Before I start about what I have been up to since I arrived in camp in Sungal, Himachal Pradesh I have added a piece about the orginisation that runs the volunteers program here in India IDEX ( Indian Network for Development Exchange) Indian Network for Development Exchange (Idex) is an Indian organization, established in 2001, with the intention to develop and promote volunteer work opportunities in India by offering professionally organized programs that include and a rich variety of cultural learning experiences. Idex’s network extends across six volunteer project areas in three separate states, offering participants a wide selection of geography, climate, and cultural experiences, while expanding the outreach of social development initiatives. Idex offers a variety of volunteer program types, customizable based on volunteer’s preferences, including location... read more

What a difference a day makes So my last lunch in south Africa was to be in a perfect setting on the beach in Gordon's Bay in Cape Town with Dawn & Anneke eating a great steak washed down with a Castle Beer. Then it was time to be taken to Cape town Airport and my long journey to another Continent. First Stop was to be Jo'berg Airport and a short wait for my Journey to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. I had a few hours to waste so a little retail therapy was in order after the 9 hour flight and as this is a Muslim country a Costa Coffee was to be my refreshment. My next step is Delhi after a short 3 hour flight and through customs etc and find ... read more

"I'm Bored" Says Tom, "Me To, Lets do something" Said Stuart "Wanna go to Sun City" An excited Geoff pipes up "Sure, When?" from both Stuart & Tom "Now" So within 2 hours we left Camp and were on our way This conversation took place at 10.30am on Tuesday after breakfast and a heavy night before as alot of the group had gone home on the Monday. So by 1.30pm the three of us were on our way on a 7 hour road trip to Sun city in Tom's Defender Land Rover. The journey took us through the Drankensberg Mountains and then onto the N4 toll roads through Pretoria and then 2 hours onto the Sun City area. We arrived after a ipod singing alcopop laughing drive at about 8.30pm to the Sundown Lodge about 10km ... read more

What happens when you give mud paint and cow manure to a load of students ?? I have been to the Tribal Village once before about 4 weeks ago. At that time it was a educational visit to understand about how the Tribes went about their daily life, including the role of the cheif and his many wives (8 wives in this Village). The First wife was the most important and the others were given duties to perform including the cooking and making of flour from maize. On this visit we were shown how the Huts were made including the weekly job of spreading Cow Manure other the floor, that when dried is brush away and gives a polished floor that the insects and snakes do not like. We were even given the chance to ... read more

Blyde Dam, is situated at the base of the Blyde River Canyon, providing a beautiful nature experience by boat. It is a great place to view the canyon from below, as well as visit the Kadishi Tufa Waterfall. At 700m in depth, the Blyde River Canyon is ranked as the 3rd deepest canyon in the world Once we left the jetty in a large decked boat the group made its way towards the man made dam. To see the river from the boat was a complete contrast from a few days before when we were high up in the peaks of the mountain. During our journey we spotted numerous birds including, &&&&&&&&&&&& in the distance we though we could see a couple of hippo's bathing on the shore of the dam, but on close expection through ... read more