On Thursday 19th October, 24 SFC1 and SFC2 students gathered early in the morning to travel to the airport, full of excitement for the next ten days ahead in Tanzania.
During our first day, we settled into our campsite that was going to be 'home' for the rest of the trip and had a cultural tour around the local village of Mto Wa Mbu and a banana farm, which is one of the most common farming practices in the area. We drove to a beautiful viewpoint overlooking Lake Manyara and took lots of photos as the sun began to set. After our first delicious dinner of local food, we had the first of many Swahili lessons which would prove to be invaluable as the trip progressed.
The following morning, we had a seminar where students learnt about the local large mammal species and how to identify them. We then travelled to Manyara Ranch and had a talk from the African Wildlife Foundation. Over the next couple of days, students completed walking and driving transects, and a site observation to survey the large mammal population; we were treated to sights of many zebra, impala, wildebeest, birds and a herd of elephants!
On Monday, we visited a local girl's secondary school and this day proved to be a highlight for many of us. We were met with beautiful singing, dancing and so much positivity. We set to work with our gardening gloves on and planted 60 trees. This aimed to help provide the school with resources and also to offset the trip's carbon footprint. We spent the afternoon playing games and we left with full hearts after making precious friendships. Students and staff alike left with a fresh sense of gratitude, and awe for the love that the students had for their learning. CLC very kindly donated three laptops to the school and we hope to forge links with the school in the future.
“The Tanzania trip was the most enlightening adventure I have ever been on and I know that I will never forget it. It has opened me up in so many ways and developed me as a person. Coming home I really appreciate the luxuries that we have access to, including electricity and running clean water.” - Amy SFC1
Tuesday was a very enlightening day as we had the privilege to visit a local Maasai tribe. They welcomed us with ceremonial singing and dancing, and gave us traditional robes and jewellery to wear. We were shown around their village, and the tribe leader gave us a talk on Maasai culture and customs. After this eye-opening morning, we had a lesson on survival skills which were put to the test in a fire-lighting competition out in the wild!
“By experiencing first-hand a place so contrasting in its culture, customs and environment to what I’m used to it definitely put things into perspective.” – Jasmine SFC1
On Wednesday, we set off bright and early in our land cruisers and drove to Tarangire National Park where we all had the most incredible day of wildlife spotting on our safari day. We were treated to sightings of tree-climbing lions, many elephant herds, zebras, wildebeests, giraffes and much more. It was fantastic to see the species that we had been learning about in the week out in their natural habitat. Many students were amazed to see so many species co-existing together in one place.
The next few days flew by and were spent hiking to a waterfall in The Rift Valley, visiting a local Maasai market, cycling to Lake Manyara to learn about local fishing practices, and (of course) souvenir shopping.
We ended our incredible trip with a reflection evening, where everyone shared their highlights and also any challenges they had overcome. This was followed with an awards ceremony and a karaoke night where we had the pleasure of some excellent Taylor Swift recitals and even some ABBA from the staff. This really was the 'trip of a lifetime', and everyone learnt and grew in so many ways. Many of us were so sad to leave, but we left with amazing memories, a renewed perspective and a motivation to return.
Mrs Glover, Teacher of Biology