Gap year & Travel News

As we move on from Makongeni we are all reflecting back on the great times we have had over such a short space of time. Our imaculately constructed quarter-finished floor could have been tainted by no other than our leader Muse who absent-mindedly tiptoes over it not so like a delicate mosquito but more so an elephant! Following this blip, He’s turned out to be a fantastic leader proving this even more so by winning the ‘Best Legs’ award at our L.E.A.P fancy dress party coming dressed as an ‘African man’. Other categories included Most original for which Emma won dressed as a Pineapple!

Our lovely leapers, all in fancy dress! Can you point out the pineapple??

Every body has got whole-heartedly stuck into the village projects and the Kenyan way of life ranging from building gickos (check spelling) which are fuel efficient stoves for the villagers, to teaching English and ICT and cooking maandazis on the traditional 3 stone cookers. Our biggest achievement has to be organising (successfully) sports day for 600+ children followed by ‘Kenyas got talent’ hosted by our very owen Chris, a.k.a Chris ‘Cowell’

Knackered after a hard weeks work, we were able to snorkel or SCUBA dive which ‘JOLLY’ aka jo and holly found an incredible highlight of the trip so far. To top off our amazing day in the clearest sea and of the beach of the whitest sand, we danced the night away at the infamous Forty Thieves! Need we say more…

The girls at Forty Thieves - Diani beach! (AKA, the best beach on the entire planet ever)!

We are very much looking forward to our next adventures at Mwulaganje elephant sanctuary although we have made good friends with the local villagers and will be sad to leave. Until next time, Enjoy the British rain and wish us luck!

On behalf of everyone miss you all…a bit x
Your kenyan bloggers, Lobster red Holly and nice and tanned brown Jo x

The team with kids at the Kindergarten

Greetings from Borneo!

The arrivals of the July leapers few weeks ago was welcomed with much excitement by the communities and staff of Camp Borneo as always. Everyone is good and happy. Over the past few weeks the Leapers have been working really hard and got themselves stuck in with our Kindergarten foundation project in Camp Tinangol, putting up columns and cementing work. I have had the chance to visit them last week and took some pictures of them teaching English at the pre-school and Kindergarten project site. The building’s coming up nicely! During their time at Tinangol, they have taken part in many sports activities and also made a few trips to the beach and the Tip of Borneo before heading up to Batu Puteh.

They have nearly completed their reforestration work, which involved learning about the conservation issues, collecting seeds, planting hundreds of trees on Tungog Forest reserve and planting the seeds they collected during their trek at the tree nursery.

In just 5 days at Batu Puteh, they have also lived with a local host family at the Miso Walai homestay, been cruising down the mighty Kinabatangans river on the lookout for the  for the proboscis monkeys and slept in a hammock in the jungle! Today is their last day with tours organised for them to visit the P.O.W memorial park, the Buddhist Temple up on a hill overlooking a beautiful view of Sandakan Town and the harbour. And of course a trip to Sandakan is nothing without Viewing the Orangutans at Sepilok Centre. Tonight they get to wear a local traditional costume for them to attend a special traditional dance/musical performances by staff and community of Batu Puteh to thank them for their contribution. Tomorrow they will be heading back to Kota Kinabalu for a bit of R&R before going to their next adventure destination, trekking on the Crocker Range Jungle!

Cheers
Mel

Cement mixing like experts!

Canadian Leaper Moritz (28) is currently in Kenya on a 3 month Solo Safari Leap to Muthaiga Camp:

My cute little walltent home...just like when I was little

Calm has returned. It concerns me greatly.

After about 10 days of activity, during which our camp played host to several large groups, including the family of a certain Lord and Lady from Oxford, things in camp have returned to normal. Of course, in camp the definition of normal is somewhat different than in the outside world. However, one cannot argue with the fact that things have settled down, even if just for a few days.

Even the local wildlife seems to share my sense of renewed peace – zebras are less ziggy, the wildebeest less jumpy, and the baboons are downright silent. Everyone in the Mara is enjoying a brief respite from the ongoing migration of endless enthusiastic and  demanding visitors from all corners of the globe (yes, a globe can have corners).

This stretch of time started with a flourish – due to limitations in the available number of drivers and vehicles, I was left holding the short straw when it came time to pick up our camp director at the airstrip at Keekorok, in the heart of the Mara. Curses! I shook my head as the reality dawned on me – I was being asked to hop in a Land Rover, pilot it through lion country, along 4×4 dirt trails, across rivers, and through herds of animals.

Not a problem, I assured everybody, putting on my most confident and collected visage as inside I felt the slow percolation of excitement. Never mind that in Kenya, one drives on the “wrong” side of the road, from the “wrong” side of the car, shifting with the “wrong” hand! I was thrilled to be heading out on a mini-adventure, and had no concerns about it whatsoever.

Not a problem.

