2015 Trip – 12 July

 

 

Peter:

Quick input, as we are just about to have a Barn Dance rehearsal in preparation for our first school visit tomorrow. Still haven’t got two of our pieces of luggage – despite a lot of time trying to retrieve them. Still hoping! Fortunately they contain resources, and not somebody’s personal gear. Hell’s Gate National Park gorge expedition this morning was great fun, and everybody tackled the challenge with great gusto. Got really close to four razing hippos at 10.0 last night – worth waiting up for – well done Jenny for spotting them.

 

Josef Ramsay

To start the day of we woke up at half past 6 in the morning and after I decided to wear the wrong type of clothing (explained later) the group was ready to sit down for breakfast, it was good not to be the duty group again because yesterday after each meal it was our job to help clear up and help out with the staff. I had toast, egg and sausages for breakfast which more than satisfying. After we were all ready we set off in the truck to hells gate national park where it was amazing to see some of the beautiful animals for the first time. Once we had drove through the park we had reached a gorge which was a struggle and toll taking on the body. I slipped a good few times because clearly I wasn’t very good at it and cut my leg, at this point we reached a point where we had to climb up the rocks by a rope and didn’t do this, but when we reached the end of the gorge walk I decided to do this and it feels like an accomplishment. I did get very dirt through this walk and me being wise I am wore my white shorts. When we arrived back we sat down to have a late diner, I had fruit salad and pancakes, it was amazing. And later we are going to learn how to barn dance to teach the kids tomorrow. Having a good time so far!

 

 

Felicity Holden

We woke up at 6:30 today, after a restless night listening to the hippos and someone’s very loud snoring!!!! Breakfast was good and then we were off to the hells gate national park. When walking through the gorge I got very dirty by jumping in the water and I climb up a cliff by a rope and then absailed back down which I’m quite proud of. Driving through the national park we saw an array of wildlife such as zebras and giraffes. We have been having a lot of fun and washing up duty isn’t too bad. We have just had pancakes for lunch and the food has been amazing. We are going to a barn dance tomorrow at a primary school which I’m looking forward to. Love you lots, kisses xxxx.

 

Elizabeth Huck

We woke up reasonably early today, ready to go for the gorge walk. Breakfast was lovely and then we were off to the Hells Gate National Park. On the drive through the national park we saw baboons, lots of zebras, impalas and lots of other animals. We walked through the gorge and it was a little out of my comfort zone but I did it!! However did rip my leggings and then spent the next few hours walking around with a hole in my leggings with nothing to cover it. Dinner was pancakes which were absolutely delicious. Tomorrow we are having a barn dance tomorrow at the primary school which should be amazing. It has been such a good trip so far, maybe even my favourite.

 

Kieran Potter

Day 2 was an early start again but I still felt full of energy and ready for a great day in Africa. Breakfast was great with a choice of cereals, scrambled egg on toast and some bananas. We could also have a choice of hot chocolate, tea, coffee and water. Then we started the day going shopping in the local supermarket to buy ourselves a supply of water for a few days. It was surprisingly cheap for very large amounts, 10 litre bottle for 175shillings. We all bought our water and headed back to camp for dinner which was a choice of fillings for sandwiches followed by a slice of watermelon. We set off on our journey to Fish eagle campsite and it’s an understatement when I say that the views are jaw dropping, words just can’t describe. And the people here are so friendly; they wave as we pass them. The camp is nice and calm and open. Hope for another great day and great night sleep again.

 

Aaron Jardine

After arriving at Nairobi airport and hour late and finding out that one of the boxes in which I was bringing had not arrived, it ended up being a very late night. We woke up and after sorting out the missing luggage we went to the shop for water. It has been a pretty chilled day really and I am looking forward to tomorrow as I really enjoyed it two years ago. We are staying at fisheagle tonight and it is one of my favourite places to stay as we are pretty much right on the shore lake nivasha and is a really nice site. Hope all are well.

 

Helen Roberts

How annoying are peacocks. They look lovely but boy they make a horrible noise. We have arrived at fisheagle camp which is on the shore of lake Nivasha being told that while were here we may see hippos. They will not be the only animals we see today, we saw many, many zebras and two giraffes which were awesome but they flew past them on our way to the camp. We also stopped to admire the rift valley which we were told could be seen from space but I don’t think the view would be as good as what we saw. Today was relaxed but tomorrow will be packed full of adventure and lots more animal.

Hope England is giving you good weather love Helen.

