Page 244 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
trek through Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world. Then move north-west to climb Brandberg Mountain, at 2,573 metres high, it is the third largest free-standing mountain in Africa. The aim being to complete the climb in two days. The third objective was to move further north to the Damaraland where the team was to visually track, over four days, the unique desert- adapted elephants and Black rhinos.
All three major objectives were fortunately achieved without mishap or injury. The trekking on all phases was arduous with extremes in temperature of 40°C in the day and freezing at night. The terrain was difficult, often rocky or sandy, necessitating the negotiation of large rocks and boulders as well as river crossings. The main river was much more of an obstacle than usual as Namibia had just had twice its normal rainfall over the rainy (summer) season and the heaviest in 73 years.
All provisions had to be carried, including, food, water, clothing, tents and ancillary equipment, which made the going tough; expeditionary rucksacks alone were all in excess of 30kg. Water, which was limited, had to be filtered and chemically treated for cooking and drinking and this required careful planning and management as the group completed on average eight hours of walking each day. We each had to get used to drinking six litres of cloudy water, that tasted like iodine, over a period of 24-hours. There were no tracks and the level of fitness and stamina required was roughly on a par with levels needed to run a marathon – even though our challenge was in slow time, over consecutive days.
We had to cross the river about twenty times, and this entailed using different techniques as the water was fast flowing, deep in parts and the footing was treacherous. The canyon walls were intimidatingly high – up to 1,500 metres – and there were only two possible escape routes along its entire length. No proper map was available and the best version we could acquire proved unreliable. There were two other groups ahead of us in the canyon – some Afrikaners and US Peace Corps, both of which we overtook. At the end we enjoyed the best cold drinks ever. However, at the top of Brandberg we had to settle for just a good view! Other aspects of Brandberg that warrant a particular mention include the strange reality that no other people were on the massif (22 x 25 km), the prehistoric cave paintings were well worth seeing and the African killer-bees packed a pretty mean sting – if they were disturbed! During the treks within Fish River Canyon and on the
Brandberg Mountain, two of the team, Pte Amy Wheeler (21) and Pte Katrina Baker (20) celebrated their birthdays and were congratulated by their team members and also by their families as they were given access to the expedition sat phone.
LCpl David Culverwell, who acted as our ever-cheerful team photographer (having spent a great deal of his own money on new kit), was good for morale along with Pte Kerry Moore who used her Vet Tech training to treat our numerous blisters and cuts. Our Farrier Corporal Major, Steve Newman, also helped everyone along, although his tendency to sing loudly first thing in the morning and out of tune, was not always appreciated!
Admin days were built-in between the main Exercise objectives and whilst on the coast in Swakopmund, the group sampled sea fishing from a boat, and everyone successfully caught a fish. Colonel Tom Ogilvie-Graham insisted that I mention that he caught the most! Throughout the expedition, we sampled a variety of local cuisine. On the trek, weight was a big factor and dried fruits, meat, pasta and noodles were the main source of energy. On admin days, however, we sampled the local produce, and on the coast, seafood such as kingklip and oysters were enjoyed. Inland it was the ostrich, kudu and oryx that proved really enjoyable!
During the latter part of the expedition, the team spent three days R&R in the Etosha National Park visiting the many watering holes where we saw an abundance of game, including the Black rhino which had, unfortunately, eluded us in the Damaraland. However, we did spot a magnificent bull elephant there in addition to a variety of other incredible animals. It was noted that the adult elephants in the region all had broken tusks due to the low levels of phosphorus in the soil, and this had, to some degree, protected them from poaching since their ivory was of little value.
En route south, to Windhoek, we took a pre-planned detour to visit “Africat”, a rehabili- tation centre for big cats. During this visit we were fortunate to have a guide to track, on foot, twin cheetahs called Apollo and Athena who had been rescued as orphans and were being rehabilitated back into the wild. After 50 minutes we eventually found these fully grown cats sheltering from the sun under a bush, resting after a kill, so luckily for us they were well fed! We were also taken into an enclosure where we observed a male leopard who moved with amazing agility and who looked singularly unimpressed with all of us.
Finally, we met a team of vets from Witwa-
236