IC: trip Lakipia (Gold)

This year for my IC trip I decided to go to Lakipia (Gold) a very challenging and fun experience. Lakipia is a beautiful place full of nature, wildlife and a fantastic view of the African environment. The things that you can see during the day are incredible, and worth the time that you spend in the trip. Every day you are going to have to walk for long distances but it will be worth it, you will be able to see a great view of mount Kenya and the whole ecosystem, the weather is really hot and the sun is too strong and when you get to the camp it’s a relief as you forget all what you had to walk and just start thinking on the meal and the time you spend with your friends. The best part of the trip was probably get and jump to the river, the first time you touch the water is like if you get inside the waters of the poles, it’s so cold but so refreshing at the same time. Camels were a key part of our trip as long as you were in a camel during the walks you would be fine and you would rest for a little time, just be careful when the camel is going to sit or stand, or you could fell as one of our classmates did. This trip is considered one of the toughest of them all and you may probably ask yourself this questions:

How Fit Do You Have To be?:

           If you are the kind of person who likes to take long walk in order to appreciate the beauty of Africa, believe me, you are going to enjoy this trip. You will have to walk for hours and you will need to have strong legs and a very strong mind, there will be times where you will think of giving up but you will always have to think that the next camp is only 10 minutes away, always be positive and if you want time to pass very fast start talking to a friend, that is the best way to accelerate time. 

What are the best ways to spend time in the trip?:

          As long as your close friends are in the trip you will always have fun talking and chatting about many things, there is no better company than friends and you will have the chance of meeting new people. Another way to spend your time in the trip is by playing cards, always bring a deck of cards for whatever trip you are going to, it’s fun and a good way to have a friendly competition.

What will you learn in this trip?:

          In lakipia (gold) you will have the chance of learning many survival skills including escaping from ropes, retrieving water, and camouflaging. This was one of the most fun events of the trip as well, we were tied up from trees in groups of four, we had to work as a team in order to escape, the funniest part about this is that you will get confused and probably get even more tied up than before. Retrieving the water was also a challenging event, we were separated into two teams and we were supposed to cross a river with a bucket of water in our mouths and if we let water fall we would lose, the team with the most water would win. Camouflaging yourself was interesting, we used old bags made ropes and we covered ourselves with mud and we had to hide from other teams and the point of the exercise was to find all the members of the opposite team and have the chance of spraying them with water.

What animal will I see in the trip?:

          Unlike many trips, in lakipia (gold) you’ll be able to be inside the habitat of the animals and fortunately you had the chance of seeing them right in front of you. In the first camp as soon as we arrived, we watched a whole pack of zebras roaming around in the savannah such a beautiful view and such wonderful creatures. In the fourth day you’ll have the chance of having a car ride to explore the savannah and see more animals, we had the chance of seeing many elephants, antelopes and if we were lucky enough to see a pack of lions.

What should I take to this trip?:

•  To be Protected from the sun always remember to take your sunglasses, sun block and a hat, the sun in lakipia is really strong and will burn you pretty bad if you don’t use any of those, many of us had sunburns and we didn’t get rid of them for a whole week after we came from the trip.

•   Always bring something to have fun, I recommend bringing a deck of cards so time will pass really fast.

•        Bring spare clothes, they will get dirty and you will want to change. A few t-shirts, pants socks, and two pairs of walking shoes.

•        In the night you will not see anything for that not to happen you’ll need a flashlight.

•        Sleeping bag and warm clothes, in the night it will be freezing and you’ll probably get a cold if you are not careful.

•        Bring an Ipod or something to listen to music; the bus ride is almost five hours long so you’ll want to get distracted. You can also listen to music during the walks.

•        ALWAYS have water with you! You’ll need it for the whole day and you will not want to get dehydrated in the middle of the heat and the walks.

Will I have fun at this trip?:

Totally, if you are an athletic person and enjoy walking and experience the view of the ecosystem you will love this trip. Remember to always protect yourself from the sun and drink LOTS of water!