QUEST CORE PLUS

A 10 month program from January to November, for young men.

This program is the flagship course for Quest Africa. We have found that the Core program provides a good foundation for character development and a broad base of skills development, but it does not ensure enough time for any significant degree of specialization without compromising other parts of the course.

The Core Plus program has 4 terms, the first 3 terms comprising the Quest Core course that ends in July, and then the 4th term, the Spring Term, that runs from September through to the end of November. The first 3 terms involve Core Course activities based on the development of life skills in the 5 acumens – Technical, Natural, Physical, Business and Social. The 4th term is dedicated to “specialization”, whereby graduates of the Core Course are able to focus on skills development in certain selected areas.

Please note that the course curriculum details outlined below give a good indication of the content of the course, but some of the course details can vary from year to year. This will not alter the essential fabric, design or effectiveness of the Quest experience. All the essential Quest skills and training are facilitated by our full-time team of instructors and guides.

WARNING - QUEST IS TOUGH - PHYSICALLY DEMANDING AND HIGHLY DISCIPLINED, BUT ALSO VERY ENJOYABLE AND REWARDING

COURSE CURRICULUMS – CORE PLUS PROGRAM

CORE COURSE COMPONENT - January to August

Technical Acumen

-    Vehicles and Vehicle Maintenance – mechanical and auto-electrical fundamentals

-    Welding and Workshop Tools – arc welding and use of various commonly used workshop tools

-    Building Basics – conventional building fundamentals, laying out, trenching, foundations, brick laying

-    Electrical Basics – introduction to 220V and 12 V wiring systems, practical installation, maintenance and trouble-shooting

-    Plumbing Basics – introduction to household plumbing, installation, maintenance and trouble-shooting

-    Woodwork and carpentry - practical introduction to working with wood and using the basic tools

Natural Acumen

-    Bush craft

-    Hunting – weapons training, hunting ethics, marksmanship, bush craft, trophy selection, skinning, meat preparation, butchery work, making biltong and venison cooking.

-    Fishing - mainly rock and surf sea fishing

-    Camping and Hiking - proficiency in all aspects of camp management, management of hiking gear and equipment, First Aid and body management, Water and food, navigation using maps or GPS devices.

- Introduction to Wildlife Management and Game Farm Management

-    Introduction to Livestock Management and Grazing Management

-    Practical Vegetable Production – laying out, soil preparation, composting, planting, weed and pest control, mulching

Physical Acumen

-    Physical Fitness and Health – understanding fitness development, managing stress and adaptation to build fitness and strength

-    Training Disciplines – Running, trekking, kayaking, gym circuit training, calisthenics and assault course. Mountain biking is an optional training discipline from the second term onwards.

-    Orienteering Challenges and Extended Multi-Discipline Epics

-    Adventure Sports – kayaking, rock climbing, horse riding and mountain biking.


Business Acumen

-    Entrepreneurship and Business Plans

-    Basic spreadsheet use and the development and understanding of key Financial Statements

-    Financial Literacy, principles of Investing, Wealth Creation versus Debt Creation



Social Acumen

-    Principle-Centred Leadership – influence, effectiveness, values and the foundation of character qualities

-    Character and Mindset coaching – the character ethic and the personality ethic, growth mindset versus the fixed mindset

-   Public Speaking & Communication – presentations, recitals, speech-making, critical thinking

-    Relationships and Spirituality

-    Cooking and Catering

SPRING TERM SPECIALIZATIONS – September to November

Core Course graduates will be able to select 1 of the electives below as areas of specialization. All participants will remain on a physical fitness program, but this would be largely self-managed by Core Course graduates, setting their own physical fitness goals for the course. Core Plus students are given more responsibility and take on leadership roles assisting with the management of the Spring program participants.

The Spring term is also an “expedition” term. Core plus participants will usually have 2 major trips. The first trip is to Zululand where SCUBA diving and Ocean Skippers courses at Sodwana Bay are the main activities, and we also try to include some game capture work for those not doing Skippers. The second trip is to the Western Cape where we have about 7 days hiking and rock climbing in the Cederberg mountains, after which they have the option of doing various ocean sailing courses in the Langebaan lagoon on the West Coast. These trips and activities are for all students staying for the Spring term and are over above the specialisation that each Core plus student chooses below.

Below is a guide to the typical options available for Specialization:

  Option 1 - Field Guiding and Bush craft

  • Guiding skills

  • Ecology

  • Climate and Weather

  • Astronomy

  • Geology and Soils – general geology and soil formation, karstic landscapes and soils of The Kaba area

  • Grasses and Trees – basic plant physiology, grass and tree identification, practical veld management

  • Introduction to Arthropods, Amphibians, Reptiles, Fish, Birds and Mammals

  • Introduction to Animal Behaviour

  • Bush Craft, Tracking and Hunting – “Cyber tracking” course through Master tracker, Tarryn Gilson. Hunting in this course is interest driven depending on individual preferences.

  • Career Opportunities

Option 2 - Game Farm Management

The course will involve practical work carried out on the Kaba game farm with an emphasis on disease-free buffalo management. The theoretical component will cover the areas listed below:

-    Veld Types and Biomes

-    Grazing Assessment

-    Browse Assessment

-    Species Selection and Stocking Rates

-    Sex Ratios

-    Predation

-    Diseases

-    Infrastructure – Roads, Fences and Water

-    Game Utilization – Cropping, Trophy Hunting and Live Sales

-    Focus on High Value Game – The African Savannah Buffalo

-    Economics

Option 3 - Livestock Management

This course will involve practical hands-on beef cattle management. Students will develop a working knowledge of calving management, basic veterinary care, breeding and breeding stock selection, grazing management and the economics of livestock farming. The theory component will cover the following areas:

-    Grazing Assessment

-    Grass Physiology

-    Stocking Rates

-    Holistic Grazing Management 

-    Diseases

-    Breed Selection

-    Breeding Plans

-    Artificial Insemination (AI)

-    Pregnancy Diagnosis (PD)

-    Production Systems

-    Economics

Option 4 - Physical Fitness and Training

The theory component of this course will give participants a good foundation for understanding the human body in relation to development of fitness and also general health and injury prevention and management. The practical component is based on the participants developing and managing a fitness program to achieve certain fitness goals for themselves and other Quest students. The theory course will cover the following:

-    Physiology and fitness – understanding basic physiology, the stress/adaptation cycle

-    Principles of Training

-    Racing

-    Health and Injuries

Option 5 - Technical training

We are able to cover a range of technical skills areas and the emphasis can be varied according to the interests of the individuals involved. All training is carried out on site under the guidance of our technical instructors.

Technical training will involve project work and hands-on maintenance management in the following technical areas:

  • Metal fabrication projects involving design, costing and construction of various useful equipment

  • Vehicles and tractors – supervised work on all ongoing repairs and maintenance work on farm vehicles, motor bikes and tractors, and also re-builds or over-hauling of existing vehicles

  • Building projects – supervised work on construction projects  and routine maintenance on buildings

  • Electrical installation and maintenance – supervised work on building project and maintenance on existing installations

  • Plumbing – supervised installation work on building project and ad hoc maintenance work

  • Woodwork and carpentry – project work