Kenya: Gatunda Primary School Upgrade

10 days (Nairobi)

Destinations visited: Kenya, Nairobi, World

Grading:

Adventure touring level

Grading Definitions

Discovery & Cruising

These are our least demanding trips. These journeys of discovery and cruises involve little or no extended activity and are suitable for people with a basic level of fitness and good health. The itinerary may take place in remote areas (with basic facilities) and may involve long travel days on various types of transport. Sightseeing may be conducted on foot and all participants should be capable of carrying their own luggage from vehicle to hotel rooms. These adventures do not go above 2500m and rarely involve camping.
Suggested preparation: Once or twice a week, we recommend you walk on undulating terrain for an hour, for at least 2 -3 months prior to departure.

Adventure Touring

Suggested preparation: Two or three times a week, we recommend you walk on undulating terrain for an hour or more, for at least 3 months prior to departure.

Introductory

These trips involve trekking or walking, cycling, rafting or sea kayaking for up to five or six hours a day at a slow but steady pace and should never be misinterpreted to mean they are easy trips. These trips do not spend time at altitudes above 4000m and are usually a week in duration. You will need a reasonable level of fitness and good health.
Suggested preparation: 30 minutes of aerobic type exercise, (either cycling or jogging) three times a week for three months leading up to your trek. For trekking, hill walking with a daypack in variable weather conditions is also recommended. For a cycling adventure, road cycling twice a week for three months prior to departure is recommended.

Introductory to Moderate

These trips involve a combination of what is described in our INTRODUCTORY and MODERATE levels. The emphasis is on introductory activity with several moderate stages

Moderate

These adventures involve trekking, cycling, rafting or sea kayaking for up to 6 or 7 hours a day at a steady pace. These trips may spend successive days at altitudes not generally exceeding 5,500m and are usually between 10 and 15 days in duration. You will need a good level of fitness and be in good health.
Suggested preparation: 45 minutes of aerobic type exercise, three to five times a week for the three months leading up to your trek. Hill walking with a pack in variable weather conditions or road cycling is also recommended depending upon the activity you plan to undertake.

Moderate to Challenging

These adventures involve trekking, cycling, rafting or sea kayaking for up to 6 or 7 hours a day at a steady pace. These trips may spend successive days at altitudes not generally exceeding 5,500m and are usually between 10 and 15 days in duration. You will need a good level of fitness and be in good health. Suggested preparation: 45 minutes of aerobic type exercise, three to five times a week for the three months leading up to your trek. Hill walking with a pack in variable weather conditions or road cycling is also recommended depending upon the activity you plan to undertake.

Challenging

These adventures involve trekking, cycling or rafting in remote areas in variable weather conditions for up to 8 to 10 hours a day (possibly more subject to weather conditions and altitude). This may include spending successive days at altitudes not generally exceeding 6000m. These trips may often be over three weeks in duration. You will need an excellent level of fitness, be prepared to carry a daypack weighing up to 8kgs (and in some cases a full pack) and be completely comfortable in adverse weather conditions.
Suggested preparation: One hour of aerobic type exercise, four to five times a week for three to six months prior to departure. Hill walking with a pack in variable weather conditions or on/off road cycling is also recommended.

Entry Mtn/Exploratory Treks

These adventures are classed as expeditions. They involve either extreme trekking and or basic mountaineering. Expect remote and poorly defined trails in variable weather conditions for up to 12 hours a day (possibly more subject to weather conditions and altitude). This may include a number of demanding high pass crossings and evacuation may be difficult from remote areas. Suitable for first time mountaineers wishing to take the step from trekking into the realm of mountaineering. Prior experience trekking at altitude is preferable but not essential and you should be comfortable in adverse weather conditions. Prior technical mountaineering experience is not necessary. Terrain will involve low angle snow slopes. Ropes may be used during treks for glacier travel and steeper sections of ice and snow. When mountaineering, basic mountaineering instruction is given by our mountaineering guides.
Suggested preparation: For grade 8-10 mountaineering expeditions you will need to be very fit and healthy. A minimum of 1 hour of aerobic exercise per session, four to five times a week is essential. Running and cycling in hilly areas is particularly beneficial as are multi day walks on the weekends. This is the ideal time to try out your boots and other gear to make sure you are prepared and ready for your expedition. If you are considering Intermediate or advanced level trips, you will need to discuss your preparation leading up to the trip with our expert staff.

Intermediate Mtn Expedition

Participants should be competent and self sufficient in the outdoors and have experience in multi day trekking at altitude. Prior experience on an entry level mountaineering expedition is highly recommended. The terrain will involve low to moderate angle snow slopes and traveling on crevassed glaciers. Experience using ice axe and crampons is preferred but not essential.
Suggested preparation: For grade 8-10 mountaineering expeditions you will need to be very fit and healthy. A minimum of 1 hour of aerobic exercise per session, four to five times a week is essential. Running and cycling in hilly areas is particularly beneficial as are multi day walks on the weekends. This is the ideal time to try out your boots and other gear to make sure you are prepared and ready for your expedition. If you are considering Intermediate or advanced level trips, you will need to discuss your preparation leading up to the trip with our expert staff.

Advanced Mtn Expedition

These are our most challenging expeditions. Clients must have prior mountaineering experience. Most are participatory expeditions & involve load carrying, setting up of camps, cooking and campcraft. Altitude is generally greater than 6500m. Some of these expeditions also involve “technical” climbing and are for experienced alpine climbers / mountaineers only. Technical expeditions involve steep climbing at high altitude (including rock climbing). Participation on one of these expeditions is subject to acceptance by one of our high altitude mountaineering guides.
Suggested preparation: For grade 8-10 mountaineering expeditions you will need to be very fit and healthy. A minimum of 1 hour of aerobic exercise per session, four to five times a week is essential. Running and cycling in hilly areas is particularly beneficial as are multi day walks on the weekends. This is the ideal time to try out your boots and other gear to make sure you are prepared and ready for your expedition. If you are considering Intermediate or advanced level trips, you will need to discuss your preparation leading up to the trip with our expert staff.