 

Elizabeth Huck

Night without my luggage was great. No sleeping bag, roll mat, head torch or the essentials you would need when camping. Luckily, they flew my bag back from Amsterdam last night so I had it for this afternoon. Breakfast was absolutely lovely and dinner was amazing too. We travelled from the first campsite to Fisheagle camp and on the way we saw the rift valley, zebras and giraffes. Fisheagle is the camp near Lake Nivasha and looks like such a lovely campsite. We’re having spag-bol for tea, which I am incredibly excited about. Tomorrow will be full of adventure and I can’t wait. Love you guys back at home, Elizabeth

 

Matthew Naylor

 

Today’s been great, waking up to the best sun rise I have ever seen, this was then followed by a fantastic cooked breakfast made by the awesome Wiki, Jason and Kata we set me in good stead for the rest of the day. The day was awesome as we went on gorge walk which was exciting as we scrambled up rocks, dropped through gaps and slide about all over the place. I am currently writing this sat after eating pancakes: D, sat by the gorgeous lake Naivasha as the sun goes down and on a brilliant day: D

 

 

Jenny Readshaw

 

Today we’ve done so much! I got a shower this morning and ate a large, cooked breakfast then we head out early for Hell’s Gate National Park. We’ve already seen loads of wild animals including four hippos last night and loads of zebra, gazelles, giraffes and warthogs. We went on a gorge walk in the park and ended up getting very wet feet but it was worth it for the view from the top of the hills which overlooked the gorge. Everyone was exhausted by the time it was finished and very dirty so having a shower in the morning was pointless. Anyway I had a good time and I am sat in camp next to the huge Lake Naivasha where we saw the hippos.

 

Kieran Potter

Today we woke up at 6:30 and it was freezing cold at first but as we began to get up and ready we started to warm up. Breakfast today was amazing, sausage and egg on toast. We set off on our journey to hells gate national park at around 9:00 and it was absolutely amazing. With a combination of jaw dropping views and animals such as zebras, warthogs, giraffes, and gazelles this was by far my favorite day so far. When we arrived at the gorge, we started our walk straight away. And the entire walk was amazing, everyone were taking pictures and working as a team to get though. And the structure of the gorge was fantastic. And the view we all witnessed at the end of the walk was well worth the effort. Now sat by Lake Naivasha with everyone. Fantastic day and I know that tomorrow will also be just as good or even better.

 

Jake Hardy

Sausage on morning was a good start to an early morning, which was only made better an early morning safari in the national park. In the truck there was a lovely drive looking upon the beautiful wildlife in their natural habitat. It was a wonderful experience with great sites and zebras, warthogs ‘tumbas’, apes and a few others. After there was a gorge walk going through a ravine going through the ravine jumping from rock to rock and climbing up on ledges with sights to behold. It was an amazing experience and was a great time.

 

Helen Roberts

Well today was a complete contrast to yesterday. We woke up early ish to get to hell’s gate national park to start our first safari, we saw more zebra, warthogs, apes and giraffes all with an amazing backdrop to accompany them. When we got to the end of the safari we all went on a gorge walk. It was certainly an adventure jumping, dropping and climbing all the way along until we got to the view point where we beheld an amazing view. We all made our way back to the truck after that and spent the rest of the ride resting after the walk welcoming the large lunch we had when we got when we arrived back at the camp. After lunch you would think we would get to relax but no we had to barn dance to the blazing races to prepare for tomorrow where we are going to have a barn dance with a school. I do love a good barn dance but not after walking up and down a gorge, I like to take my barn dances with a large serving of sleep so tonight I am going to get all the sleep I can. Hope all is well at home and you are enjoying yourselves as much as I am love Helen

 

Lewis Jefferson

Second full day at Kenya and it was sensational! Waking up to great breakfast and a hot shower was amazing, then to go off to our first national park. We saw our first animals…. Cows!!! No, really we saw zebras, giraffes, warthogs and more, it was amazing because they were so close to our truck. After driving through the park it was time for the Gorge walk which was one of the best things I’ve done. The views were beautiful I couldn’t take it all in! Back to the camp for lunch and we had pancakes, fruit salad and spag bol, although I had to wash up. The barn dancing was the next event of the day and it was hilarious but probably one of the hardest things we have done and I can’t wait to go to our first school tomorrow and teach them it. Anyways im off to do more washing so bye! Missing everyon… well most, love you all.

 

Jacob Jardine

Today was interesting, went gorge walking and it was challenging to say the least, the weather was amazing nice and warm and also physically hard towards the end everyone managed to make it. Got to see some more exotic animals: Zebra, Giraffe, Baboons, Vultures, Buffalo and Gazelle. This was only the morning, and after lunch did some barn dancing in preparation for tomorrow. Now waiting on Tea. As well washed my own clothes. Have fun at home.

