Trekking in Zambia

Acclimatisation Phase One

During our second week in Zambia we did our acclimatisation phase which included a trek from a village called Mwandi to a small village called Sooka. This is where we got to see the REAL Africa and for the first time felt emotional as we had our first real chance to connect with the locals, especially the children. 

We trekked from Mwandi to Sooka village starting off at 7am, the trek was literally sand the whole way which made it so difficult (and I'd started to panic about the main trek already!) When we approached Sooka we saw a herd of children running towards us with huge smiles on their faces, one by one they took our hands and walked us to our meeting point, the local church. 

When we got to the church there were chairs set out ready for us, as we sat down the children holding our hands sat down on our laps too! From there I knew how amazing this evening would be as this was the happiest I'd been on the trip so far - although the dirtiest! We showed the children our cameras which they were absolutely amazed by and then we all had a mini photoshoot with them all because their smiles were endless, they all also took a huge liking into our wide-brimmed hats and our sunglasses!

The kids taught us some clapping games and some local songs then later we played with the skipping ropes I had brought over from the UK whilst some of the boys played football together.

That evening we got taught how to de-scaled and gut a fish which a few people in the group did (we actually ate the fish that evening as the local ladies of the village prepared us a traditional dish which was Maize meal, called Nshima out there, green veg and bream fish). The locals then put on a show around the camp fire by singing and dancing to us but then they expected us to perform back(!) so we embarrassingly sang One Direction and Justin Bieber songs as they were the only songs the whole group knew the words for! We appreciated everything the village did for us seeing as they did A LOT however they seemed like they appreciated to the next level as they wouldn't stop thanking us for coming, just for showing up and taking part in playing with the children and singing them songs. Just showing interest in their lives made them ecstatic which literally shows it is the small things in life which makes people happy. 

That night we all went back to our tents on such a buzz talking about how amazing and surreal everything had been so far. Seeing as we were all in such a good mood we didn't actually go straight to sleep, instead we got in our tents and poked our heads out of the doors looking up at the stars. The sky was absolutely incredible, honestly words can't even give it justice. Unfortunately I fell asleep after about 45 minutes but others in the group stayed up quite late; that night Jake, Lewis and Sara saw 8 shooting stars. 8!!!!

Acclimatisation Phase Two

In week 3 we did our third trek which was my favourite one!  (I would have never imagined I'd say I enjoyed trekking!) We had to wake up at 5.30am to cook breakfast and be ready to start our trek. Although this trek was 17k it didn't seem too bad because of all the amazing sights we saw, we walked up and down mountains, through mini villages and also some cornfields on the way seeing many children and locals. Since we went through a lot of bushes and jungle I decided to put my trouser legs back on even though it was boiling hot, luckily I did because most of the others had crazy scratches on their legs from all of the bushes and hilarious tan lines whilst I just had extremely dirty trousers!

After around 9 hours of walking we finally got to our destination which turned out to be a mini beach in Mozambique! Since we got there at about 3pm the sun was still up for another 3 hours so we had time to relax, wash and cook. So thats exactly what we did! Everyone in the group read a book for an hour or so whilst sunbathing and relaxing our bodies, we then went and washed in the river and then came back and cooked on an open fire. That evening Jenny and Sara beheaded two chickens and then our guides prepared them ready for us to eat!

The next morning we were extremely lucky as instead of trekking back we got to canoe down the River Luanga to get back to the campsite where we started off. This took about 4 hours, but it was literally the most relaxing 4 hours of the trip! The girls were on one boat and the boys were on another, we all ate some snacks of trail mix (nuts and dried fruit) and then had a nap whilst the guides sailed us back. To make the experience even more surreal we were lucky enough to see some crocs which were actually very close to us but no-one was scared we were all just amazed?! It's not every day we get to see a wild croc a few feet away!

main trek and project phase coming soon...

Week 1 of the most amazing experience ever

So after the best and fastest month of my life, I am back and have finally sorted out all of my pictures! Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery and my solar charger didn't work so I only used my camera for the first few days, however some of the pictures I got were amazing quality!

After starting off in the school hall, saying goodbye to our parents in the rain and then travelling for 12 hours we finally made it to Zambia making it an extremely surreal day. We then took a prebooked bus to our campsite (and favourite place) called Jollyboys which we stayed at for our R&R phase.

During our four weeks in Zambia we had four phases to get through; our rest and relaxation, acclimitisation, main trek and project phase.

R&R phase

Vic Falls

The first day of our R&R we went to the world-known Victoria Falls which was absolutely AMAZING.  Not just the Falls themselves but the sights like the boiling point and the jungle were literally breath-taking too. We spent all day looking at the sights, eating lunch and running away from baboons...

 

 

The boiling part was the best bit of Vic Falls as it was so relaxing and beautiful, we all just sat there speechless taking in the natural beauty and sun rays. We were even more astounded when we got told that the wall to the left of us was Zimbabwe so we were SO close! (and people bungee jump off of the bridge, soo crazy)

 Elephant Encounter

The day we met elephants was the scariest but most amazing of the whole trip! On the way there it was literally a safari, we were playing our usual games on the bus (some people having a nap) then all of a sudden Harry shouted "GIRAFFE!" so everyone looked at him then he said "No, genuinely a giraffe!!" and pointed out the window at the front of the bus, we all turned our heads to see the first wild giraffe we have all ever seen and we all went crazy with our cameras! A few metres up there were some impala doing their gracious leap and about half a mile further up the road there were a few zebras. It was literally the most surreal car journey I have ever had and probably will ever have and that was only the journey on the way to meet the elephants!

