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Chockstone Forum - Crag & Route Beta

Crag & Route Beta

Area	Location	Sub Location	Crag	Links
International	(General)	(General)	(General)

Author

Climbing in TONGA (+ also New Caledonia)!

bones

14/08/2011
4:01:50 PM

He replied to my email a couple of weeks back. He's still there but no development yet


Superstu

28/05/2012
9:24:29 AM

This should get you trigger-happy developers salivating again... Got an email in the Rockies inbox regarding developing climbing in Tonga. I'll post it verbatim.

> Hello,
> I’m contacting you from Tonga Business Enterprise Centre (TBEC) in Nuku’alofa, Tonga. We have a client who is
> interested in starting climbing routes for tourists but does not have any experience. Tonga is a developing country
> in the South Pacific. The southern island of ‘Eua has beautiful cliffs that we believe would attract climbers.

> We are looking for someone who would be able to establish routes, establish and teach safety procedures and
> climbing techniques, set up maintenance schedules and train locals for sustainability. Ideally, this person would be
> able to stay for 6-9 months. There is very little funding for this project so we would need a volunteer. Assistance
> could be given for accommodation.

> If you know anyone who is interested, please let me know.
> Thank you for your assistance,
> (contact details attached)

Anybody who is genuinely interested I can forward you the contact details. I don't know if japosc is still there and what connection he has with this email.

I worked as a volunteer in the Pacific for 2 years and will happily regale you with tales of life working in this part of the world (didn't work in Tonga per se but I've traveled through there too). So long as you have realistic expectations of what you want to achieve you could have a lot of fun over there. There are several AusAid-funded organisations that will help you get there, and help provide a framework to structure what you do. I'd recommend that approach if you haven't worked as a volunteer in a developing country before. Going direct has initial appeal for the liberty of your agenda, but these approaches invariably twist and deform into something else you may or may not like. The Aus-aid programs can also offer access to funding, support and referral.

There are 42 messages in this topic.