Climbing the sacred mountain, Mt Ololokwe was a highlight of our northern Kenya Road trip. I always love being able to get out of the car on our road trips and get out and do some exercise and this hike was no stroll in the park.
Our alarm was set for 3:14 am as we were starting our walk at 4:00 am. However, it wasn’t even 2 am before we were woken up by elephants eating from the trees right next to our car (and consequently us as we sleep in a rooftop tent). The noise from them eating was incredibly loud, the elephants were at eye level with us as they crashed and barged their way through the trees. I managed to go back to sleep for under an hour before the alarm sounded and we were up.
The night before we had boiled water and put it in a Stanley flask so it was still piping hot. We made tea and coffee, had some light breakfast and then we were off. We carried a small backpack, packed with snacks and water and each had a head torch, an essential item.
We found Jackson, our guide, sleeping. He heard us coming and simply wrapped his shuka (Maasai blanket) around him, put on his tyre sandals, picked up his torch and stick and we were off! I wouldn’t normally take a stick as I don’t like having something extra to carry. However, we had been on a walk the day before and I had seen how steep it was and decided a stick was a good idea.
Hiking in the dark
The entire walk to the top is in the dark, that is if you’re quick enough to get there before sunrise! This was clearly something Jackson was worried about. Consequently, the walk was definitely not at the usual pole pole (slowly slowly) pace that I am used to out here in Kenya. It was a definite marching pace. I think we only took 2 small drink breaks up to the halfway point.
The first half of the walk is very steep so make sure you are prepared. If you can get through this first half then the second half is easy in comparison. I am fairly active and quite fit and I was definitely building up a sweat in the first half of the walk.
Climbing the Sacred Mountain, Mt Ololokwe
Equipment
I would recommend a head torch as it allows you to keep your hands free for scrambling up the hill. In terms of temperature, even though it is still dark when you are walking it is still nice and warm. I walked in sports shorts and a vest top and I was fine until the top! I didn’t use walking boots, just trainers which would have been fine if the grip hadn’t worn out. Make sure you have a good grip on your trainers, especially for the way down.
On the way up you need to keep your eyes peeled, the elephants walk up this mountain during the cool of the night to visit the permanent springs to drink water. There was also lots of leopard footprints although the likelihood of seeing a leopard is very slim.
Levelling off
After the halfway mark, or a little before it starts to level off slightly and you can catch your breath. You also start to feel the breeze a bit which is nice. There are various viewpoints on the way up but it’s obviously pitch black so save that for the way down! Nearer the top, you start walking through more open fields and can see a few lights from a village.
To get to the top it took us 1:45 mins, but as I say that was at a good pace. We did have about 20/25 mins sitting at the top of the mountain waiting for the sun to come up so we could have gone a little bit slower if needed. From the foot to the top is 4.35km.
Once at the top we found a good viewpoint to watch the sunrise and Jackson look a little nap under his shuaka, I assume to keep the wind off him. My one bit of advice is to remember a jacket for the top, a down jacket is perfect as it packs down small to squash into your bag. I didn’t bring one and I was so cold at the top!! If you can carry it I would recommend bringing a flask of tea for the top, it certainly would have helped warm me up a bit!
When the sun comes up you finally can feel some warmth and you are awarded with incredible views over the Samburu district. We took some time eating our snacks and taking pictures and then started the walk back down.
The way back down
On the way down, you would probably think it would be faster but actually, you have to go a lot slower as it’s slippery and steep. I feel on my bum 4 times but to be fair my trainers have all but run out of grip! You can also now see where you are going so you take a bit longer as you can appreciate the views and observe the fauna around you.
At the top of the mountain, there are also cycad trees. Cycads are the oldest living seed plants on the planet, they are much older than dinosaurs even (www.iol.co.za).
Ancient cycads
Stopping to observe the ancient cycads and beautiful trees that adorn the top of the mountain
It actually took us about the same amount of time to get down and we were back at camp by 8:30 am having brunch. Overall I would say it’s a challenging enough climb to get that sense of achievement once you get to the top and the views are definitely worth it!
Accommodation
We stayed at Sabache Campsite which is at the foot of the mountain. The campsite was basic but fine, it has clean toilets and showers (with cold water). There is also a watchman who looks after your stuff and keeps the vervet monkeys away.
There is also a lodge at Sabache which has ensuite rooms and porches with amazing views of the mountain. However, it does look like it hasn’t been used in a long time and could definitely do with some updating to get it back to its prime.
Costs
The hike and camping and conservation fees for the both of us cost just $70. This was resident rate which makes it a very reasonably priced weekend activity. On top of that, there are tips for the guide and askari.
If you enjoyed this blog about climbing Mt Ololokwe way, why not share it for others to read
Want to see what else there is to do in the area, check out these other blog posts:
Let’s talk about safari. Many people have a favourite animal when it comes to what they want to see on safari. A lot of the time it’s lions, leopards or cheetahs, some kind of predator as they have the WOW factor. I understand that of course, it is exciting to see a lion, well initially it is, and then you realise that you have spent the past 20 minutes staring at a pride of sleeping lions when the only shot you can get is on the side of its face hidden in the tall grass.
Don’t get me wrong, witnessing and getting those shots when the members of the pride greet each other or the lion cubs playing or that iconic yawning shot is very exciting, but with lions, it’s usually 5 minutes of action, which you had better not miss, and 30 minutes of sleeping.
The same applies to Cheetah and leopards a lot of the time it’s a shot of them sleeping or resting, preserving their energy for their hunt.
