Jungle Training Week in Pictures

This time last week, here is what the volunteers were up to...

The buddy system in action! The Trekforce Buddy System is all about trust...




River crossings are lots of fun and Trekforce show volunteers how to do it safely...



Josie, a Trekforce medic shows us a perfect example of a fire. Question is, did she light it herself?!



It's ok, they're just pretending! Volunteers learn about First Aid and CPR



Stretcher carrying is hard work, but the group work together to complete a search and rescue exercise...

Project Groups Chosen

Sooner than expected we have had a call from the jungle! Country Manager Greg called us at 4pm UK time on Monday from the Trekforce Satellite phone to tell us that the volunteers had chosen their project groups and everyone was in good spirits after their first few days in the rainforest.

The Northern Project Group are:

Standing (L to R): Ian (AL) Lara, Jim, Tess, Alex McGee, Kat, Laura, Stuart, Dr Josh
Kneeling (L to R): Katie (EL), Eloise, Josie (Nurse) Clare, Sara




The volunteers’ main focus of the project will be to mark out the 13k boundary line for the National Park. This will include clearing jungle across tough terrain- A real challenge! The group will also record any notable flora or fauna they see along the way too. They could be returning in 2 months time having discovered a new plant or spotted a rarely seen frog!

The Southern Project Group are:

Standing (L to R): John “Boo”, Will (Staff Assistant), Alex McNichol, Nick, Kieron, Sully (EL), Simon (AL)
Kneeling (L to R): Lawrence, Sophie, Synoeve, Sam, Kat (Nurse), Vanessa



The group will be in the south of the Chiquibul National Park which is a largely unknown area. Farmers on the Guatemalan side of the border have been cutting jungle for farmland but this cutting is now encroaching onto the Belizean border and the Chiquibul National Park. If they keep going, the jungle will sadly be destroyed. The main aim of the project is to construct an observation post, accommodation and cooking facilities for national park rangers to inhibit these illegal activities effectively.

The groups had a slow and challenging journey onto their project sites, as the roads and jungle tracks were extremely muddy due to the rainfall they had had over the last few days. However, they made it! And apart from a few sore feet, the volunteers can’t wait to get stuck into their rewarding projects!

When we get the next report from the jungle we will let you know, but remember, no news is good news!

Trekforce HQ

First Week In The Jungle For Volunteers

Volunteers headed to Belize on Saturday 2nd February to begin their gap year with Trekforce Worldwide.



The 25 volunteers are currently completing a week of Jungle Training where they have all been assigned a Trekforce Buddy. Their buddy, a fellow volunteer will make sure that their partner is drinking enough water and looking after themselves. They will also have the very special job of checking each other for bites and ticks!

The Trekforce buddy system works well on all of our expeditions whether for 2 weeks or 5 months and reinforces the high levels of safety we strive for. All trekkers can experience life in the jungle safe in the knowledge that they don’t only have expert leaders and medics on hand 24 hours a day but they also have their own personal support from a fellow volunteer.

The group are also spending the next few days in the rainforest learning how to survive in the jungle. This includes lighting fires, navigation, cooking, health and hygiene and first aid. All transferable skills the volunteers can bring back with them to the UK.

As the group are currently out of comms, Trekforce HQ has not received any images yet but we will get them up onto the blog as soon as we get them. In the mean time if you want to send any letters or parcels for them to receive when they get onto project you can send them to *insert volunteers name* Trekforce, PO Box 266, San Ignacio, Cayo, Belize, CA . Please be aware that it will take a while to get post in and out of Belize and you could be waiting at least 2 weeks for parcels and letters to arrive.

Watch this space for more information over the next few weeks.

Trekforce HQ.

Staff Arrive in Belize

It's getting closer….! Staff are arriving in Belize to finish preparations for the 2008 Gap Year with Trekforce.

Tasks completed include checking the trek routes which the group will then undertake during their project, field base has been painted, medical kits have been prepared along with a jungle training location and local tradesman have met with logistics staff to go over the equipment and materials they will need to complete the projects successfully.

The Trekforce landrovers have been checked and are in full working order for the group arriving so goods can be transported in and out of the jungle. Our landrovers are a familiar sight around Belize and smiles greet anyone in them from locals who know about the work Trekforce do in Belize.



