Destination Naivasha

First thing in the morning on Monday 10^th of June a group of 38 intrepid adventurers from Years 5 to 7 embarked on the long trip to Naivasha. They were accompanied by Mr Masafu, Mr Franco, Mrs Lettsome and Mrs Gould. 

The journey was very long, not very exciting but was very, very noisy due to the excitement of the children. There was no time to settle in on arrival, it was straight to Crescent Island to walk with the animals and learn a bit more about the beautiful flora and fauna of the wonderful country we live in. The children got very close to many things including giraffe, waterbuck, zebra, wart hogs. A total of 25 different species of animal or bird were spotted during the walk.

The group then headed to their camp at Carnelly’s to settle in. Tents were allocated and then there was some free time.  The children made the most of the space and the freedom to burn off steam before dinner. After they’d eaten they planned, rehearsed and then performed a ‘skit’ which caused much laughter for all!  Finally to bed and, somewhat unbelievably, fairly quickly to sleep.

It was an early start the next day for the activities at Hell’s Gate National Park. Children had the opportunity to rock climb, gorge walk and ride a bike for 10km through the park. All of them threw themselves wholeheartedly into the activities as did the teachers (much to the delight of the watching children!). Everyone stretched themselves, and also impressed themselves, with how much they were able to achieve. By the time everyone boarded the coach for camp, they were exhausted but...the activities didn’t end there!

As soon as they arrived back in camp, life jackets were donned and everyone was taken on a boat trip around the lake. There were hippo everywhere and the drivers delighted the children with some fast boating back to the jetty! 

Finally everyone had the chance for a shower and a relax, then off to dinner. This was followed by a camp fire, some hilarious round-robin games and marshmallow toasting. By the time bedtime arrived, it took no time at all before camp was silent (except for the odd hippo grunt!!)

On Wednesday it was an even earlier start to give time to pack up and for tents to be taken down. Everyone piled back onto the coaches at around 9am to set off for the Lake Naivasha Disabled Person Environmental Group. This was an inspirational visit to meet a group of people who are working together to make money from nothing. The children spent time litter picking, with a particular focus on plastic, which the group apparently recycle to make fencing. They also saw how rugs were woven using cement bags as a base and a special weaving needle to create the deep pile effect.

The very, very best bit of the visit was when the children were shown how to make briquettes out of recycled paper and charcoal dust. The children took unimaginable amounts of pleasure getting their hands in and creating some briquettes themselves. This was the most inspirational part as it generates a significant amount of money - from thrown out paper, the charcoal dust left at the bottom of the bag a bit of old pipe, some old metal discs and a hand made pressing machine.  What a phenomenal way to lead into next week’s Entrepreneurs’ Week!

Thank you so much to the organisers – Infinity Outdoors, Carnelly’s and the teachers for your efforts and for giving the children an unforgettable trip away.