However, with patients, you sometimes managed to get some kind of action shot, for example, a shot of a cheetah with Mount Kenya in the background
Or a scene you can turn into an artistic low key shot:
But the chances of seeing action when observing predators is quite low. I have lived in Africa for 7 years, been on countless safaris and in my lifetime I have seen one successful lion hunt, and one failed hunt, one successful cheetah hunt (a VERY long way away) and maybe 3/4 predators with kills that they had already made. While of course, these were amazing experiences, this is the exception rather than the rule. The likelihood of seeing some action is not really in your favour.
Let’s Talk About Elephants
If action and entertainment are what you are looking for when on safari then elephants are the animals for you. Yes, elephants do spend around 80% of their time grazing but during that time there is always a lot more going on. Elephants live in herds led by a dominant female called the matriarch. The matriarch is the oldest and wisest female of the group, she leads the herd to their feeding ground, to water and generally looks out for everyone’s safety.
Within the herd, there are usually one or two young calves. Depending on the age of the babies they are sometimes difficult to spot, very young calves (below one year) will still fit under their mother’s belly and spend all of their time close to her and usually shielded by the rest of the herd.
As they get a bit older they venture a bit further away and they are endlessly entertaining to watch, especially when they have not yet figured out how to use their trunk.
There will also be some adolescents who still at times play with the younger calves, or tussle with each other, especially younger males as they wrestle to test their strength. The adolescents are usually the ones to show you how big and strong are by flaring their ears and doing a mock charge at you to show you who’s boss.
When these bulls (males) become a bit older (around 12 to 15 years of age) you will find them on the outskirts of the herd. Bull elephants are slowly pushed away to prevent inbreeding within the herd, but they are sometimes reluctant to leave the safety of the group. The outcast males eventually go off on their own and roam alone. They are kept in good behaviour by the dominant bull in the territory who gets breeding rights with the females. Eventually, the young bulls will challenge the dominant male to try and win breeding rights.
Elephants are such gentle giants, you will be amazing at how a whole herd of 2-7 ton mammals can move so silently and quickly through the bush, you can literally lose sight of a 10+ strong herd in a matter of minutes.
It is also fascinating to watch their feeding habits when the adults reach up to the branches balancing on their hind legs to bring down food for the smaller elephants,
They also use their feet to dig up the root of the grass and then hit the grass against the floor or their tusks to knock the soil off, this prevents unnecessary grinding down of their teeth as much as I’m sure it also doesn’t taste great. As I said there is always something interesting to see when watching elephants and the following image is one of my personal favourites as it is so unusual, this particular ele had a persistent itch and found the perfect tree to be able to scratch it:
One of the best times to observe elephants is when they are by water. At the first sight of water they often get so excited they can’t help but trumpet and run towards it. When drinking they are able to suck up around 10 litres of water in one trunk full. At a waterhole, you can often see the social structure in action as the matriarch is the first to drink and decided when it is time to move off. Once they have finished drinking they then enter the water and splash around and wrestle or splash water over themselves to cool themselves down. An elephant is fortunate to not have and predators that are able to take them down (besides humans) so they are able to spend time enjoying life and securing social bonds. I can spend hours watching elephants and never get bored.
This video was taken in Randelin Wildlife Management Area, just outside Tarangire National Park, Tanzania where Tarangeri Tree Tops is located
This is a great way to observe elephants as it allows you to get close without being obtrusive or putting yourself or the elephants in danger. It also gives great opportunities for unique low angle photos.
Recently a herd of elephants camp to the camp to visit. The waterhole at camp had just been fixed and the elephants could obviously sense this and they were coming to get the first taste. The herd walked past the entrance to the lodge and followed the fence around until they got to the water. This gave me a fantastic opportunity to be on foot (safely behind an electric fence) while they walked past. I was lying on the ground to ensure the best angle to give the elephant the status it deserves. From a game viewer, the elephant is undeniably impressive but from the ground level, there is nothing more intimidating than a herd of elephants marching less than 50 yards away from you.
Once around the other side of camp, they made straight for the waterhole and spent around an hour drinking, feeding and cooling off, much to the guest delight at they had their afternoon tea. Here are some of the shots (available as fine art photographic prints) taken on the day:
If elephants are your favourite animals are elephants and you are looking for the best places to see elephants then I recommend 2 places, in particular, one is Tarangire National Park in Tanzania, for that luxury trip you can stay at Tarangire Tree Tops and Chobe National Park in Botswana. I personally have been to both of these places (Tarangire on many occasions) and have never been disappointed.
With regards to reading more about the social structure of elephants or just learning a bit more about them from an expert then I recommend reading ‘The Elephant Whisperer’ by the late Lawerence Anthony it’s an amazingly touching story about his life with a herd of troublesome elephants on his conservancy in South Africa:
The sequential book ‘An Elephant in my Kitchen’ by Lawrences’ wife Françoise Malby-Anthony is the story of how she continues her late husband’s conservation work, expanding to caring for not only orphaned elephants but also orphan rhinos, and the consequential lessons she learnt about ‘love, courage and survival’ is also definitely worth a read.
Check out other images available for purchase as fine art, sustainable photographic prints delivered straight to your door:
 Only 4 days left to purchase your beautiful print and make a positive contribution to wildlife conservation
Prints for Wildlife is an initiative set up by Pie Aerts and Marion Payr in connection with African Parks. The aim of the initiative is to increase funds for Wildlife conservation and community projects due to the immense deficit caused by Covid. The overnight closure of the international tourism sector in March 2020 has led to a profound economic deficit which has a substantial impact on wildlife and the connected communities. ‘It is estimated that 24 million Africans depend on tourism for their livelihood’ (https://www.printsforwildlife.org/pages/about).
