Geography Expedition to Kenya

No matter the focus areas of study in geography, Kenya will provide. With stunning landscapes, a welcoming culture ("Karibu", or 'welcome', will be something you hear again and again), and of course the unique wildlife that inhabits the savannah ecosystem, a trip to Kenya will create long lasting memories for all of your learners.

From a geography perspective, you can choose to examine ecosystems, including tropical rainforest, savannah, desert, cloud forest, mangroves, coral reefs and more, looking at adaptation of people and animals to the different environments or forming your own case studies. It's one thing to read in a geography textbook that trees can reach heights of 80 metres in a tropical rainforest, and quite another to stand next to one of them.

This trip also provides an opportunity to see geothermal energy generation in practice, along with other benefits of the volcanoes in the Great Rift Valley for water and agriculture, and allow your students to answer the question of why people choose to live near volcanoes. There is also the aspect of conservation - national parks in Kenya face very different problems to national parks in the UK for example, with illegal poaching of animals, problems surrounding overtourism and the sheer scale of the areas they cover. Cultural tourism raises ethical questions too, and on the coast other styles of tourism can be observed which will prompt a lot of discussion amongst your students. Finally, there is a lot to see with regards to population and settlement, especially with regards to the challenges faced by informal settlement dwellers in Nairobi and the ways in which people are both helping themselves and projects are being set up to assist, with various levels of success.

There is so much Geography in Kenya we would suggest limiting the focal points of the trip - unless you have time for a real adventure!

Here is an example itinerary for a 9 day trip to Kenya, focussing on some of the highlights. With more time, trips can be arranged to take in more of Kenya, or if you have a particular focus in mind, trips can be narrowed in scope to spend more time in specific areas.

Day 1: Arrival in Nairobi.

Day 2: The Great Rift Valley
Drive down from Nairobi into the Great Rift Valley. On the way there is a superb place to see the constructive plate boundary first hand, where the African Plate is slowly splitting into the Somali and Nubian plates and widening the valley by almost a centimetre annually. We will arrive at a camp near Lake Naivasha, famous for flamingoes and hippos, and leave after lunch on mountain bikes for an exhilarating tour of Hell's Gate National Park, cycling amongst zebra and giraffes down to the Ol Njorowa Gorge or the obsidian caves. Later, exhausted, you will enjoy a campfire and excellent food with possible sightings of hippos at the camp*.

Day 3: Geothermal energy
In the morning we will visit the Olkaria Geothermal Plant and hot springs. Students will see how the natural geothermal energy can be harnessed to generate electricity, before relaxing in the hot springs themselves. Afterwards we will visit a local village that solves the water shortage affecting this dry area of Kenya through the harnessing of natural steam vents to condense into water, before moving to our simple huts near the Maasai Mara for the night.

Day 4: Maasai Mara
A visit to Kenya would not be complete without a day exploring its most famous game reserve. The group will divide into smaller safari vehicles for a memorable journey into the savannah, where students can either observe the impact of tourism or choose to spot wildlife such as cheetahs, rhinos, elephants, lions, and if they are lucky, perhaps a leopard or two. Learn about wildlife conservation and the problems of poaching from a park ranger. Sleep listening to the roar of elephants after a hearty dinner of nyoma choma (Kenyan barbecue).

Day 5: Maasai Mara
Before we return to Nairobi, we will visit a local village to learn how the Maasai manage tourism and their cultural heritage in a sustainable community-based way.

Day 5: Nairobi
There are multiple interesting projects underway in Nairobi aiming to improve lives, and we will work with you to find the best matches for the interests of your students. We can understand how organisations are finding innovative ways to break down the mountain of waste polluting Kenya by visiting small scale recycling projects, or see how small-scale agriculture is helping to transform lives in Africa's largest informal settlement. It is also interesting to visit Toi market to see where clothes donated to charity in countries such as the UK actually end up.

Day 6: Desert Dunes
Watamu on Kenya's coast is the gateway for the next part of the trip, but it is a long and bumpy 10 hour drive, or 5 hour train ride followed by a 4 hour drive, so we recommend a domestic flight to Malindi to save time at least in one direction. We'll then head to Mambrui Desert to ride camels across the spectacular dunes and see how wildlife has adapted to live in this environment.

Day 7: Mangroves
We'll take a boat tour to explore the mangroves of Mida Creek and learn about their importance in protecting the coral reefs in the Indian Ocean, before visiting the UNESCO-listed remnants of Gedi, a medieval Swahili settlement on the coast in the afternoon.

Day 8: Coasts
Today is a day to enjoy the white sands and turquoise waters of the famous Watamu beach. Students can observe the tourism in the region and investigate its impact on local communities, or take the day to relax and snorkel in the waters of Turtle Bay (part of the Watamu-Malindi Marine Reserve) to see the coral reef. With luck the odd turtle or dolphin might say hello! On windier days this is a great place to try kitesurfing - lessons are available for beginners.

Day 9: Return
Transfer to Nairobi airport by domestic flight, return flight to home country.

*You have the option of staying in rented tents at the camp, or small huts known as 'bandas'.

Extra activities can be added on travel days depending on flight timings, and the entire itinerary can be shortened, lengthened or customised to suit your preferences. For example, extra days to visit Kakamega tropical rainforest, Lake Victoria, Mount Kenya, scuba diving to see the coral reefs - let us know your needs or ask us for suggestions!

While we can accommodate any size of group, large or small, we find Kenya is best explored in a smaller group size for a more intimate experience.

We may need to plan alternative activities in some cases depending on the nature of the disability but we welcome all students on our trips - just let us know what your needs are.

Kenya has so much to offer students, but be aware that Kenya can also be quite expensive. We do strongly recommend visiting at least one national park during your time in Kenya to see its famous wildlife, but note that entry fees alone at the Maasai Mara can exceed £160 per person. Please discuss with us what you want to achieve from your trip to Kenya and we will design the perfect itinerary for your group's interests and budget.