We then got to the encounter which was located on the Zambezi river which was the most beautiful sight. Each elephant had a name each (which they responded too!) and they even listened to what they were told, such as "sit down, stand up, trunk up, mouth open". It was extraordinary to see that they could understand what they were being told, not just by their owners but by us vistors too!

I was honestly petrified by the elephants even though they listened to what you were telling them, it was purely the fact that the man said "people say they are scared of mice, that is true because they are only scared of small things...so small people make no sudden movements". That statement made me scared for my life, literally. Also I am only 5ft1 tall and these elephants were easily at least 12ft! It took me a while to get used to them, I wouldn't go near any on my own (whereas some people sat on their knees feeding them!) but I did end up getting some really cool pictures! 

 

 

   

This was easily my favourite day of the whole trip because not only did we have a mini safari on the way but we also got to meet, touch and feed elephants! I felt this day brought everyone together so much and when we got back to our campsite people were saying how happy they were and how lucky we are to be doing such things at the age of only 17 (or in my case still 16!) Jake even said "I would happily go home today and think that the £3500 was well spent", baring in mind this was only on day 3!

Sunset Cruise

Who says they have sailed down the Zambezi river in a boat watching the sunset go down? QUEENS TEAM 1, thats who! We were hippo searching and challenged ourselves to try and find a family of 5 hippos...we saw 7 at one time! We saw some incredible birds, wild elephants and a ridiculous amount of hippos and lots crocs! Again this day brought us together as a group and we were so happy, already feeling like a family! 

 

 

 

I'm so glad we had our R&R in the first week because we got to have a real feel of how lucky we really were to be in such an amazing place especially with seeing all the wild animals, beautiful sunset and just becoming so close as a group in general. Whereas if we had a trek first for example, I feel there was a big risk of having a few arguments and grudges being held for the rest of the trip so for us, it could only get better from here!

To be continued...

Catch-Up! Events/Fitness

Hi All, 

Sorry I haven't been keeping you all updated but I have started my A Level exams (ahhh!) so have been doing lots of revision and of course actually sitting the exams! 

But this post is just a quick catch-up to let you know how I'm doing with my fundraising and to tell you how CLOSE Zambia is!!! 

Curry Night

Unfortunately a few days before/on the day quite a few people said that they couldn't attend my curry night however I still had around 30 people come and it ended up being a great night. 

In the end I raised £210, I would like to thank everybody who came (or contributed even if you couldn't attend) and I'd like to thank the owner of the Indian Sizzler, Mo, for the fantastic food, service and patience! 

Cassiobury Fun Run

One of our local parks organised a 10k fun run over the may bank holiday weekend, unfortunately I didn't know in enough advance to take part but instead I helped out and was a marshall. 

It was such a hilarious day because so many of the World Challengers from my school took part - not ones just from my group. They haven't given us a fixed price as to what we are getting paid yet (as we are still waiting for our payment and they have called it a 'kind donation') but last year the World Challengers got paid £50 so hopefully it will be somewhere around that number again! 

Pictures from the day...

 

L-R: Molly, Jenny (my group), Sara (my group), Me, Harriet, Kirsty

Lewis, Harry and Jake

Michael and I collecting tags!

Bleep Test

Our school wanted to see how ready we are for our treks etc by testing our fitness (haha.) Let's just say I am FAR from prepared. 

Although I have been going to the gym recently and going on powerwalks for an hour or so, when it comes to running I just crumble so the bleep test didn't work too well with me. Luckily I wasn't one of the first to drop out, so I felt a bit better about myself! 

So the average for a 16 year old girl is to get to Level 7 (baring in mind it goes level 1 -1.1, 1.2, all the way to 1.8 each level). I got up to 5.2 which isn't close to the average but it is honestly better than I expected myself to get! 

 At least I now know how much work I have to put in to make myself fit! 

 Rianna x

Back to the Indian Sizzler we go!

 So I'm getting extremely close to my target and have just organised my next (and possibly last) big event.

Since my curry night last July raised over £200 I have decided to do another one and hope it will be even more successful

especially as a lot of people were unable to make it due to holidays or other commitments

All information is here:

I hope to see as many of you there as possible!

Rianna x

Bar 92 Party

So Jake and I were getting pretty worried about the turn out of the party, we didn't think a lot of people would turn up even though we did advertise it like crazy! Especially because we needed mostly over 18's to attend, we found it hard to get our parents friends there because the venue was a 20 minute or so drive from where most of us live. However for those who did attend would probably agree with me that Bar 92 is a beautiful venue and would recommend it to anyone passing by or hiring a bar in Rickmansworth!

Even though we really didn't want too we were SO close to cancelling the event. Then however the week of the party, we had a phone call to ask if there was still enough space for another 12 people and then at school a few days after we sold another 7 tickets! So of course cancelling was out of the question.

In the end we had around 50 people come and enjoy themselves, the bar was always flowing and the music was great. At first it was really hard to get people up and dancing but then the DJ played Candy by Cameo - even though that went down in shambles as only two people knew how to do it (me included!) - the party then started!

Here are also a few pictures from the night:

"It's like candy"

Hayley&Christie who have supported me at every event so far!

A few school friends who attended

Jamaine - the best dancer of the night!

The managers of Bar 92 - thank you so much!

Jake and I made more than £250 between us so we would like to thank everybody who came because we appriciate it so much! We are now both 1 step closer to our target :) 

Thanks again, Rianna & Jake x