NEW ZEALAND SELECTION CAMP
CAMP 2 COMPLETE
Dates: 13th January to 22nd January 2009
Our Young Explorers:
From top left: Belgique: Annelies Vanherck, 16yrs / Bulgaria: Vesela Manolova, 19yrs / Poland: Zofia Drapella, 17yrs / Spain : Gerd Coenen Gajardo, 17yrs / USA: Andrew Lynch, 18yrs / Philipp Griedl, 20yrs / South Africa: Daniel Maidment, 14yrs / Russia: Alisa Baranskaya, 20yrs
From bottom left: China: Jun Lee, 17yrs / France: Lisève Fierens, 15yrs / UK (Swiss living in UK): Baptiste Glassey, 16yrs / Switzerland: Raphael Gabella, 19yrs / Germany: Simon Straetker, 15yrs / Spain: Pilar Orti Lopez, 19yrs / Switzerland: Claire Von Siebenthal, 19yrs / Canada: Maxime Thibault-Le Blanc, 17yrs
YEP 2 CAMP NEW ZEALAND 
YEP 2 NEW ZEALAND Selection Camp Video Gallery
13th of January
It has been a day of activities in the Mike Horn Expedition Center in Switzerland.
The second selection camp of YEP (Young Explorer Programme) is now in full swing in Château-d’Oex, and the Hotel de Ville has never been so busy!
The first evening for our YEP group was a relaxed evening where the youths were able to get to know each other and to familiarise themselves to their new environment. The following day was debuted with a visit to the c electrical plant in the nearby village of Broc. The visit was completed with an interesting discussion by their specialists about renewable energy and sustainability.
In the afternoon the youths started a series of tests, all carried out by the specialist doctors of the Mayo Clinic, USA. The tests include balance, reaction, stamina, respiration, cardiac fitness and discussions about diet and nutrition.
As tradition has it, the evenings during the camp are offered to our partners. We invite them to speak with the YEP's, discussing their motivaton towards the Pangaea project and their initiatives in working towards a brighter and sustainable future for the planet. Official equipment supplier, Wenger (the Swiss army knife) was the first partner to present themselves to our team.
Tuesday was another day of tests by the Mayo Clinic, as well as an outdoor mapwork course by our team of professional mountain guides. Geberit AG, a Swiss based market leader in sanitation products and Official Presenting Partner to the Pangaea Expedition, was the evening speaker and gave a highly interesting talk about water, sanitation and the importance of water preservation for the future of our planet.
Our YEP are tired this evening and are now preparing themselves for a day of search and rescue activities tomorrow.
We can happily say that they all seem to have settled in nicely and are getting on extremely well. They show great motivation and enthusiasm towards the Pangaea Expedition and each has a lot to contribute within the group.
More news tomorrow!
15th of January
It was a beautiful day today in the Swiss pre alps. Clear blue sky, sunshine and chilly wintery temperatures welcomed our young explorers as they stepped out of the Hotel de Ville at 8 o’clock this morning!
Today’s activities were planned on the Les Diablerets Glacier so the YE's were warmly dressed, equipped with backpack full of equipment, harness, helmet, caribiner, snow rackets, ski poles, and picnic.
A 40 minute bus drive took them to the base of the glacier. From here they all huddled into the cable car and were taken up to 3'000 meters to the Botta restaurant. Here the youths were able to prepare themselves for the upwards climb that lay ahead. They put on their ski racket’s and keeping a steady pace, walked 30 minutes to higher and colder altitudes. It was not easy as the climb was steep and the glacial wind dropped the temperatures even lower. Some seemed to suffer from the exertion but they were quickly rewarded once they reached the summit at 3'200meters. From here they had a panoramic view of 26 mountain peaks over 4'000 meters - well worth the walk!
The next task was to divide our 16 YE's into groups and with a team of experienced mountain guides they learnt about the mountain, and the glaciers. Then the fun part - to retrieve their friends fallen in crevasses. It was a little airy at first but once they realised they could trust their colleagues who were securing them, it became a lot more fun!
The tired group put their racket’s on once again and strolled down the mountain looking forward to a hot drink and some rest time once they returned to the hotel.
Philippa prepared a super dinner for the famished crowd before the evening seminar. This was a discussion about agriculture, covering some very important aspects, economic, social, environmental, and sustainability.
Another exciting day of activities tomorrow so our YE's have now retired to their beds.
