The first 24 hours

Day 1 Friday14th-Saturday 15^th

 

Staff Version of events…..

What an epic 24 hours we have experienced. Following a well-executed game of suitcase Tetris we embarked on our journey to Kenya. No major problems and a smooth transition to the aircraft (with Mr Tomlinson holding Liv’s passport throughout the airport for our sanity). Students and staff were entertained on the flight with most getting a small amount of sleep. The arrival in Kenya saw another level of Tetris and students were welcomed to the Kenya roads and stunning scenery immediately. Despite the cramped and long journey students were still able to serenade the entire venga bus an eclectic range.

After a bumpy hour on the bus we arrived at the elephant sanctuary, students were excited to see the orphaned elephants. Some of the student’s tiredness caught up with them which resulted in some interesting comments including “I thought Rhinos lived in water? “ to which Miss Wilson replied “…no that’s hippos Anya.” Daisy’s comment of “What’s that thing that they have on their face?”, Miss Raybould “A trunk Daisy” “Yeh that, it looks like a worm when it goes in the water”.

Finally, after a brief stop at the stunning rift valley we arrived in Nakuru our home for the next two weeks. Staff and students are now clean fed and watered and now preparing for some serious sleep.

                         

Pinnington’s Jubilee Jans:

We have finally settled into our hotel after the (horribly long) 24-hour journey on very little sleep. Once we arrived in Kenya we began our journey by going to the supermarket to buy lots of food and water. It was so nice to have some proper food (including garlic bread for breakfast) and stretch our legs and relax after the sleepless flight and bumpy car journey. After the supermarket, we went to the elephant orphanage which was such a good experience! Being able to get up close and stroke them was amazing, something that we won’t forget! Despite already travelling for hours, we were unaware of the horrific journey we were about to have.

Tomlinsons Walkers

During the bumpy journey on the bus, we were lucky enough to spot some zebras and baboons on the side of the road. We stopped off at the Great Rift Valley and were able to take some group pictures with the beautiful, picturesque views. Our favourite part of the journey was seeing a bus full of school children and seeing their happy faces when we were waving to them, this has made us more excited to get to our project and start working with the local children.

The Ray Ronnaken's

Jambo! After over 24 hours of travelling, our first taste of Kenya was kick started by a rewarding opportunity of meeting some of the orphaned elephants at the David Sheldrick Wildlife trust. On top of this we experienced our first encounter of the local communities and the clear class division. It was an overall eye opening first day and we are all excited to see what else Kenya has to offer once we’ve recovered from the long journey.