Kenya Expedition 2008

15 July 2008

Watson's Conquers Mount Kenya!

Jambo from Kenya. We have just returned from the second highest mountain in Africa! It’s safe to say that everyone is knackered, but glowing with pride at having not only completed our gold D of E but conquered ‘that oversized
hump of earth’, quote Adam Muir.

Our first day began with a lie in and brunch. Not something one would normally associate with a Duke of Edinburgh expedition, (not that we were complaining!). We set off in our new best friend, ‘the big green driving machine’ to the bottom of Mount Kenya. Everyone was feeling slightly apprehensive after the previous nights briefing on how best to escape a charging elephant or stampede of buffalo, and remembering not to go too far into the jungle incase of an impromptu meeting with a venom spitting, man eating snake! On arriving at the gates into the Mount Kenya (MK) national park, we got a last visit to a ‘western’ toilet and said our goodbyes to ‘the transporter’ OT. Our first day eased us into the D of E way of life with only 4 hours walking on a gradual slope up to Met Station. We did not meet any of our most feared mountain dwellers but had some sightings of deer, monkeys and a chameleon (quite a find!).

We got to camp in good time and set up with haste as the clouds drew closer. As it got dark at around seven o’clock, our heads were down early as we prepared for a tougher following few days.

Day two on the mountain brought sun as we set off up through the final parts of the forest before venturing up the infamous vertical bog. It had been very dry which meant the bog was not particularly boggy making life a lot easier for our ascent. The afternoon brought rain and also snow but spirits stayed high. We started bringing out our various time wasting games, one of which included deciding whether to shoot, kiss or marry three of our peers, (what goes on tour stays on tour!).

After a long days walking, ending in a trek through Teleki Valley, we finally arrived at Mackinders Camp (4300 metres!). We had been warned that the altitude would begin to take effect, with several people complaining of headaches, however we pitched our tents and gratefully clambered into our sleeping bags for a long nights sleep.

Day three began with the emergence of the great MK, a summit we would all reach in the coming 24 hours. This was our acclimatization day which involved a short but challenging climb to a small lake in the shadows of the MK’s highest peak. We then returned to camp for a VERY early night before our VERY early rise.

Day four (just) began with us clambering out of our beds, as some in the UK may have been clambering into theirs, for the longest day of our lives! We climbed up scree slopes and through boulder fields in the hope of catching a glimpse of Mr Laycock’s fabled snow giraffe! We reached the Austrian Hut about 40 minutes before sunrise and Adam’s dreams of finding a Yeti gradually deteriorated and we had a well earned break. We then made our way to the summit, with all of us reaching it, to be amazed by the African sunrise from 16,500 feet! We were in the ultimate state of ‘hakuna matata’. We then took our pictures, sang our anthem and made our way back to Mackinders Camp, basked in the rays of the rising Kenyan sun. We left Mackinders Camp an hour later and ‘legged it’ back to Met Station for our final night on
MK and Duke of Edinburgh.

Day five was a short skip back to the gates of Mount Kenya National Park which went according to plan despite an encounter with a buffalo (second most dangerous animal in Africa don’t you know!). We then reached the gates, took our pictures and turned our backs on the great mountain!

Bobby Hamilton, Ally Brown and Rob Scott Moncrieff

9 July 2008

Jambo from Kenya! We can’t believe that Africamp has come to an end so soon - the time absolutely flew by! We had an amazing time and made some very strong bonds with the kids, which made saying goodbye today so hard. Some of the Scouts found it so hard to leave that they tried to hide in the camp but unfortunately everyone had to leave, and we will too, tomorrow when we set off for Mount Kenya.

We are all completely exhausted, the last eight days we have been constantly active: singing, dancing, building and playing games to name a few! We have learnt new songs in Swahili, Luo and English and have realised we are terrible dancers compared to the Kenyans.

There were several competitions including 'Africamp’s Got Talent, Africamp Olympics and a football tournament. The competitions were great fun and everyone’s competitive side came out as we were all determined to win the packets of sweets up for grabs! Everyone was surprised when the orphan team was victorious over the sub camps in the football tournament, they were ecstatic being able to play with and beat four other teams! Unfortunately it came to an abrupt end when we experienced the worst thunderstorm we had ever seen! There were hailstones the size of conkers and we were all panicking trying to keep the water out of the tents, however lots of stuff was soggy by the end of the night! The thunder and lightning went on all night, the cracks of lightning made us all jump out of our skin!