 

Jordan Mace

Well, today has just been extraordinary. First of all I woke up at 6:30 and had a very relaxing hot shower. Then we drove through hells gate national park and saw so many animals like: giraffes, zebras, baboon and elands. After that we went on a gorge walk which was just amazing, climbing, jumping and just witnessing spectacular views. The gorge walk has just inspired me to want to go and travel the world and explore so many things when I’m older. I took so many pictures of everything today and I can’t wait to show my family and Lydia them. Anyways I can’t believe it’s only the 3^rd day of the trip and there’s so much more things that going to amaze. Bye guys

 

Joe Garrens

Today I woke up to the most spectacular scenery, of the sun rising over the lake Naivasha. It was honestly amazing. This view was closely followed by a not so great shower as you could only use one at a time when you are in a row of showers, so Jake got there first and I wasn’t aware that I had to wit so I jumped into the shower next to him but the water wouldn’t run so I was stood outside Jake’s shower freezing cold in my underwear begging Jake to hurry up. However, the morning wasn’t all bad as I had a great breakfast of toast and sausages made by the fantastic crew. After we had all got our sun cream on and filled our bottles up we set of for Hell’s Gate National Park. We travelled through the park on the truck seeing our first real sight of wildlife and it was unbelievable. The sights that I saw while on the truck, not only the wildlife but the amazing horizons and cliffs, took my breath away. Once we had travelled through we went gorge walking. I had never done this before and it was an amazing experience one that I will never forget. Surprisingly I never fell over and when we got to the top of the gorge the view was indescribable I had never seen anything like it. Today has been great and can’t wait for the days to come. Still missing you all so much, hope you aren’t missing me too much. Love you all.

 

Abigail Pentney

A group of locals seemed to be having a disco on the campsite which was pleasing to the ear whilst we tried to sleep… We got up at 7am to shower and get ready for the gorge walk, making sure we wore plenty of suncream. On the way to hells gate national we saw zebras, giraffes, warthogs, gazelles and we stopped to quietly take photos out of the truck windows. The gorge walk was great and we got very wet and muddy during it; I regretted the footwear choice of sandals. I was shattered by the end of the walk and the truck was roasting but I was glad to have a drink of water and a rest. When we got back to our camp we had a late lunch on spag bol and pancakes which were delicious. I am very much looking forward to the barn dance planned for tomorrow, but am dreading when I have to wash some clothing. The showers here are bearable but the trickle of water makes it difficult to wash my hair- I am very glad I brought my flip flops! I am missing you lots and I hope your last week at school isn’t a nightmare and you are prepared for Majorca. Love you lots and I shall see you very soon!

 

Rhys Williams

Today was just breathtaking. Breakfast was sausages and eggs and then we set off for our first safari. At Hells Gate national park there were so many animals to see from the skulking baboons, herds of zebra, the shy elands and the rare sight of a giraffe. However my highlight of the day was scrambling down the gorge. I simply love to jump and climb down the narrow trenches of the gorge and to be able to share the experience was simply amazing

            Furthermore, latter today we will be practicing our barn dancing which will simply be amazing. Can’t wait to find out what tomorrow holds.

 

Lizzie Nicholson

Hellooooo! Today was a lot more jam packed than yesterday! I slept a lot better last night and I know I will sleep well tonight. We started the day with a safari and it was amazing! We saw zebras, giraffes, warthogs, antelope, and elands. However, we learnt that there will be some construction work near the park which means there are not nearly as many animals as they should have bee. We drove down to the gorge which was one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen! It is amazing to think that we walked in something so naturally beautiful that has been here for 100s of years! The gorge walk was very challenging but as a team we all helped each other and there was an overwhelming feeling of pride when we looked out from the top. Tonight we will be learning how to barn dance so we can teach pupils tomorrow. Meeting the kids is what I am most excited for! So far I am having the time of my life! Miss you all at home and enjoy the next couple of weeks!

 

Jessica Taylor

Jamboo! This morning was much more action packed than yesterday! We were up early as per usual..Which I find difficult as I love my sleep far too much haha.. As we awoke we had breakfast and headed straight out to hells gate national  park which was amazing. I had my first few encounters with my first wild animals, capturing: giraffes, zebras.. lots of zebras! And gazelles which I took lots of pictures of. After seeing my first amazing animals we went on the gorge walk which was fantastic..i was determined to keep my feet dry which was going surprisingly very well until right at the very end where I jumped off a rock and had no option but to land in water. I also grabbed this rope that helped me up a steep rock which I was really happy as not everyone did it.. overall, ive had a fab day, missing you all at home though! But I can’t wait to see what the next few days bring!

 

Sophie Sidgwick

We got up at 7am this morning, which actually wasn’t too bad. After breakfast we drove to Hells Gate National Park, we saw zebras, giraffes, warthogs, antelope and elands which were all cool to see again. We then went on a gorge walk, it was pretty hard but the views while we were doing it were amazing, especially the one at the end. It was very wet but I managed to avoid most of the water, although I did fall off one part of the gorge and grazed my knee. The group on this trip is lovely, we seem to always be laughing at one thing or another and we seemed to have mingled really quickly. Overall I’ve had a really good day, missing everyone back home hope everything is okay.