Prints for Wildlife brings together 170 generous photographers including famous photographers David Lloyd and Beverly Joubert who have kindly donated their images to be sold to wildlife lovers around the world, with 100% of profits going directly to the non-profit organisation African Parks. African Parks are responsible for managing 19 National Parks and protected areas in 11 countries. Their aim is to rehabilitate and effectively manage wildlife areas in partnership with governments and local communities. Watch this video to find out more about African Parks and their achievements.
The initial Prints for Wildlife launched in July 2020 raised $660,200 for African Parks. This money has helped African Parks, not only to protect the African Wildlife including gorillas, Rhino, elephants, lions and many other species, it also supports local communities. African Parks have ensured they are able to continue providing education, medical service and sustainable livelihoods to vulnerable communities surrounding wildlife areas. If you would like to get your hands on one of the beautiful prints while at the same time contributing to a very important cause then you can head to their website to select your print. Images are 30 x 45cm, printed on sustainable paper and limited to 100 print editions. If you buy 3 or more prints then you get free delivery. However, the fundraiser ends on the 11th of August so you don’t have long to get your orders in!
References:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â https://www.africanparks.org/about-us/our-story
https://www.printsforwildlife.org/pages/about
I have spent many years taking photos and to be honest the photos have mostly just sat on my computer. Therefore I am really excited to finally have my fine art print collection live and ready to purchase!Â
I am so happy to be able to share my photos properly, and not in a 1 inch x 1 inch box on instagram. But on my own website where I can control the size and how it is displayed. I have literally thousands of photos and one of the hardest things about making a gallery is choosing the images. These imges are just a start. I will continue to add more photos and go through old photos so keep checking back and for updates and new prints.
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I am very fortunate to have been able to regularly visit some of the most amazing places for African Wildlife. My aim is to share these beautiful places with you all. I hope that these photos spark some joy for you or even better if they inspire you to experience it for yourself. All of these photos are from my personal experiences. They are from holidays, trips and adventures around East Africa from my 7 years of living here. There are photos from numerous places including Masai Mara, Amboseli, Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorogoro, Bwindi and many more.
Unfortunately, I don’t have many, if any, photos from Malawi, despite living there for four years. I didn’t have a great camera at the time so my photos are not really good enough to feature in my galleries but maybe I will do a post just for memories sake of my time in Malawi.
Personal storiesÂ
Of course, you can google photos of the Serengeti and I am certain you will find much more beautiful photos that mine. However, I think there is something about seeing the photos and experiences from someone you know that makes it that bit more special.
Maybe some of you were even with me on these trips. For me every photo is a memory captured and it is now available forever to remind me of that special time. Photos from these collections are moments from so many amazing experiences including; my mum coming to visit, last safaris with friends, holiday adventures and even once in a lifetime birthday trips to see the Gorillas in Bwindi. I personally have some of these photos on display in my own house.Â
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With that in mind all of the photos you see are available for sale. If you recognise any of them or even just where they are taken and want to display that memory in your home then you can either buy direct from the website or contact me if you would like a custom order.
Sustainable, quality printsÂ
All orders are processed through The Print Space Uk, Europe’s premium Carbon Neutral fine art and photographic printers. Print production is of the highest quality and and orders are shipped within 48 hours. All photos are printed on the highest quality Fuji’s professional C-type matt photographic paper which is designed for photographers to get the best out of each photo. Fuji matt paper brings out a very natural feel to the colour which adds a three dimensional feel to the print. Whats more the Print Space Uk has a sustainable promise with sustainably sourced inject paper and all packaging and bubble wrap is 100% recyclable.
Fine Art Print Collections
The photos are split up into 5 different collections; the nursery collection, black and white, colour, dark and lastly the light collection. Although some photos do overlap. I invite you to take a look though the fine art print collections. I challenge, those of you who know me personally, to see if you can can find a photo that you recognise. If you do, comment below where you remember the photo being taken. Click on a photo below to take you to that collection, happy browsing!
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The Dark Collection
A collection of dark and powerful images
The Light Collection
A collection of images edited to be a light, decorative addition to any home
The Nursery Collection
A collection of images of baby animals, perfect to brighten up any child’s nursery
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The Black and White Collection
A collection of black and white images to suit any colour scheme in your home
The Colour Collection
A collection of more traditional colour images to appreciate the magical colours of Africa
I hope you enjoy looking through my fine art print collection and maybe some of the photos spark some memories for you. Maybe they have even inspired you to take that once in a lifetime Africa trip in which case my mission is complete! Reach out if you need any help or advice or let me know your favourite pics.
