Service-Learning Trip – Kenya: Wildlife Conservation and Cultural Traditions

Upon our arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, our guide will greet us before we transfer to our hotel.

After breakfast this morning we visit the Karen Blixen Museum. Located in Karen, the beautiful Nairobi suburb that was once part of Karen Blixen’s vast coffee estate, “Mbogani” was Karen’s home from 1917 until 1931. The house and grounds were made famous by the film ‘Out of Africa’ and have been restored by the Danish community of Kenya. Visitors have a glimpse of typical colonial life in Kenya at the turn of the twentieth century. As well as many of Karen’s original belongings, replicas replace items that have been lost over the years. From the beautiful gardens there are magnificent views of the Ngong Hills, held dear by Karen and described so tenderly in her writings. At the front of the house the original millstone tables can be seen from which Karen conducted much of her farm business.

After lunch at the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden, this afternoon we will visit the Bomas of Kenya, located just a few kilometres from the city center. Bomas is a Swahili word for villages and the Bomas of Kenya contains numerous homesteads reflecting Kenya’s cocktail of cultures, faithfully recreated for visitors to see traditional village life of the many Kenyan communities. There will be a display of traditional dances, music and other folklore traditional songs in a splendid arena. Later this afternoon we will return to Nairobi for the evening.

From Nairobi we drive North West across the escarpment and descend into the Rift Valley where you will see one of the world’s natural wonders: Hell's Gate National Park, famous for its natural hot geysers, and eagle and vulture breeding grounds. Driving, walking, camping, cycling and rock climbing can be enjoyed within the park. Viewing Zebras, baboons and gazelles are common sights and occasionally cheetahs, leopards and ostrich are encountered. Hell's Gate is one of the few game reserves where visitors can explore by foot and walk amongst the elands, zebras and hartebeest. Fischer’s Tower, formerly a volcano's plug, is a column of volcanic rock named after a German explorer who explored the Hell's Gate area in 1882. We continue our journey with views of Mount Longonot, created as a result of the volcanic eruptions that formed the Great Rift Valley.

We then make a visit to Longonot Primary School where we will become involved in the cultural activities at a local primary school.

After these excursions you will be staying at Elsamere, former home of the late Joy Adamson of ‘Born Free’ fame, a haven for lovers of nature, set on the banks of Lake Naivasha. By staying at Elsamere you have the unique opportunity to visit local conservation projects. Check-in to the lodge dormitories and visit the museum including a slide show. Dinner will be served at the lodge.

In the morning you will visit Lake Nakuru National Park for a game drive, one of the finest bird sanctuaries in the world with regular sightings of one million flamingoes feeding on the lake. This stunning park is also home to a huge variety of wildlife including rhino, lion, leopard and giraffe.

You will then have lunch and an additional game drive. Late this afternoon you drive back to Elsamere for you second night stay here.

After breakfast, depart for the Masai Mara Game Reserve via Narok. We check-in and have lunch at the lodge.

This afternoon we have a short game drive in the reserve that is famous for its large concentration of wildlife as well as bird life. It is the natural prolongation of Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.

Today we wake up at 5:30 hrs and after a cup of tea/coffee and some toast we board the bus for your first game drive in the Mara. An early morning start gives you the best opportunity to see the big 5 and the rest of the plains game. After the game drive you head back to camp for a late breakfast (10.00hrs) relaxing around camp followed by a light lunch. This is followed by an afternoon game drive. We return to camp in the early evening before it gets dark by 19.00hrs. On the drive you will try with your biological classification skills to see if you can classify the animals and birds you see.

On the way back to Nairobi you have the opportunity to visit one of the Masai Villages to see how they live, talk to the people in the Village, meet with the Masai Warriors and watch some of their traditional dances. We arrive back in Nairobi later this afternoon.

Today we will visit the Giraffe Centre, headquarters for AFEW, the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife. Made famous by ‘Daisy Rothschild,’ a giraffe calf rescued from Soi on the border of Western Kenya, Giraffe Manor was established in 1983 as a sanctuary for the then endangered Rothschild giraffe. The breeding program has been a great success and visitors can now watch these gentle giants at eye level from a raised platform. There is also the opportunity to learn more about giraffe at the interpretation center and hand-feed them while watching the semi-tame family of warthogs snuffle around their hooves in search of tidbits.

Your rewarding and enjoyable tour comes to an end as your tour manager/guide accompanies you to the airport by private coach for your flight home.