Kenya: Walking with Warriors
Few people can say they have completed a three-day trek through the Forest of the Lost Child with Massai Warriors in Kenya. Our group of fourteen pupils and two teachers from Exeter School make up some of that few, as we walked with the Massai through the Massai homeland. This was one of the many activities we experienced on our expedition to Kenya.
After touching down in Nairobi and spending the night in the Hotel Boulevard in Kenya’s capital city, we were on our way to Lake Naivasha to see some of the local wildlife, which included a hippo community. Following a night in camp eating some of Chef Chris’ amazing food, it was back on the road to Mount Longonot.
A dormant volcano, Mount Longonot was a 7.2 km walk up to the top, where we were met by stunning views of the volcano’s crater. However, we didn’t stick around for long. We went straight back down the mountain, onto the bus and on the way to the Maji Moto.
We met the first of many Massai warriors we would meet on the trip. They taught us how to light a fire the Massai way and the following morning we got ready to go on our three-day cycling route.
From waving non-stop at the local children who would run from their house in the middle of a field to the road to see you, to gazing, awestruck, at the beautiful views, the ride was amazing. This was despite some illness in the group, leaving a couple of us in the bus for a couple of days.
The first week in Kenya was marked by a game drive in the Massai Mara National Reserve. There were two main highlights, besides the elephants, crocodiles, hippos, zebra, wildebeest, giraffes and cheetahs. The first, finding a border post for Kenya and Tanzania, meaning we technically visited two countries on the expedition, albeit our stay in Tanzania lasted less than five minutes. The other, seeing a Leopard hiding in a tree, with a Pride of Lions asleep beneath it.
The two nights of our trek through the Loita Hills and down into the Rift Valley were spent sleeping underneath the stars. Before bed, we danced with the Massai warriors and heard their stories and experiences.
The hike ended with being met by the bus and the bulk of our luggage. A 20-minute drive followed to Lale’enok Research Centre. During our time at the Centre, we learnt about their efforts to conserve the landscape and the wildlife. We saw the facilities and met a local farmer, who gave us a delicious taste of some sugar cane and told us about his life as a farmer.
We spent the afternoon of our second day on inflatable rafts floating down the nearby river, having fun and seeing the baboons.
The Massai women who live nearby taught us how to make beaded bracelets, offered valuable insight into Massai life and general life advice.
After a memorable few days in Lale’enok, we bade goodbye to the dust, baboons and Massai ladies of Lale’enok and embarked on a six-hour drive to Sagana, our last destination of the trip.
Sagana was much more relaxed than the hiking and cycling we had done earlier on in the trip. Our time was spent climbing on Savage Wilderness’ climbing wall, the swimming pool and the zipwire running across the Tana River. The zipwire wasn’t the only time we spent in close proximity to the river…..we were white water rafting on it later that day!
Undoubtedly the best activity of the trip, the rafting saw us go down rapids with names like, ‘Captain’s Folly’, ‘Can of Worms’ and ‘Sphincter Flexor’.
The last day of the trip was spent playing a game of football against the local school and cooking as part of a competition. The group was split in two and we went round local markets and supermarkets buying ingredients. The teachers had a beautifully tasting cake for the winners (my team!).
Before our flight our amazing guide team: Wilson, Alpha, Danny and Chris took us to a famous Nairobi restaurant called ‘Carnivore’. Surprisingly, there were no vegetables for dinner (apart from vegetarians and vegans who are accommodated for), just an amazing range of meats.
Overall, the Kenya Expedition was one of the best trips I have ever been on. It pushed the team to our limits, while helping build friendships that will last a lifetime.