On Thursday 18th January, 34 pupils from Year 6 set off from Turi at 6am on their Geography field trip to Nairobi. The purpose of the trip was to further the pupils’ learning about conservation issues, particularly related to elephants.

 
We arrived at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage at 11:00am.  The Elephant Orphanage is an amazing place, and a wonderful experience for all who visit. Our Year 6 pupils were no exception, and all of them were in awe of the beauty and grace of these wonderful animals. The pupils learned about each elephant, and the often tragic stories of how they became orphaned and what happened to their parents. The pupils learnt about the problem of poachers, and how the trade in ivory is the main threat to elephants in Kenya. The pupils were lucky enough to be able to get very close to the elephants, and many were able to stroke their leathery skin – a great experience.
 
Our next stop was the Nairobi Donkey Sanctuary, also home to many abandoned cats and dogs. This was of great interest to many of the pupils, who were quite taken with the abandoned puppies and kittens.
 
We then traveled to the Wildebeest Eco Lodge, which was to be our home for the night. The pupils were very efficient at pitching their tents, showing good teamwork and helping other groups to finish in good time. Our practice before Christmas on top pitch was clearly worth it! The Wildebeest Eco Lodge is a beautiful campsite, complete with swimming pool, games area and plenty of green space to relax in. We were also very blessed in having our very own Turi chefs with us; Chris and Geoffrey prepared a wonderful barbeque in the evening, with the help of a willing team of sous chefs (our pupils).
 
After a good night’s rest, we had an excellent breakfast before packing up the coach and heading to the Giraffe Centre. This was another great experience for the pupils, where we were able to feed the giraffes from a high platform. The more reserved members of the group were happy to hold the food pellets in their hands for the giraffes, but the more adventurous fed the giraffes pellets from between their lips, resulting in a big wet giraffe kiss! Plenty of fun for all involved… The staff at the Giraffe Centre informed us that giraffe saliva is actually free from all germs due to the large amounts of eucalyptus that they eat – we all still washed our hands and faces thoroughly!
 
The year 6 pupils were a real credit to the School during the trip; they were inquisitive, interested and polite. Thanks go to Miss Macpherson, Miss Keay and Mr Taylor for escorting the pupils and to Miss Anastasi for all the organisation.
 
Mr Steve Foster
Director of Co-Curricular