Brando Yelavich, aka 'Wildboy', is currently attempting to cycle across the width of Australia, through the outback. The kids learnt a little about him last term when we were looking at exploration. A few years ago Brando walked around the entire coastline of NZ, and popped in to Whangaparaoa Primary to give a talk along the way. His story of determination, perseverance and problem solving is inspiring.So now we are following along as he cycles through the desert. We looked at what would be essential to pack, to help someone survive in a desert. Lots of thinking and debating about what is important. Lots of questions too - how can you carry enough water? How much water do you need each day? How can you charge a phone or camera? How do you carry enough food?
Here is a link to Brando's blog if you would like to follow along. He also has a facebook page, and some of the kids have had me communicate with him (they wanted to know how he takes photos of himself cycling if he's by himself). Brando very kindly answered us - the kids were excited!
We looked at where deserts of the world are, using google maps and atlas'. We looked at why there are deserts, and conditions in a desert. Some studied animals in the desert (survival techniques they use - check out the 'thorny devil' from Australia which gathers dew drops on its back as it walks past desert grasses). Some designed houses for the desert - how would you get water, power, shade etc?
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