expediton africa - The Natural Navigator

Expedition: Africa

19 June 2009 by Tristan Gooley

I watched the History Channel’s ‘Expedition: Africa’ last night, a retake on Stanley’s expedition to find Livingstone. It is quite enjoyable if a bit ‘light’, the interest certainly coming from the internal politics of the expedition team rather than the nature of the journey itself. One thing did strike me, one of their challenges is billed as ‘using only compasses and basic maps’, which could only be billed as a challenge in the age of satellite navigation. Even this seemed to rob the team of some of their awareness of their surroundings. Pasquale Scaturro, the navigator, takes a compass bearing and then navigates from ‘tree to tree’ despite numerous clues in the sky and ground to help him hold a course. To be fair Benedict Allen does point out that the river would give a line to follow, but Pasquale does not seem to want the river to get between…

Tags: benedict allen, compass, courses, expeditions, expediton africa, maps, mireya mayor, navigator, pasquale scaturro |

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The Natural Navigator is the school set up by Tristan Gooley to research and teach natural navigation.

Natural navigation is the art of being able to find your way solely by using nature. It encompasses using the sun, moon, stars, weather, water, land, plants and animals.

The courses are designed for those who enjoy the outdoors. Who comes on the courses? Read the feedback from those who have been on the courses here.

If you would like to know more about natural navigation you can browse the website, read about my natural navigation book, or listen to a BBC Radio 4 programme.

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