On Saturday 27th June around 60 runners got together in Lewa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to complete a half marathon. Unfortunately, the annual Lewa Safari marathon had to be cancelled for the second time due to covid but it was able to continue virtually. We were supported by around 1,400 people running the virtual Lewa Safari Maraton across 20 different countries.Â
The marathon is an important fundraiser for Tusk Trust and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to help them continue their work in conservation and community development. Since the first Lewa Safari Marathon in 2000, the event has raised over $7.5m for projects across Kenya. including supporting schools, conservation projects, clinics and community programs. Â
On the morning of the event, we started with a group warm-up at 7 am and then was briefed before the event started at around 7:30. I had my headphones in, my watch set to track and was set for running at a steady (slow) pace. However, I was clearly surrounded by athletes who were taking this quite seriously! Kenya is known for its long-distance runners, some of the best athletes in the world are Kenya runners and the raw talent was obvious on the day of the event.Â
On your marks, get set, go and they were off at a blistering speed, Within 200 yards there was already a significant distance between me and the lead runners. My strategy was simple; don’t be last. I knew I was going to lose momentum and speed and so I had to try and keep a ‘middle of the pack’ status as I am definitely not one of those people who can come through at the end and catch up. I got to the middle and my task was to stay there. Of course, this was by no means a race, but I am after all a PE teacher and so competition is in my blood. The fact that the furthest that I had run in preparation was 10k the weekend before was definitely not going to be in my favour. I had no doubt that this was going to be a tough event, but the fact that it combines running (something I, to be honest, hate) with safari, one of my favourite things in the world, made it bearable. Also, the challenge and being a part of something bigger did give me the reason I needed to carry on. Trust me it was particularly difficult to continue at around the 15k mark, where the supporters had set up a tea and coffee station under an acacia tree. It took all of my strength not to pull up a chair and have a cuppa with them and cheer on the rest of the runners. The other thing I found hard (this will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me well) was resisting the food available. At each water station, the rangers were also handing out fruit. Having never run 21k before I didn’t really know if I would need the fruit or not, but I figured if they were handing it out then it must be a good idea. At the first water station at about 7km in I had a small banana which seemed to help. At the next water station, they had bananas and orange slices so I grabbed some orange slices that were thrust in my direction. This turned out to be a mistake, I then had to run through a stitch for the next 2km or so which was not very pleasant. You would have thought this would have taught me a lesson, and yet, at the next water station, I went for watermelon and suffered the same fate. Bearing in mind in the grand scheme of things I wasn’t really running for that long (2hours 31) I didn’t really need to eat anything, at least now I know for the next half marathon I attempt! I am sure. the ‘winner’ of the event certainly didn’t gorge on all the fruit on his way around as he was only running for 1 hour 15 minutes before he crossed the finish line with a big smile on his face and not a bead of sweat on him!
Over an hour later I stumbled across the line, feet battered and blistered, legs feeling like lead but happy to be finally at the end! I finally got my cuppa as I was greeted at the finish line with Chai Mazwa and Mandazi (a Kenyan doughnut). I’m going to blame the 5,500ft above sea level altitude and nearly 30-degree heat for my slow pace. I was very impressed with Charl, he has been training prior to the event, which in itself was impressive given his very busy work schedule, and the training had obviously paid off. He could have easily run off and left me, he had a lot more energy left in him than me, but he stuck around so we were able to cross the finish line together.Â
It was a privilege to be able to run in such a wild place, Lewa is home to more than 70 different animal species and over 400 species of birds. Lewa has one of the highest densities of wildlife in Kenya, including 12% of the countries critically endangered black and white rhino, and the world’s largest population of Grevy’s Zebra. Â https://www.lewasafarimarathon.com/about-2021/. At the start of the run we ran past, a little disgruntled, black rhino called Sonja and her calf:
We also ran/stumbled past Giraffe, Elephants, and notoriously dangerous Buffalo. Having been on many games drives through the area in the month prior to the event I had been lucky enough to see a variety of wildlife including Rhino, Elephant, Giraffe, Buffalo and of course predators. Just the night before the event I had been on an evening game drive by the swamp area and we had seen a pride of 9 lions setting out for an evening hunt. It was difficult not to think about this as I was running through the swamp area the next morning. I just hoped that they had had a successful hunt the night before and were still too full to bother eating me too. We also ran past the river where a couple of days prior I took this photo of a large male lion quenching his thirst:
There is of course no logic to only thinking about there being lions in places where I had previously seen them, as of course, the reality is they could have been anywhere. Although the fact remains that the wildlife is equally as scared of us. With such an unusual and large presence of people in the area, a lot of the wildlife moves off to give us space and returns when things have gone back to normal. There were of course also rangers and scouts keeping an eye out for danger along the course so we weren’t really in any danger. Overall the day was a great success and I hope that next year we will be able to do the same again but with participants from all over the world and hopefully after a bit more training.
Update: This years event raised over $350,000, all funds will assist with the recovery from the challenges COVID-19 has bought on wildlife and local communities in Kenya.
As promised here is the next instalment of volunteering information, please bear in mind this is all purely from my perspective from my own personal experiences and therefore not to be used as a hard and fast guideline for volunteering. Whenever you are thinking about volunteering you should always research the companies and see if they are reputable, where the money goes, what impact they have had etc.
I have had few experiences of volunteering, my first as I wrote about previously was in Tanzania in 2012 with a company called ‘Original Volunteers’ to be honest I don’t think it is very easy for me to review this company, it was such a long time ago, it was a brand new project and I have had no dealings with them since. In fact, I have just googled them to find a link but it appears they are no longer running. What I will say it at the time their pricing was fair, there were a few hiccups but there was always someone available to discuss issues with and most things got resolved in a timely manner. In this volunteering experience, I assisted teaching in the local school and helped dig foundations for a new orphanage that was to be built. I also had a bloody good time getting to know my host family, going on adventures and experiencing new cultures, food and traditions.