The rest of the story is not at all fascinating – I drove, picked up my boss, and made it back to camp. Nilienda, na nilirudi. Hakuna matata. There were a few moments worth noting, I suppose: the herd of a dozen giraffe moving alongside me for a few moments, trying to keep pace through the acacia thickets; the flat tire, with grateful assistance provided by another camp’s driver while his impatient clients glared at me with looks of contempt; and the message on my mobile phone which said “Etisalat welcomes you to the UAE”.

Apparently there is a mobile phone tower just across the border in Tanzania servicing the wealthy Emiratis who hunt there within private concessions. My thoughts on that are for another time and another place.

Back in camp, we are in the process of moving the office into a new tent, from its current location inside a proverbial broom closet – a welcome change for all who spend time there, me included. Our new home is spacious, breezy, and extremely comfortable. Luckily, I will now be able to say “back in my day, life was soooo difficult” to any and all who come here in the future, which pleases me greatly. I’ve spent significant time working on client bookings and marketing, tossing around random ideas with the rest of the managerial staff about how to continue increase the flow of clients into the camp. That, in and of itself, is making this placement incredibly worthwhile.

Apart from the fun, adventure, and lions, I feel that I’m slowly getting a sense for this thing called the safari business – its challenges, nuances, and tremendous complexity. Logistics, staffing, and politics all play their role in this ever shifting game, and though it’s tough, it’s extremely satisfying.

Next stop: a quick trip west to Kisii…

Peter in the vulture enclosure at the rehabilitation centre

Well it’s been another successful week fir the South Africa Team at Kwa Madwala. The past week the leapers have been stuck into conservation week which has included taking a trip to Moholoholo, taking a tour of an animal rehabilitation centre, visiting  a reptile centre going to meet Jessica the Hippo (claimed to be the most famous animal in South Africa having now featured in 74 documentaries and movies!).

The group also went to the Kruger National Park where they stayed at Bergendal camp for one night. They where lucky enough to see the big 5 over the two days and included two sightings of Leopard! The group also got stuck into some road maintenance and completed a new road, which now some of the students are comparing it to a road in London. We also where involved with the darting and the collaring of our male lion, unfortunately it was a very late night so only a few were still awake, but those who saw it was a once in a lifetime experience!

Harrison, Allie, Peter and Laurie with the lion

This coming is community week and the students are going to be teaching at a local school called Sidlamafa high school as well as working on the orphanage, where the group will be spending their donation money.

Cheers! Luke (Leap project leader)

The boys showing off the Usian Bolt pose at the three Rondawels

The girls at the three rondawels look out

Jambo,

Just a quick word from the Leap camp in Kenya, the July Team are a great group and very happy at the moment! They have been at the orphanage centre for the whole week and the additional classroom we are building is almost done. Here are some photos of the Leapers in action:

Chris gets a lesson in plastering skills...what a CV booster!

Plastering the centre (with a little help from the experts!)

The girls take a break from grass cutting!

Stay tuned for more photos!

Leah and Mike are amazingly 3 weeks into their Venezuelan adventure with The Leap….

Hola- Leah here! Hey sorry its been a while since we last wrote! We have been a bit busy! Firstly we finished off clearing the beach and built a bin. We decided to go for bright colours and covered it in handprints of the team as well as writing our  team name ¨la Equipo¨ (our project leader Govinda called it us the first week and it has stuck) and Leap July 2010. We are all really happy with how it has turned out. So that finished up the week! Spanish is getting better and I feel I’m finally starting to get somewhere!

So this weekend i went to the Orinoco Delta for 3 days, we left early Saturday and traveled for 5 hours in the jeep, it was a  long trip but well worth it when we saw the delta. It was so amazing and the pictures cannot do it justice.  The first day we went in a traditional canoe and had a bit of a tour just to show us where we would be going the following day. It was a bit daunting getting into it but once you were sat down you were fine.  We had the biggest rain storm i have seen yet while we were sitting in the lodge it was great being somewhere dry to watch it! The first night was pretty chilled out and we just got to know our surroundings. Dinner was lovley! We had beef with veg in a almost spicy sauce with rice and bread.

The Woaro Indians in the orinoco Delta, making canoeing look SO easy!

We got up early Sunday to go on a canoe ride to see the animals and flora around the lodge. We saw the howler monkeys,
toucans, ibis,  turtles and loads of others i don’t know the names of! In the afternoon we visited the Warao Indians, it was a bit of a culture shock but was amazing being accepted into the houses and being able to buy authentic ítems like bracelets and carvings. We were even invited into an end of school party and asked if we wanted to drink rum with them. We all declined and stuck to juice! We visited another village for lunch and ate fish with salad and potatoes. It tasted great and we all enjoyed being out of the sun for an hour.

