2018 Expedition Reviews

A selection of the reviews from the 2018 Expedition.

James Small. Although this was my fourth visit to Kenya and Tanzania, it was no less memorable, inspiring, and magical than previous visits. As soon as I arrived I felt instantly at home thanks to the welcoming and supportive staff at Kupenda Africa. They do a superb job of looking after their clients (and their food is always a treat! You certainly won’t go hungry!). The truck, the tents and all equipment they provide ensures a comfortable and enjoyable stay in their care. Jason, Kata and Salim did a fantastic job this year and all 3 are very special people.

Peter and Diane, from The Meserani Project, were also excellent hosts and shared with us the life-changing work of the charity and the people it supports. They also helped to make my anxious family feel as safe and comfortable as I did. For three people who had never even dreamed of visiting Africa before 2018, each member of my family now has a newfound love of Africa and a desire to return in the future.

Each day brought exciting new experiences, each one as memorable as the other, and each one made memorable by the people involved. Whether that be the other members of the group, or the people living in the Meserani district. You are sure to meet people that you never forget. 

Meserani Snake Park was one of the key highlights of my trip and the fact that, as I left, BJ told me I ‘always have a home’ there just shows what an amazing and welcoming place it really is. 

Other highlights included:

• Spotting elephants and lions on safari in Tarangire National Park
• Spending time with the children at the local schools and disabled home 
• Meeting my sponsored pupil, Nyangusi Loshilu
• Seeing my mam meet her sponsored pupil, Nganahe Parmwat
• Spending 2 weeks with a great group of people from the UK on what was an amazing adventure 

I would recommend a trip to Kenya and Tanzania with Kupenda Africa to anyone. The only man I envy is he who has not yet been to Africa for he has much to look forward to! 

Still not convinced? Ask yourself: When was the last time you did something to the first time? 

Penny Reed. Have had an adventure of a lifetime, so many memories made, so many different emotions experienced and met so many lovely people.

I thought I would be ‘roughing’ it, but while not luxury, so much more than expected.  The friendliness and camaraderie between everyone was brilliant.  Peter and Diane are a wealth of information and helpfulness, they didn’t seem to tire of all the questions either. Thanks to Peter (our very own Crocodile Dundee/Ray Mears) our overnight bush camp was an experience I will never forget.  

Jason, Kata and Salim of Kupenda Africa are also gems, they are so friendly and can’t do enough for you.  We couldn’t have been looked after any better.

While you do get to do ‘touristy’ things the bulk of this well organised trip enables you to experience the true culture of the area, there are so many photos with so many stories behind them.

Would I recommend this trip?  Yes!  Just go with an open mind and go with the flow, you will have an experience you will never forget.

Sarah, Steven & Hannah Small.This is the first time we have travelled to Africa as a family although this was my son’s fourth visit as part of The Meserani Project and we now understand what keeps him going back time and again. It was two weeks of camping, spending most of the time covered in dust and some questionable dress sense but I loved every minute.  I’ll admit I was apprehensive about the trip but after the first day I don’t know what I was worrying about. 

With a busy schedule, every day was full of new experiences from visiting local primary and secondary schools, the giraffe sanctuary, safari and meeting our sponsored pupil.
Thank you to Peter, Diane, Jason and the rest of Kupenda Africa for allowing us to share this terrific experience, making new friends and memories that will last a lifetime. If you are thinking of signing up for one of the trips in the future, do it! You won’t regret it.

Sue Pitts. I signed up rather reluctantly to go on the adult 2018 trip.

My daughter was going (her second time) – she was raving about it so much, I did feel a little envious.

My mam had just been given a terminal diagnosis with a prognosis of weeks, this was the push I needed to decide to do something different, something that I never would have dreamed of doing, after all, life is too short and can be taken away very quickly.

After booking my flights the nerves set in!

We were kept up to date with regular updates from Peter – as the weeks rolled over it all became very real. Visiting the GPs and pharmacies for vaccinations and malaria tablets made me realise that this was really happening!

I was sick with nerves and trepidation.

It was for an amazing cause, but it was way out in the bush off the typical tourist trail.

I was flying alone on the first leg (as I had booked up later I couldn’t get flights with my daughter) but meeting up with friends in Frankfurt.

No problem with the flights – all went very smoothly – I would certainly recommend Lufthansa Airlines!

Picked up by Jason and the Kupenda Africa crew in what appeared to be a prison truck but I later realised why we needed a truck like that – hidden compartments containing everything we needed for our stay.

First 2 nights in Kenya ‘glamping’ – so breaking us in gently, then a 6 hour ride to Tanzania where we set up camp at the Snakepark.

The Snakepark – great location, dusty, Ma, reptiles, Meserani Clinic, amazing work.

Sorted the donated items – amazing generosity from so many different people to help the less fortunate.

Visiting the schools was an amazing experience – the children were all so keen to have us visiting and were very excited to have their pictures taken. I would recommend taking simple things like bubbles, playing cards, foam aeroplanes – simple things to us but an absolute pleasure for them – it is a very humbling experience – the children walk miles to get to school for their education. At the boarding schools the older children are very appreciative of their sponsors – they are very proud of their heritage and held their head up high when singing the school’s and the Tanzanian National anthem – we were honoured for the boys to perform their Maasai dance – a haunting / goose bumpy experience

The disabled persons home does an amazing job with disabled people. Partly funded by donations and means tested contributions they do brilliant work to get people back onto their feet and back to living independently.

The safari was well worth doing if it is something that you have never done before.

We were received by the local Maasai people and made very welcome, even being invited to Amos’ boma which was a very humbling experience – he was very proud of his family’s boma, in relation to what we have in the Western world they have minimal facilities but are proud of what they have achieved – It makes you realise how lucky we are to have what we have, and most of it we take for granted.

The Maasai goat BBQ was something that I was a little reluctant about but I wanted to participate as it was something that I would never see again – the Maasai were so respectful of the goat and very skilled in their work – a skill they learn at a young age from their elders – I thought the secondary school boys’ Maasai dance was brilliant – their dance surpassed this – outstanding!!

The trip was well organised by Peter, Diane and Jason, they ensured that we got the most out of every day.

We started early and ended up in bed early – not too many late nights to be had!!

Kupenda Africa was incredible, having their own chef we never went hungry, we were amazed what they were able to serve given the minimal cooking conditions – well done guys!!

My fears were completely allayed – it was a humbling experience which makes you realise how lucky we are. They are a proud nation who are very thankful for the support that the Meserani Project has to offer.

I would not think twice about going again (apart from the fact that I left my husband at home), if you want a challenge, want to experience a different culture and the true Africa then take the challenge, bite the bullet and do something out of your comfort zone – you wont regret it.