Mercedes-Benz will treat them with the Mercedes-Benz driving experience. A fascinating day of learning about cars and latest technologies, testing driving skills on the ice and learning how to drive with a reduced petrol consumption.
Many other activities are in store for our YE's tomorrow but for now remain a secret!!
17th of January
Today our young explorers learnt about avalanche rescue in the perfect surroundings at the base of the Les Diablerets glacier. Each our our young explorers was buried and happily we can say that everybody was found again by their colleagues.
Then on a more serious note, this afternoon was spent in the classroom. Mme Roswitha Stolz from the University of Munich satisfied our groups inquisitive minds with a discussion about New Zealand environmental conditions and problems.
As soon as the raid is over on the 21st of January, eight of the 16 YE's will be chosen to go to New Zealand where they will meet up with Mike Horn and the sailboat 'Pangaea'. During their stay in NZ the youths will explore the ice cut fiords of the South Island, learn about the biodiversity from the local specialists, explore and trek through the dense rain forest and execute an act project on the terrain. The tension is rising amongst our group as to who will be chosen. It goes without saying that the choice will be very difficult.
18th of January
News from the Mike Horn Team is very positive. The YE's are preparing themselves for the Pangaea raid, a two day hike over the Swiss mountains involving several different activities. The day today is spent learning communication skills and the youths are divided into teams and are learning about filming and editing techniques. It's a lot of fun as the teams are running disguised around the Hotel de Ville enacting funny scenes. Tonight will be hilarious as we watch the final cut films that the teams have made and grade them.
Tonight it will be the Mike Horn team that will be doing the filming as we will interview all our young explorers individually to get their opinions of the camp. We will discuss their motivation towards the Pangaea Project and how they would like to continue with the Pangaea initiative in the future.
After this serious moment, a fun evening is planned with a game of bowling - a relaxed night before the energetic raid!
20th of January
Sixteen youths from 13 different nationalities are now competing in the famous Pangaea Raid, a two day trek over the Swiss Alps. On Wednesday the final choice will be made as to who of the 16 will be chosen by our jury to join Mike Horn himself on an expedition in the Fjordlands of the South Island, New Zealand, in May 2009 aboard Pangaea.
21st of January
Eight young explorers have been selected today, after a 10 day selection camp, to join Mike Horn and the sailboat 'Pangaea' in New Zealand in May 2009.
The aim of this new expedition of Mike Horn, a four year expedition around the world by sea and land, is to reunite the continents with an important environmental message. Using young adults from all corners of the planet, Pangaea’s Expedition message will be relayed around the entire world.
Sixteen young adults have participated in the second YEP selection camp in Château d’Oex, Switzerland. Eight of these 16 candidates were selected by the Mike Horn Team, and their decisions were based on the feedback from the guides and speakers who participated in the camp, as well as the results from the different physical and mental tests done with the specialists from the Mayo Clinic.
These Pangaea ambassadors are ready to live a unique and important experience in the heart of the nature. They will open new boundaries, and discover the world in which they live, with the aim of finding solutions to actively preserve the planet for the future generations.
The eight young adults selected are :
- Alisa Baranskaya, 20yrs, Russia
- Zofia Drapella, 17yrs, Polond
- Raphael Gabella, 19yrs, Switzerland
- Jun Lee, 17yrs, China
- Andrew Lynch, 18yrs, USA
- Daniel Maidment, 14yrs, South Africa
- Simon Straetker, 15yrs, Germany
- Annelies Vanherck, 16yrs, Belgium
These young explorers will join Mike Horn in the Fjords of the South Island of New Zealand. Onboard Pangaea, they will study different subjects, such as the salinity and the temperature of water, as well as the marine biodiversity and the different groups of dolphins that inhabit the region. They will trek for several days through the native bush of the National Forest and discover the local culture through the meetings with the Maoris.
This trip will complement the studies about New Zealand, its culture, climate, geopgraphy and biodiversity, that they had with Dr. Roswitha Stolz from the University of Munich, and other presentations concerning the environment, sustainability, latest technologies, physical training and communication.
The eight selected are now ready to engage themselves in the mission that lies ahead of them and to transmit their experience to the rest of the world.
The Mike Horn Team is thrilled at the outcome of the second camp : Martin Horn reports, « We have spent 10 fantastic days with a team of motivated and enthusiastic young adults. Our primary objective is to find true ambassadors who will transmit the message of the Pangaea Expedition to the entire world. We congratulate all our young explorers for their energy and engagement.”