We did loads of other things that would take too long to list, but please know it is definately something worth doing as what you see will stay with you forever. It felt so amazing to have the  opportunity.  Back at Jakera now after it all, tired but so happy. Really feel at home now and looking forward to the second Project  begginning tomorrow. Viva Venezuela!!!!

Mike: ¡Epa! Everyone. Well after Reading the essay Leah just wrote there´s not alot I think I can add to make our time here sound too much more amazing! But seriously it was such a relief to get the first project done with! It just meant we are on Schedule for the BIG school project! It´s all very exciting. I won´t go on too much about the insanely awesome time we had at the Orinoco Delta (I don´t want to make anyone jelous!) but it was definately up there in the top one things I´ve ever done! Sleeping and living amongst the natives and all the wildlife was just breath-taking! Even if it was just for a weekend! I would just like to make a shout out that I actually SWAM in the Orinoco river with DOLPHINS!! I´ll be honest that afternoon wasn´t a bad one at all!! I battled the pirahnas, anacondas, and those nasty fish that like to swim in places they REALLY shouldn´t! I hope you´re all very proud.

To highlight the other things we managed to cram in the weekend? we ATE termites, drank jungle immodium, fished for man-eating fish in the murky waters, met the oh so cute Berny (A brown dog we decided to name after Berny in our group (I know you´re all thinking why?!)…Hmmm what else, watched monkeys swing above our rooms and we went late night CROCODILE (well tiny Caimen) Hunting! Proper Steve Irwen style.

We all really enjoyed the weekend and would do it again in a second! Now we´re back to reality? YEAH RIGHT! Now we´re back to start the next project, working with the local Venezuelans to help renovate their sports pitch. It´s so run down at the moment it wouldn´t look out of place in Salford!! So its going to be so much fun making it usable so the kids can have fun! Keep posted for details on how we get on and wish us luck! Just two more weeks left in Playa then its on to Caripe, I can´t wait, it’s just a shame its going so quick tho!

Hello again

It’s the twins here…We thought it was about time for the fundraising update!!

In order to raise money for our trip to Kenya with The Leap, this week we have been doing a 5 day sponsored silence. I have to say this is one of the hardest things we have ever done! It’s so frustrating…you can’t say anything, it’s been horrible for us but also everyone around us because usually you cant shut us up! Our Mum has hated it so she is very excited about tonight, we’re going out to celebrate our vocal chords. : )

Busy, Busy!

All dolled up for Summer at our Fundraising Beach Party!

Also this week, we organised a college social! We sold just over 300 tickets, so its all good We had a little trouble finding a DJ (eek!) but in the end it all turn out as planned. The theme was BEACH/ SUMMER so we had a few speedos and borat thongs turn up!

The Twins xx

The group having a sundowner on their first game drive.

Greetings from Kwa Madwala!

The July team’s first week has been great and everyone is getting on well.

The first couple of days was the normal meet and greet and introduction to the program etc. After that we got strait into the program and went on the orphanage and township tours, the group are still deciding where they will carry out their outreach program. Saturday and Sunday we got into the conservation portion of the program activities included collecting river sand for the tame elephant stables, collecting fire wood for their introductory boma braai and road building taking off where the April Team of Leapers left off.

This coming week we have the Kruger National Park excursion, The Rehabilitation excursion, conservation work, 4 x 4 driving as well as shooting planned. So a packed week ahead!

Thanks Luke.

The group learning the diski dance (the world cup dance)

The cross dressing party night!

945 – The girls dressing up as guys at the themed party night.

Hey!

This is Mike from the Venezuela team. I’m kinda sending a group email and it’s proving difficult with this crappy internet in Puerto lol! Just to let you know that we’re all having an AMAZING time! I’m glad we’re doing the daily blog now its good to keep you guys updated with all our antics! The weather is insane! Soooo hot then the LOUDEST thunder and lightening EVER in one day! Its awesome though!

The volunteer work is going really well, we’ve moved our presentation for the school children about La Basura (Spanish for ‘rubbish’…Woo I’m learning… slowly lol) to next Wednesday! We can’t wait! A few of us had the best day ever yesterday playing with the local children on a local beach… they loved it as well!

The place we’re staying at is really good, and we get on so well with the other students and Brendan and Chris! It’s a shame Brendan had to go so soon after we met him!!I also thought it would be worth a mention that we get on so well with Govinda, our team leader! He really is such a laugh and is helping us so much. Couldn’t speak highly enough of the lad! Wouldn’t say that to his face tho lol his head is plenty big enough as it is!

Me, Leah, Elliot and Tom are heading to the Orinoco Delta for the weekend!! CANNOT wait!! Then a few of us are going to Angel falls next weekend! It’s amazing!Next week we’re on to helping out disabled kids and renovating a sports pitch! We can’t wait!!

Anyhows hope to speak to you soon!

Ciao ciao

Mike and the team (¡La Equipe!)