My next experience of volunteering was in Honduras 2013 teaching in a bilingual school. The interview was a skype interview with an 18-year-old who was in charge of the school, he was not a teacher but was in charge of hiring, teaching and running the summer school. The emphases of the summer school was to improve the students English, as it was a summer school it was optional for the students so the classes were not full and I guess what was being taught was not part of the curriculum but an ‘added bonus’. I mention this as I am assuming this is the justification behind having an unqualified teacher in charge of the school. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the guy in charge, he was a great guy, whose heart was in the right place, but he was not qualified to be in the position he was in. There were a number of other volunteers there at the same time as me, some qualified some not. However all of them put their heart and soul into the school, we walked or got a tuk-tuk to school every weekday, we taught lessons, we played with the kids at break time, we ran fundraisers at weekends to try and get more equipment and resources for the school, we discussed lesson plans and how to tackle difficult situations in class, we bought resources from home or made them, we helped each other and we all gave it our best. My point here is that despite the fact that we were basically left to our own devices, we were headed by an unqualified teenager, we were of course not getting paid, some of us didn’t even speak the language, I still feel like we made a positive difference. Those kids learnt more English that summer than they would have had we not been there. Of course, we also gained from the experience, we made strong friendships, we got to know the locals, we were invited into the homes of the students for dinners and celebrations, we experienced situations that you wouldn’t get if you were just a tourist passing through, we went on adventures including white water rafting, jungle trekking, we ate local cuisine and again became part of the community. After the summer school ended another volunteer and I got a (very rocky) boat to Utili and did our PADI diving course. So yes, we did gain from the experience but importantly I feel like the students did too and it was not all in vain.
The point I am trying to make here is that I think there are two types of volunteering placements. The ones where you have to go through strict interview progress, meet lots of minimum requirements and qualifications, jump through lots of hoops, and usually pay a substantial amount of money all for the privilege of being able to work for no pay. Or the type of volunteer placement where they accept basically anyone, including fresh out of school students without the right experience or qualifications and leave them to it and hope for the best. While it would seem the former type is the better, I still believe that the latter can be of use and beneficial if the volunteers themselves are passionate and dedicated.
Throughout my time in Honduras, I had no communication with anyone from the volunteer company, to the point where I can’t even remember the name of the company. I remember we had a volunteer house to live in and someone organised pick up from the airport but in all honesty, I can’t think what else they might have done. I do remember the police coming to the school one day demanding our passports and to see our volunteer permits which I don’t think we had. This leads to my next important point, this type of volunteering can also be potentially dangerous. On that day we said we didn’t have our passports and they eventually left, it could have very easily gone a different way. This is where the first type of volunteering comes in useful. There are people who organise that for you, they know the laws of the country and make sure that you abide by them all, there is someone on hand to help you should you have any problems, you usually have meetings or training prior to the placement to discuss any issues, meet people and have your questions answered. However, as always this is not always the case. While I lived in Malawi I spent some time volunteering. This was different to the other previously mentioned volunteer experiences where I went to the country specifically to volunteer. In this case, I already lived and worked in the country and just volunteered in my spare time.
My time volunteering in Malawi was my best experience. From 2014 – 2016 I lived and worked in a private school in Kasungu, north of Lilongwe. The school was a boarding school a long way from any big towns so was quite isolated. A few other teachers and I found ourselves spending a lot of our free time at the local orphanage. It was not formal volunteering, we would just go and play with the kids, help bath and dress the babies, chat with the older kids, we even started bringing students from our school to the orphanage, we literally just spend time with them giving them some attention and the mama’s (ladies who worked there) some time to wash the clothes and the rooms etc in peace. I worked at the school for 2 years so I spent a significant amount of time at the orphanage, I knew every child and mama by name and character and really became part of the community. Over time we wanted to do more to help and eventually, we set up a nursery school at the orphanage, employed a teacher, bought in resources, did some training with the teacher and the mamas and with time had a fully functioning nursery school so that the youngest students could start learning at home to get a head start before they went off to school. I still get updates from the school and see how the children and mamas are doing.
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When I moved to Blantyre in 2016 – 2018 I again found a local orphanage and would go and help out, help kids with homework, play sport and just generally spend time with them. While there I met a lady who had come to volunteer, she stayed at the orphanage and help out where needed. I got chatting to her about her volunteer experience and what she thought about it ect. the long and short is that she spent over $2000 to be able to come and volunteer, on top of that she had to pay to go to a 2-week’ training camp’ prior to her volunteer placement and still had to pay the orphanage directly to assist with costs towards her food and lodgings. When I asked the owner of the orphanage if any of that $2000 goes to him he said he didn’t know anything about the money.
All of this leads me to describe my next volunteer experience and one that I think is the best model I have experienced. Having already been living in Malawi and casually volunteering in my spare time, I felt like I was aware of how things generally worked in East Africa (a huge generalisation, I am aware) and didn’t feel the need to pay a company sitting in their posh office in London a large amount of money to organise my next volunteer placement. I had some friends who wanted a new experience (coming to Africa) and wanted to do something useful while they were there. Both friends and I are teachers and so we had a long summer holiday to use. We decided on Tanzania as our destination and set out looking for a worthy cause for us to input our efforts into. That was when we came across The Greenhouse Hostel.
