WHAT IS WILD NIGHTS OUT?

WILD NIGHTS OUT offers an experiential space for Matrics (South African school leavers) to spend 7 days and 6 nights hiking in the Cederberg mountains with experienced rite of passage guides. This journey is both a celebratory time in nature and a time of reflection and dialogue about where they have come from, where they find themselves and where it is they want to go. It is a real way to acknowledge achievement and support school leavers to learn how to navigate their own lives by walking into the mountains as a metaphor for walking into the unknown next phase of their futures.

Finishing school is a time of major transition in a young person’s life: a time where they are leaving the known world of the schooling system, where they are told what to do, how to do it, when to do it while surrounded by familiar people. Now they head out into the lesser-known world to meet unfamiliar people and to make decisions about their futures. How do they learn to navigate in this unknown space?

How do they respond when it gets hard?

How do they learn to trust their inner knowing?

How do they connect and dream into "a more beautiful world that our hearts know is possible"…?

"Being in the mountains and connecting with nature has been one of the best experiences. Nature restored my confidence and my mindset on life. I know that if I put one foot in front of the other, even when things get hard, that I can get to where I want to go..."

Matrics are invited to apply to be a part of this fully funded programme. Selection is based on their writing a motivational letter explaining why they should get one of the 18 places in the programme.

WILD NIGHTS OUT works with decades-long experienced rites of passage and mountain guides, each of whom has an expertise in specific areas. These facilitators model what it looks like to be an adult in these times, what it looks like to have close friends that are from completely different backgrounds, what it is to be compassionate, what it is to follow your dreams... And even more importantly, they weave an itinerary that is designed to be both joy filled (sleeping under stars, swimming in rockpools, telling stories and playing games) as well as inquiring and nourishing (story-sharing circles, deep dialogue, solo time).

WILD NIGHTS OUT is so much more than just an adventure into the mountains.

It’s a choice step in a different direction.

It’s a time of seed planting.

It’s a time of listening. Learning. Laughing. Reflecting. Sharing. Dreaming…

Just listen to the testimonials from the previous participants here.

We are delighted to partner with some wonderful food suppliers like the drifoodco and Trail Food, so that these Matrics can journey both into the mountains and within themselves with their bellies nourished from well sourced food.