Gwilym's Adventure Blog

I am back from a month of working in Tanzania for  True Adventure . A mix of Project work at a village called Tegetero in the Uluguru Mountains, a Trek in the same area, a Safrai in Mikumi National Park and Diving on Zanzibar. A few of the many photos taken

I am off to Tanzania for some sunshine with students from Godalming College whilst working for True Adventure .  I haven't been to Tanzania since 2009 so really looking forward to going back. Not sure how much internet access I will have but I will blog when I can, otherwise I am back in UK on 9th Aug after 3 weeks on the mainland including a Safari and a week of diving on Zanzibar. I hope it doesn't rain too much in the UK for those of you staying at home.

This morning I flew out to Malawi working with Caroline Chisholm School for the next 3 1/2 weeks. There are 24 students, 4 staff plus myself going. We will be based at Butterfly Space and will also be visiting Zambia for safaris. I will post updates if I can and a report when I get back on 6th August.

At the Chimpanzee Sanctuary  Eland and Zebra A Black Rhino  Warthogs Hartebeast  Standing on The Equator Today we went on another Safari where we saw Black Rhino, White Rhino, Eland, Gazelle, Lion and Warthog as well as loads of Zebra and Antelope. We finished by the Equator sign for a group photo. We go home on Saturday after an amazing month.

Looking up at Nelion  Mountain Flora A very angry Rock Hyrax The team at the summit  The descent For the last 10 days we have been aclimitising and then tackling Mount Kenya (Point Lenana) at 4985m. 32 of the 39 team members reached the summit and endured the long walk back down. During the trek we saw a number of birds and other wildlife including plenty of Rock Hyrax around teh camps. I am not sure why the one above was so angry but I took the photo and ran away quickly.

Buffalo Bull Elephant Zebra A group of Ostrich Giraffe Impala The colourful Superb Starling Today we were a Tsave East for an amazing Safari where we saw Elephant, Giraffe, Buffalo, Impala, Gazelle, Warthog, Cheetah, Zebra, Kudu, Ostrich and many more animals and birds.

The house we were working on at the start  The finished house Building the workshop Eco Friendly Fuel Brickettes For the last week we have been based at Muhaka Camp where have been working on a couple of projects. One was building a mud house and the other was at the Jatropha Oil project where we were building a workshop and making some eco frendly fuel brickettes. On the first we were presented with a timber frame and it was our job to make the walls from mud balls and complete the house so the lady who was to be the new occupier could move in with here children as soon as possible. On the second we were making fuel brickettes to reduce the use of charcoal and therefore the amount of wood taken from the forest for fuel. At the end of this week we had another day on the beach before moving to Imani Camp (only 20 mins away) where we spent some time doing tree planting and forest clearing. We also had a dance off with the locals.

 Working at the local school  The team and crew Some small wildlife (but still pretty big) Some bigger wildlife So we have now been in Kenya for a week. It was an very long and drawn out flight from Heathrow to Mombassa (via Nairobi). The team and I have seen loads of Elephants at the Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary and have also been out working in the local Primary School and with the local farmers worming their goats. We have alos been making paper of of Elephant Poo and repairing the roads in the reserve. It has been hard to remember the fact that Kenya has a water shortage as it has rained almost everyday but the showers are short and sharp and you soon dry out. As soon as I have finished writing this we will be headed to the beach for and afternoon of R & R before heading on to our next camp at Muhaka.

No posts for the last week as I have been doing some of the more mundane things in life sych as servicing bikes, buying travel medicines and preparing for my month away. This morning at some silly hour of the day I jumped on a plane and flew out to Kenya where I will be spending the next four weeks. I am working for Camps International and assisted by Carly I am leading a team of 36 students and 3 staff whilst we complete conservation work, go on safari, climb Mount Kenya , work with the community and have a few R & R days. I will update the blog if I can but internet access can be hard to find. I will post a full report and photos on our return in mid August.

Wildlife even on R & R Days Mount Meru This is close, I don't have a zoom lens Safari at Tarangirie National Park Visit to a Masi Boma I have made it back safely from Africa and here are a few pictures to keep you going and there are some more here I flew out on 19th July with 32 team members to Northern Tanzania. Week 1 was spent at Ndarakai Camp near the Kenya Border where we were based on a large ranch. Activites range from wildlife census work to making paper from Elephant Dung. Work at the local school was eithwe teaching or digging a fishpon and the week was brought to an end by a three day Safari where we saw 4 of the big 5 but sadly spotting a Leopard was not to be. Week 2 was spent in Moshi where we were again working at a local school building a new roof for their dining hall and also general landscaping work around the site. This was hard work and very dusty. We did however manage to build 11 rafters and did some foundations. Week 3 started with a trip to Mount Meru ...

Mount Meru 4566m This morning I flew out from Heathrow to Tanzania where I will be away for a month working for Camps International leading a group of 29 students and 3 staff from Kennett School, Berkshire. We will be conducting a number of community projects before embarking on a Safari, some R & R on the beach and tackling Mount Meru at 4566m. I will attempt to update the blog regularly if possible, but if not I will be back on 19th August and post a full report then