The German grade 9 class went to Swakop on the 8th of February for a long weekend. We left during the second break and arrived in Swakop around 6 PM. During our trip, we stayed at Sea View Backpackers. What a beautiful place!
On the first day of our trip, we walked to the snake park. We were able to walk around and learn about several different snakes. Afterwards, we walked to Cafe Raith, where we had the first part of our summative assessment. As everyone at Cafe Raith spoke German, we had to order an ice cream in German. We then had some free time to roam around the mole before we went to the Mole Museum. The explanations were presented in German. Afterwards, we went to the beach and hung out there. Some people went kayaking, paddle boarding, or swimming (the water temperature was 14 degrees!). Later we went surfing with Salty Jackal at Pebble Beach. It was so fun but we had so much salt everywhere. It was also so cold, like really COLD. Luckily we had wetsuits.
Not everyone went surfing, so the rest walked back to the Backpackers to prepare the braai for dinner. Once we got back, we played pool and board games. Shani and Christa won and Nicholis and Max were very sad!)
The next day we went on a desert tour which was both in German and English. During the tour, we learned various things about Swakopmund and the Namib Desert such as the geography of the Swakop River & the origin of its name, some of the wildlife & plants within the Namib desert and the geology of the desert’s magnetic sand. We were dropped off in the city afterwards and we were able to explore the city and eat lunch. Afterwards, we walked back to the Backpackers where we hung out until dinnertime, where we had the second part of our summative assessment. We went to the restaurant “Brauhaus” where they offer traditional German cuisine. Without looking at the menu, we had to order our meal in German. The waiter would also sometimes ask a question which we had to answer in German.
The next day we drove back to school, arriving around midday.
Throughout the trip, we as the students were responsible for making meals as well as making our own lunch. We were able to speak German more openly, and having to speak German as more of a conversation helped improve all of our German speaking. The Swakop trip was very fun and we hope others get to experience it as well.
Shani Kriessbach and Christa Pienaar, Grade 9
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