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The concept behind the Greenhouse Hosel is great, at its most simple it is a friendly, affordable place to stay with like-hearted others, in simple dorm (there is one private) rooms, where food is also provided within the rate. But it can also be so much more than that. If requested the owner Benson can also organise day trips and excursions, or multi-day safaris or hikes. He welcomes you into his home as if you are family as well as the other staff who throughout my stay also became good friends. Even more that, if requested, he can organise suitable placements for your to volunteer in during your stay. He personally vets each and every placement including schools, hospitals, orphanages and general community projects to ensure that they are suitable for volunteers. Within this vetting process, he ensures that they are above board and transparent with all of their dealings including what is expected of their volunteers and where all donations go. He has regular meetings with the placements to ensure that he can best place volunteers in the most suitable placements to ensure their needs are met. Benson also personally checks up on volunteers throughout their placement to ensure that everything is going smoothly and that the volunteer is doing well and doing what is required of them. Benson is always on hand if anything is needed and both the placement and the volunteer can speak to him if they have any problems. For our trip he organised pick up for us at the airport, a suitable school and orphanage for us to volunteer in, transport for us to get to placement, volunteer permits, a welcoming home, weekend activities and we woke up to breakfast already prepared and came home to an evening dinner ‘family style’ every evening. We became good friends with Benson and the other volunteers and hung out frequently throughout our stay, giving us a locals perspective on Arusha. There were no extra costs for him to organise all of this, we paid for our volunteer permit ourselves and of course, any weekend activity costs (including trips to the hot springs, and hikes up Meru) but other than that the costs were only for the accommodation which included meals. What I love most about this concept is the fact that it doesn’t take advantage of the volunteer or ask for anything extra of them. This model allows tourist to visit Tanzania, give back to the community and experience the real Tanzania all in one trip without paying an extortionate amount of money in order to do so. It also allows you to build real connections with people who live and breathe the experience every day instead of an abstract person somewhere else being your point of contact. If people have a positive experience volunteering it can have endless opportunities, it can lead to lifelong connections and continued support. I remain friends with Benson to this day and hope we can continue to support each other if needed. Of course like many other businesses that rely on tourism Benson’s is suffering and he hasn’t had many volunteers this year due to covid. His business supports schools, orphanages and hospital in his community as well as supporting other community projects like planting trees. He and the projects he supports are in need of donations and volunteers so if you are able and willing please do have a look at what you can do to support, whether it be physically going to volunteer or assisting with donations. Here are a few photos from my recent trips to revisit the school and orphanages I worked with when I volunteered 5 years ago.
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So as you can see I have has a few experiences with ‘cowboy’ volunteer placements and others with more reputable companies. My problem is I am in the camp of not expecting to pay through the nose and jump through tones of hoops to enable me to ‘help’ others for free. Alternatively, I do get that sometimes what we do is not really helping, a bunch of high school kids coming over to Africa to play with the orphans and post photos on their Instagram about how much they are helping these poor kids can indeed fuel the ‘white saviour’ mind frame. My way of overcoming this is to always volunteer in a field where I think I can actually be of use and bring some experience and knowledge that will actually help. I have always volunteered in the teaching sector where I feel that as a teacher who trained in England I have had more extensive training than teachers in the countries in which I have volunteered, but also just different experiences so that we can have discussions and share experiences. This means I can also, of course, learn from them as much as they can learn from. Isn’t that also the point. To share experience and ideas, to have discussions and try and do something positive.
So there you have it, my thoughts and experiences of my volunteering, despite some of the experiences not being the most organised or official, I still loved all of them and I would recommend it to anyone.
If you have any comments or questions please feel free to post them below or if you want more information about the projects at the Green House Hostel or of the other mentioned projects please don’t hesitate to get in contact.
Getting involved in the community surrounding where I live is something I think is very important. I feel like I am in a privileged position and it is my duty to be able to share my knowledge and experience and help others as best I can. For me I don’t like to do that with money as such, there are obviously many different ways to get involved and help out others and for some people, the best way to do this is with monetary donations and that is of course very useful. After all, money makes the world go round so we all know it is a necessity in life.  For me, however, I like to physically get involved, I have had the opportunities to volunteer in a few countries over my time, including Tanzania (on two different occasions), Honduras and Malawi. Again, I appreciate not everyone has that option and I am fortunate to have the time (school holidays) and the disposable income to be able to travel.
There are many arguments against this type of volunteering, which these days have become such a big business its called ‘volunteerism’.  One argument against this type of volunteering is the fact that you spend so much time and money getting to the country, accommodation, food, travel insurance and then of course the fact that some companies charge an extortionate amount for you to have the privilege of volunteering (which you are never sure where it actually goes). All of this money is, therefore ‘wasted money’ and would be more beneficial if you just gave it directly to the organisation for them to do as they need. While I completely understand this argument and in some cases it is true, I stand by my choice to physically volunteer and here is why. If I was to volunteer or not, I would still travel, so why not volunteer while I am travelling. I have had so many amazing experiences while volunteering, I have grown as a person and I have taken those new experiences, new knowledge, new understanding with me to each new job, country and volunteer placement. I have met wonderful people, both other volunteers and locals from the communities I volunteered in. I have made lifelong friendships. I have gained as much from volunteering as I have given and I believe that is the best thing about it. Ultimately for me, volunteering has led me to where I am today, without my first experience of volunteering, I would not be sitting here in Kenya writing this blog.
My first volunteer experience
In 2012 I had my first real volunteering experience, I choose to go to Tanzania because of my love for nature and wildlife and of course the opportunity to go on safari while I was there (and a cheeky visit to Zanzibar). I choose a new volunteering company and in all honestly, a large part of the reason for choosing this company was the small fees involved, I think it was around $200
(compared to the $2000 other companies were charging). By paying these fees it meant that I had a company behind me, a person to meet me in the country who would set me up with a project and organise accommodation etc and peace of mind for my mum who had a number to call should anything go wrong. So off I went, on my own, for a month and a half in Tanzania.  At Kilimanjaro International Airport I strolled out of departures, carrying only my hand luggage.  After waiting a long time by the carousel it was clear my bag had not made it to Arusha with me and I was told it was stuck in Ethiopia and I should call tomorrow to see if it has made it. I met a man holding a sign with my name on it and as it was late at night I was dropped at a hotel and told he would be back at 4:30 am to pick me up. Bewildered I quickly fell asleep and woke up not long after, put the same clothes back on and went to meet him at reception.
