjaro expedition here http://www.world-challenge-expeditions.co.uk/page103/Tanzania-Kilimanjaro-independent-expedition.html

Last minute tip-top tips...

For those travelling this summer their expedition is now just around the corner! With our Namibia expedition going in less than 3 weeks I thought I would take this opportunity to give out some last minute preparation tips for all our teams:

• Make sure you've got the kit! Those hiking boots should be well broken in (if not you'll need to get walking...!), and hopefully you have read the kit list to know what you have, what you can borrow and what you need to buy. The kit list may seem a bit mean but it's all you need- embrace the expedition lifestyle :) If it doesn't all fit in your bag double check that you're not taking anything extra although your Expedition Leader will help you with packing at the build-up day.
• Staying in touch! It's often very difficult to find the time or the facilities to email friends and family when you are away, and we don't recommend taking mobile phones. Teams in the past have set up an 'Expedition Blog' which is a great way to keep everyone updated without having to spend hours in an internet cafe (there's usually much better things to do!). Set one up before you go and make sure everyone has the link.
• Paperwork...update those contact details on the member's site, get the photocopies of your passport and photos ready and make sure your medical details are complete!
• Mindset...the most important one! Come on build-up day with an open mind and ready to meet lots of new and different people. Be flexible. Be prepared that at some times you'll feel nervous, sometimes you may feel homesick...but remember that everyone else is in the same boat and you'll come out of it having had an amazing experience!! 

And to finish off with a good quote for those about to travel..."the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page" (St Augustine)

Training Season



Putting up a tent at an Information
Meeting in Wycombe



Beanfeast, tents, silly team games and mild sunburn...all included in our recent Training Expedition weekends! As our training season comes to a close we have had a great few months of weekends: meeting our short haul teams (Morocco and Norway) and their parents at our Information Days in March, and seeing all our long haul teams up in Buxton on their 2-day Training Expeditions. We also held Parent's Meetings for all these teams, taking them through the itineraries, safety & back-up and expedition kit- I think we had some jealous parents by the end!!

It has been great to see the challengers meeting each other for the first time, and really inspiring to see everyone's motivation and enthusiasm! There have also been great stories of fundraising events and fitness training- we were very impressed by everyone. Unlike our training expeditions last year (which involved a lot of rain, snow, and numb hands) this year we had blue skies and sunshine- and quite a few pink faces at the end! In Buxton everyone got the opportunity to practice cooking on trangias (some interesting looking beanfeast appeared) and putting up tents. They also ran through lots of expedition scenerios- perhaps making it all a bit more real!  

Thank you to everyone who attended the training and it's been a pleasure to meet you all. Keep going with your fundraising and remember to keep in touch with your expedition team between now and the summer!



At the campsite in Buxton

  



Plenty of ridiculous team games!

Cooking at the Training Expedition