Ashlynn Returns...

On August 8, the Project Africa Team arrived back safe and sound to the Netherlands. Before Ben would release everyone to meet their parents, he had final words to share with the group. 

Jimmy, Kati and I anxiously waited for Ashlynn and were thrilled when we finally spotted her.

Ashlynn and Georgia were wearing matching Kenyan beer shirts. While Ashlynn was smiling here, she was mostly crying as she said good-bye to the team that she’d not only worked, lived and played with for the past three weeks but had worked and bonded with over the previous 15 months. It was great hearing about Ashlynn’s fabulous trip over the next few days and eventually seeing photos. Here’s a video summarizing the trip made by one of the boys.

Final Moments in Kenya...

Sunset was really pretty and the perfect time to take photos...

...some of which were pretty silly.

If you can’t tell, this spells Kenya.

On their last day, they got up early to watch the sun rise which made for some dramatic photos.

Rather than take the train back to Nairobi, they flew and then continued onto the Netherlands. It was a long journey, but they got to see Mt Kilaminjaro, which made Ashlynn very happy.

Boating in the Indian Ocean...

Ashlynn was thrilled to go snorkeling. The shallow water was really warm and crystal clear making it perfect for reef snorkeling. She saw lots of colorful fish, sea urchins and starfish as well as an eel.

Unfortunately, there weren’t enough pairs of fins for everyone and about eight kids had the misfortune of stepping on sea urchins. Ashlynn’s training as a Rescue Diver came in handy after one of the girls stepped on one and Ashlynn pulled her out of water.

Not surprised to see that Ashlynn enjoyed hanging out on the upper deck of the glass-bottomed boat.

Diani Beach...

When the trip was planned, the group was supposed to travel from Nairobi to Mombasa by bus, which would have taken 9 to 11 hours. Luckily for them the new Nairobi-Mombasa Madaraka Express Railway, funded by China, opened 18 months ahead of schedule and made the 290-mile (470-kilometer) trip in just 4.5 hours. Ashlynn really enjoyed the train ride’s journey through the savannah where they spotted several elephants.

This part of the trip was all about relaxation. They only had two nights with one full day at Diani Beach, south of Mombasa, but they made the most of the beautiful location.

They stayed just five minutes from the beach in groups of six in little houses with flush toilets, which was a luxury for the first time during the trip. Ashlynn said the stargazing was really great.

Geography Coursework...

Two years ago Ashlynn used our trip to Tokyo as inspiration for her food technology coursework. It was cool that she was able to use her trek in a Kenyan rainforest to collect data for this year’s geography coursework, which will be entitled The Impact of Logging on Biodiversity on Mount Londiani.

She planned ahead and borrowed some of the school’s scientific equipment to use for her data collection.

Four friends helped her measure soil moisture, temperature and pH as well as biodiversity of plants and light intensity.

That same afternoon, the other kids were also working but their groups were collecting water or geotagging trees.

Illegal Logging...

It was quick to see the negative impacts of illegal logging of cedar trees.

As much as she hated what she saw, Ashlynn understood that the locals can’t just be told to stop logging without other means for them to earn money to feed and educate their families.

Gold Award Trek...

The next stage of the Kenya trip was to head to a nearby rainforest along a volcano crater called Mount Londiani Forest, an unmapped area. They hiked about five hours carrying heavy packs; Ashlynn carried seven liters of water and food for herself for four days. This was true backcountry camping with no signs of human activity beyond illegal logging (more on that later).

They were led by the owner of the campsite where they’d stayed for the previous two weeks and accompanied by a local park ranger. They had planned to camp at a cleared area, but it had been burnt so they put up their tents in this tight spot between the trees on a ridge which they discovered while hiking in the dark. Every morning they packed up everything and moved to another location. On the fourth day they were relieved to find a clearing, which made pitching the tents much easier.

 The trees were beautiful with a mix of olive, cedar...

 ...and bamboo among others.

It was chillier at the higher altitude of 8,450 feet (2.575 meters). Apparently there were elephants in the vicinity, but the only animals they saw were birds.

As you can see, they had some serious hills to contend with. While they followed logging paths much of the way, they had to clear a section of the path themselves. Ashlynn was the only girl to volunteer to use a machete; she loved how satisfying it was to wield such a powerful tool.

Farewell Dinner...

For the final night at the camp, the hosts threw the kids a farewell party. Since the dinner would be fancier than usual, they all shopped in the market for fancy clothes. Personally, I think Ashlynn’s dress is really cute. Here are the teachers and kids taking Geography... 

...here are all the girls plus Ben...

...and here are all those suave guys. Some of the guys actually spent a lot on their suits, while the girls’ dresses were pretty cheap. After seeing everyone look like absolute crap for two weeks, the transformation was astounding. And it was the perfect way to celebrate the end of the first phase of the trip.

More Sightseeing in Kenya...

 Two other sites that they visited was a knitting cooperative...

 ...and Lord Egerton Castle, built in 1952.

One of my favorite stories Ashlynn told was related to this visit: After Ben reprimanded her for not bringing her coat, Ashlynn reminded him that her parents had let her choose what clothes to wear since she was five and that she’s responsible for her own comfort.

Sundays in Njoro...

It was cool that the BSN kids got to experience a service at the local church, where they recognized kids from the school. Half of the service was in Swahili and translated into English, and half was in English and translated into Swahili. The singing brought tears to Ashlynn’s eyes. She said that the congregation truly believes they are talking to God through their songs and she found it beautiful.

They also got to try some golf. The caddy gave them a brief lesson and set them loose.

Here is Ashlynn with her tentmate Ellie.

They only rented one set of clubs between them to save money.

It took a long time for the five of them to complete each hole, so they only played about five holes, but they didn’t mind and had a great time.

African Safari...

Ashlynn was pleasantly surprised by how many animals they saw on the safari, which included a lot of baboons...

...and a lot of African buffalo, one of the two Big Five game animals they saw. The other Big Five was the rhino, which they saw three of from afar. Unfortunately for Ashlynn, her vehicle was the only one that missed seeing lions.

Looks like some humans lost their lunch to this clever baboon.

They also saw lots of giraffes, warthogs...

...and zebras.

Lake Nakuru National Park...

One Saturday they woke up really early to board safari vehicles which took them to Lake Nakuru National Park.

The rooftops popped up once they got into the park.

They stretched their legs next to Lake Nakuru (nakuru means dusty place in Maasai). According to Lonely Planet, rising water levels in 2014 forced the park’s thousands of flamingos to flee, and the lake is now hauntingly full of dead trees.

Luckily one of the teachers had a good camera as well as a good eye, and captured lots of photos of the kids.

This waterfall might be small, but Ashlynn still thought it was cool.