I was then driven to a chaotic bus station, given a ticket and bundled on a very old, bedraggled looking bus and bid farewell. I had no idea where I was going, how long I would be on the bus for or how long until I got hungry (anyone who knows me knows this is never long) and of course, what was I going to eat!
After hours sitting at the bus station, cramped in my seat surrounded by many more people than there are seats (if you have travelled on public transport in Africa then you know) and a box of chirping chicks on the luggage rail above my head, we finally started moving. As it turns out the bus was on the way to Iringa, a southern town, some 692km from Arusha. Along the, at least, 7 hour journey we suffered one break down and had to stop and wait for another, equally dilapidated bus to pick us up and continue the journey, many hair raising moments (bus drivers are notoriously crazy, dangerous drivers), a few ‘wilder wee’ toilet stops where conveniently people come rushing to the windows of the bus holding up buckets of boiled eggs, samosas, mandazi and much more, a preacher who boarded the bus at one stop, preached very loudly for 3 hours and then got off at the next stop and the slowly withering chirps of the chicks above. On one of the toilet stops, I saw another ‘mzungu’ (white foreigner) and decided to talk to her, correctly assuming she would also be here to volunteer. It was lucky we made friends as we found ourselves sharing a bed that night in a sad little hotel for our stopover in Iringa and me wearing her clothes for the next 2 weeks (I found an underwear shop in Iringa to get some essentials) while I waited for my bag to miraculously turn in our final destination, Tungamarenga. A small little village which turned out to be the gateway village to Ruaha National Park, where I took my first safari, igniting my love of safari.
Please excuse the poor quality of the photos, these were taken many years ago with a very old school little digital camera!
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So that was my introduction to Africa, lost baggage, cramped, broken down, dangerous bus journeys, roadside wees, and bucket food. If anyone knows Africa they will know that the story continued in a similar fashion of un-organisation, hilarious events, un-communicated situations, strange food, warm welcomes, un-parallel kindness and generosity and general amazingness for the next month and a half. Said mzungu and I became good friends while we lived with a local family in a house with no running water or electricity, cooked outside on fire in a hut, dug foundations for an orphanage, taught in the local school, played sports with the children, cooked dinner with mama, herded goats and danced with the Maasai, listen to beautiful choir music in the church, learnt about Tanzanian culture, told stories around the campfire and harvested sugar cane from the fields. We became part of the family and the extended community, we carried water on our heads from the water pump, washed our clothes and our bodies in a bucket under the starry sky and swept the ground until there was not a blade of grass in sight! I can still remember all of it as if it was yesterday.
I recently revisited Tungamarenga, we stayed there before continuing on to safari for the second time in my life at Ruaha National Park. Armed with just a photograph on my phone, I asked in the local pub if anyone knew the guy in the picture. His name is Pascal and he was the person who looked after us throughout our stay, he was the eldest son from the household we stayed in and he became a good friend. The first person I asked about the photo said he knew him, he was his friend and he would call him. 10 minutes later I was reunited with my friend from around 9 years ago and I was able to buy him a beer and catch up with how everyone is in the family. It was amazing to be able to see him and reminisce about stories from many years ago.
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If you would have asked me then if I thought I would be back here ever again, the answer would have been 100% yes. As many people know, once you have been to Africa, you will definitely come back, and that’s exactly what I did. I continued my university education upon returning to the UK and then the first opportunity I got I returned to the continent. I finished my PGCE (teacher training) and my NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher) year and then applied for a job in Malawi.  I spent 4 years there, then 3 in Tanzania and I am now in Kenya and I haven’t looked back since. Throughout my time I have always tried to get involved with the communities where I can. I think volunteering is one of the best things you can do.  Yes it does cost money to do it, but it shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg and you should always check out the reputation of the company you volunteer with the ensure that the money goes where they say it does. You don’t always need a company either, there are many places you can volunteer without paying fees if you are confident enough to travel and seek them out for yourself. Some companies also have minimum fees to cover their costs but not to make money. In my next blog I will be giving some information about the companies and organisations I have volunteered for and the projects they have been running/are running.
Thanks for reading, I hope you have enjoyed my trip down memory lane
As predicted the blog has gotten a little bit forgotten recently, I would love to say it’s because I have been so busy with new projects and very exciting things happening in my life. That’s not exactly the case, to be honest, I have just been settling into my new, normal life. I still kind of feel like I’m on holiday and I don’t think it has really sunk in that I’m unemployed and I’m not just waiting for term to start again.
So my day usually loosely follows the structure of wake up, a cup of tea followed by either a dog walk or a run. If I am attempting a run I have Roo on the retractable lead and Rafa on a shorter lead and harness, this makes it slightly less likely that we will trip each other up. I have decided I don’t have time to be able to run with one dog and then the other so I take both at the same time. To be fair the dogs have actually got much better, they must have gotten a bit used to the sights and smells and have settled into a routine. Most of the time they run nicely alongside me, occasionally they do still smell something and try and make a dash for it but I have a firm grip and they don’t get very far. If I’m just going for a walk then I have Rafa on the long rope so he has a bit more freedom and we are less likely to fall over the rope when walking than running. I then have my morning smoothie and then spend some time on my website and photos. My aim was to get the website up and running by the 1st of June which did and didn’t happen, technically it was ‘live’ on the 1st but it definitely wasn’t ready. It’s still not fully ready but it is live and you are able to view it. If you have a chance pop over to the galleries section and have a look at what I have been working on Prints Across Africa. There are still some things to add, mainly the part where you can physically buy the photo from the website but that will come soon, for now, you can email me directly if there is anything you are interested in. While I am at the computer the dogs are lazing around in the garden playing their new favourite game of chase the birds. I have put up a nice new bird feeder in the back garden in the nook of the acacia tree, I get leftovers from the kitchen and give them to the birds and squirrels etc. It only took 2 days of putting food out and then the birds got used to it and started coming every morning demanding their food. The problem is the dogs think it’s their food and so try to chase the birds away every time they land, the dogs run and bark at the birds and they fly away and come back again a couple of minutes later. I wonder how long it will take the birds to figure out that no matter how much they bark or run around the dogs will not be able to get the birds so they can just continue eating without worrying?!!