One of the biggest achievements since staff arrived in Belize was the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Trekforce Worldwide and Friends for Conservation and Development for the long term conservation of the Chiquibul National Park. The partnership will create a unified approach to conservation in Belize's largest national park, with Friends for Conservation and Development identifying vital projects, key to their management plan, and Trekforce providing the manpower and expertise to see the projects through to completion. The project sites have been set up in the North and South of the Chiquibul National Park, the 2 groups will have 2 months to complete an extremely rewarding and very important project.



Volunteers meet staff in Belize on 3rd February where the adventure begins!

Reunion brings together old and new

Trekforce got into the festive spirit at the weekend as we held our annual Christmas party and reunion. It was a great turn out, with volunteers’ turning up from as far back as 1988 to the volunteers from 2007. Everyone was there for the same purpose, to celebrate the impact expeditions with Trekforce have on both the project country and the volunteers.



People travelled the length and breadth of the UK to join us in Newcastle for an afternoon presentation which included a talk by Ed Swales, son of founder of Trekforce Wandy, and presentations by volunteers and leaders who showed us photographs and shared anecdotes. There was a great atmosphere as the group reminisced about their gap year experiences and the worthwhile projects they took part in. The presentations ended and turned into christmas celebrations for the evening when there was a chance for everyone to catch up with each other, medics and members of staff at a local bar.



We hope this is just one of many reunions that are going to take place as Trekforce goes form strength to strength with new jungle expeditions to Borneo, Papua New Guinea, and Guyana for 2008.

Go to www.trekforceworldwide.com to read about how you can join us on an experience of a lifetime.

First Desert Trek a Success

We have returned from Morocco after our first 2 week extreme expedition. The 10 day trek saw the group clock up over 120 miles by foot, walking across black Hamada desert and challenging Sahara sand dunes, experiencing sand storms and enduring searing temperatures. As with all expeditions with Trekforce there was a back to basics approach as the group landed at a new camp each night where they threw down their carry mats and slept under the stars, washed at wells and ate with local Berber guides who accompanied the group with camels to carry the water and food.



The first 2 week desert trek for a leading expedition company has proven to be a massive success, with the group walking over 120 miles off the normal tourist trail.

The group began in the lower Atlas Mountains in 4x4s to reach their starting destination of Merzouga, before heading South West into the Sahara Desert where scorching temperatures could reach 30oC at midday. The trek ended in the small village of Tazarine, where there was an opportunity for the group to wash at a well and repack for the journey back to Marrakech.

Rob Murray- John, Director of Trekforce Worldwide and expedition leader for the 2 week Extreme Expedition explains: "The aim was to take the trek away from the normal tourist trail, avoiding hostels and well trodden routes so that the trekkers could say that they have completed a trek no other visitor will have done. The desert environment is an unforgiving one, with little water or shelter, we are proud of what we have achieved and look forward to repeating this next year."



The trekkers also got the opportunity to immerse themselves in the local Berber culture during the trek as they had chances to stop at nomad villages for lunch en route where the family would cook for them and give them an insight into living as a nomad family.

Andrew Bedwell who joined Trekforce on the expedition says: ‘I loved the simplicity of the whole expedition. Only relying on bare essentials, being able to throw your sleeping bag down wherever you wanted to and experiencing the local foods cooked in the middle of the desert.'

This was a massive accomplishment for Trekforce - building on our renowned strengths in jungle expeditions with a growing expertise in desert environments and with fantastic feedback from the trekkers we are already accepting applications for the 2008 desert trek which takes place in October. Call 0845 241 3085 for details.

Trekforce Morocco Hamada Expedition begins

The Trekforce team have successfully completed the first two phases of their expedition and are now organising their kit and preparing for their main challenge - the 100 mile trek across the fringes of the Sahara to the tiny settlement of Tazarine.

They have already managed to cross the Atlas Mountains on rarely used 4x4 tracks, following nomadic herder routes that have been used for centuries (while some team members discovered they had a problem with car sickness en route!) and have recently completed their desert training and acclimatisation in the spectacular dunes near the village of Merzouga.

Now with the camels ready, and the water skins filled, it is down to them to overcome the major hurdle - ahead of them are many long days of difficult trekking in the searing heat - we wish them all the very best.