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Renovate classrooms, install a water tank and rain gutters for a small Kenyan school, followed by game viewing in Samburu National Reserve

Approximately 225km north of Nairobi lies the region of Chogoria, the gateway to Kenya's highest mountain - Mount Kenya. Within Chogoria is the small village of Gatunda, home to 1000 residents, which has a small primary school for 200 students. We will complete renovations on the school to build desks for the classroom and install a much-needed water tank and rain gutters. Currently students carry water for many kilometres for use at school; some go without. Following our project work we travel to Samburu National Reserve for a chance to spot wildlife. The Reserve is habitat for a wide variety of animals including lion, cheetah, leopard, elephants, buffalo, hippos, a plethora of birds and the Nile crocodile. We will also visit the Sweetwaters Game Reserve, a sanctuary for the rare black rhino and also chimpanzee.

Highlights

Completing a community project at Gatunda Primary School
Working alongside the local community at Gatunda to complete the project work and getting to know their way of life
Game safari at the remote Samburu Nature Reserve, viewing elephants, lions, cheetahs, Grevy's zebras, buffalos, oryx, grants gazelles, dikdiks, cheetah, hyena and much more!
Visit Sweetwaters Game Reserve, a sanctuary for the rare black rhino and chimpanzee

Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive Nairobi

Group meets at hotel in Nairobi. Rest of day at leisure.

Day 2 Drive to the village of Gatunda, Chogoria

We depart Nairobi after breakfast and board our private vehicle for the 4 hour drive to the small village of Gatunda, which is located approximately 225km east of Nairobi in the Meru South District of eastern Kenya. On arrival at the village we'll visit the school, meet the school students and staff and learn about the tasks that we are to complete over the next few days of community project work. The rest of the day at leisure.

Days 3-6 Community project work at Gatunda Primary School, Chogoria

Under the supervision and guidance of our project manager we shall set about renovating Gatunda primary school, building desks and erecting a water tank and putting in place rain gutters. The materials would have been purchased locally and transported to the school ready for our arrival. To improve efficiencies and to ensure the project is completed on time the group will be split into work groups, each tackling a different aspect of the project. There will be a professional carpenter on-site who will be coordinating the project and who will act like a foreman. It will involve manual labor and you should be prepared for up to eight hours work per day. The work will be hard at times but rewarding and constructive. There could be some heavy carrying at times although no ladders, power tools or access to the roof will be allowed. On the completion of the project work we will join with the local community in traditional celebrations on our final night. We will spend these 5 nights camping just outside of our project area.

Day 7 Drive to Samburu National Reserve

After breakfast we bid farewell to our friends at Gatunda Primary School and board our private vehicle for a 3 hour drive to Samburu National Reserve. We take an afternoon game drive in the park to spot some of the wide variety of wildlife and over 350 species of bird life.

Day 8 Game viewing at Samburu National Reserve

Samburu Reserve, established in 1985, is an arid, hilly region with riverine forests, doum palms, acacia woodland and scrubland, offering a dramatic and rugged landscape in a rather remote location of Kenya - which is precisely the attraction of this reserve - fewer tourists in a wildlife rich, desert like setting amidst a colourful local tribe. Samburu has a permanent water supply that's like a magnet for the numerous animal species, that include all three big cats (lion, cheetah and leopard), herbivores and reptiles such as crocodiles, as well as elephants, buffalo and hippos. Samburu also offers superb bird-watching with numerous weaver birds, the marial eagle and the blue legged somali ostrich.

Day 9 Drive Nanyuki and visit Sweetwaters Game Reserve

After breakfast we board our private vehicle and set off on a 2 hour drive to the market town of Nanyuki followed by an afternoon visit to Sweetwaters Game Reserve, a 90,000 acre wildlife conservancy and the only place in Africa where you can see chimpanzees and the big 5. Sweetwaters is home to over 40 chimpanzees, 73 endangered black rhino, 5 endangered white rhinos, elephants, lion, leopard, buffalo, grevy zebra, giraffe, cheetah, several hundred bird species and more!

Day 10 Drive to Nairobi where trip concludes

After breakfast we board our private vehicle for a 3-4 hour drive to Nairobi. Arrive in Nairobi, where trip concludes.

Additional Information

Inclusions

9 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 8 dinners
3 star hotel in Nairobi (1 night)
internal transportation in private vehicles and 4WD safari vehicles
expert bilingual guide
group medical kit
all group camping equipment (sleeping bag and mat are not included)
services of cook, driver, guides and camp helper
sightseeing specified in the itinerary
national park and camping fees valued at US$330
community project: all equipment, tools & materials required for the project including transport of materials to site

Summary

8 nights camping
1 night hotel

Trip Main Activities

4 days community project
3 days Wildlife Safari

Group Size Min

Group Size Max

Accommodation Summary

Equipment Required

Although all the equipment required for the community project will be provided, we do suggest that you bring tough work gloves and a lightweight set of overalls or old clothes to use during the project work days. Any spare rags or clothes you can bring will also be put to good use during the project. A comprehensive gear list is provided in the pre-departure information provided on booking.

What You Carry

When not participating in the community project you should carry with you a daypack containing a water bottle, snacks, camera and wet weather gear.

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