Apart from the website and photos, I have been looking into a few projects and been speaking to some local Non-Government Organisations, charities and schools and there are a few things in the pipeline for some things for me to be working on in the near future, so watch the space on that! I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into something and using my time a bit more productively. Don’t get me wrong its been amazing having some time to get projects done that have been sitting in the background for ages, I actually started setting up the website a year ago and it’s been sitting idle for all that time so it’s a massive achievement to finally have that up and running (even if it’s not actually finished). But it will be great to get into something new, I have always loved getting involved in community projects and development and anyone who knows me knows my love for animals so if I can get into that conservation side of things as well then that would be amazing too. I am very lucky to have this time and to live when I do, so I hope I can do something beneficial with it!
Today I visited a school just outside the conservancy. It is a local private school built out of the frustration of the limitations of the local government schools; too many children, not enough teachers, not enough resources etc you know the score. This school is in the local village surrounding the conservancy where many of the staff from the conservancy are from. It has been running for three years and so at the moment has only three classes. Next year they will have one more. The classrooms are basic but they are at least warm and dry and have all the necessities. The fourth classroom is already built ready for next year and all that is needed is some tables and chairs, they wish to expand each year until they have the full classes for primary school. Crucially class sizes are small (there are only 17 students at the moment) so students can get some more one to one attention to ensure they reach their potential. Although they are hoping for a few more children next year to bring in some more school fees to help with costs. This is exactly the kind of thing I like to get involved with and I look forward to working with them in the near future.
Afternoons I usually am able to get out for a game drive, to take more photos to add to the ever-increasing collection of pics I haven’t edited yet, or go for a stroll or play some volleyball with the staff in the beautiful surroundings of Lewa:
Another dog walk/run and then dinner. If I’m feeling sociable I will go and chat with some of the guests and have a drink with them and Charl. Occasionally the assistant manager hosts in the evening so Charl and I can spend the evening at home together.
In other news, the garden is now finished, we are now working on planting and trying to get the grass to grow as the extended part of the garden was a road before so didn’t have grass. Here is a pic of the new and improved garden:
The half marathon training is still slowly going ahead, I’m pretty sure we will end up walking most of the ‘run’ but it’s the taking part that counts! Also, the wonderful app that is ‘Doulingo‘ is back in my life, if you are trying to learn a language then you should definitely check it out. It’s a free app for your phone/tablet and it has lessons where you need to select the correct answer, or type the missing word or eventually translate the whole sentence of whatever language you are learning. It’s great for when you have 5/10 minutes to spare to do something productive with that time instead of scrolling through Instagram. I was really into it before and had a 100-day streak of doing lessons every day and then one day just gave up, I think I gave up around about the time that school started and my life got taken over by work…I don’t currently have that problem so let’s see how much my Kiswahili improves.
The house is also looking better, we now have some photos on the walls, the bedrooms are ready and set up for visitors, Roo’s escape hole in the window has been sewn up so now she is well and truly trapped! All in all, it’s going well and I am excited for some potential (covid pending) visitor in the summer!
I’m working on a few more interesting blog topics for the future, info about volunteering, info about Lewa and the impact it has on conservation, ideas for travel around East Africa, info about some of the upcoming projects etc, so hang in there if you are still managing to follow along!
To keep your interest for now here are some pretty pictures from some recent safaris 🙂
In the days when you are finishing up work for the term thinking about all the free time, you will have when you move to Kenya and consequently, how fit you will be, you decide it’s a great idea to sign up for the Lewa Safari (half) marathon. After all, you think, you will be living in the very area where the marathon was supposed to take place. Unfortunately, covid struck again and the marathon has subsequently been turned for the second year into a ‘virtual marathon’. However, the staff (and I) from the camp here will be running the event within the conservancy to try and help raise much-needed funds for Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Tusk Trust.
Unsurprisingly, my staggered dog walks/runs with my arms being pulled in two different directions hasn’t led to me being as fit as originally hoped. Consequently, I now have 22 days to build my running up from 5 (very slow) kilometres to 21 kilometres so I won’t faint from lack of oxygen on the day/get eaten by a lion from being the slowest runner. My Motto is ‘you only have to be faster than the slowest member of the group… I still have work to do. But still, it’s all in the name of charity so we will see how we go. The Lewa Safari marathon, organised by Tusk Trust claims you can
‘RUN WILD TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE’
The event is organised annually to assist with funding projects that protect endangered species and supporting the livelihoods of rural communities living alongside wildlife. Last year the virtual marathon raised over £250,000 to provide vital funding to projects protecting endangered species and supporting the livelihoods of rural communities living alongside.
If all of this talk has inspired you then it’s not too late for you to join in. You can sign up for 5, 10, 21k or full marathon 42km, if you are feeling up for it you can register here.Â
If running is not quite your thing then you can still support by giving what you can to the Just Giving or Go Fund Me page. Comments and good luck wishes will also go a long way, I’m gonna need it!
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