We learnt loads of really useful skills such as marching and how to kill and gut a chicken humanely! We were disgusted to learn that the kids eat basically all the chicken even the intestines, head and feet however they do leave out the pancreas! We were all glad to be given the ‘worst’ parts of the chicken, the breast and legs! The weather during the day has been incredibly hot, sometimes unbearably so with everyone pleased for any seat in the shade. However we have had lots of storms to cool us down, the first of which we all sang and danced around in, the Kenyans thought we were crazy, some of us even washed our hair.

We are all excited to head off on the next part of our trip. We cannot wait to start the climb, its scary but having talked to Chris, Cat (Adventure Alternative staff) and Miss Fletcher who have climbed it before we are all very reassured and determined to reach the summit and return to sacrifice the goat! The next time you hear from us may be from the top of the mountain!

Mhairi Farquhar and Kate Ramage

2 July 2008

Jambo Edinburgh! Hakuna Matata - it means no worries! All is going brilliantly out here. It was a long flight and although tired when we reached Nairobi, we had a tour and visited a slum school and market - an excellent introduction to Kenya and what to expect for the rest of the trip.

On Sunday we boarded the Adventure Alternative truck and drove through the Rift valley, seeing wild Zebra and Impala, and also the evidence of January's troubles - the burnt houses and refugee camps. When we arrived in Western Kenya to Ulamba orphanage we were greeted with open arms and amazing generosity - the phrase always used is "feel free". The group got stuck in straight away - their bricklaying skills are superb as is there accuracy with pangas! The groups are very busy in their sub-camps and here are some of their comments so far.

After four days in Kenya, we are all settling into the new way of life. It is a huge contrast to home but the people are all so friendly and respectful. The orphans and people who work here do an amazing job and are always in good spirits. The kids we are looking after are also incredible, despite their really tough backgrounds. I am just constantly discovering the depths of human nature and realizing how lucky we are and how valuable our presence is for the kids, to motivate and give them hope and encouragement to make their futures better.
Morna Spence

Jambo! Jima lamagu mi Maddy! I’ve only spent a few days in Kenya and already I’m in love with it! The kids we are working with are quite simply amazing. From the minute they arrived they were building tables, chairs, cup racks or a fire on a table and all from bits of wood and string! Although we have only been with these kids a few days I’d like to think I’m getting to know them quiet well. We have cooked and eaten all our meals together but they mostly take control of the cooking as they are the experts! We spent an afternoon teaching them about HIV, Scotland and general English which eventually dissolved into a game of football.

The chat in the camp between the Mazungus (the white people) is in a word BIZZARE - we discuss toilet routines, clean clothes and the difficulties that arise when taking a shower (or bucket). Bugs are another wonderful topic - it all adds to the experience though!

I can’t wait to spend more time here and really get to know everyone - Mazungus and Kenyans! Team WAGAI IS MUZURI!
Maddy Weller

Quite simply put, Kenya is amazing - the people here have blown me away. They are always happy despite their very poor existence. The kids especially are amazing - some have no family at all, are HIV positive, are crippled, or deaf and dumb but they still come out with a smile from ear to ear - and I find that incredible and it makes my problems seem insignificant.
Alex Honhold

Our group headed for a day trip to Kisumu with the kids yesterday. We were lucky enough to see three hippos bathing in Lake Victoria - it was a great experience although the boats were rather rocky! We took them to a museum and learnt a lot about the traditional Luo way of life - Bobby discovered that if he was Luo he would not be able to have his own homestead and would have to live at home - and all because he is left handed! After lunch with the kids we took them to the Nakumatt (a big supermarket in Kisumu) a sight they had never seen as they come from a very rural environment. It was a good day for the children just to spend time with us outside the camp. To finish our day everyone at Ulamba Moving Mountains Orphanage joined in a big campfire where we sang and danced. Altogether it has been a great experience so far. Hear from us soon.
The Sagam group - Erin, Lizzie, Amy, Mhairi F, Bobby, Rob and John