 Having never been travelling without my family before – let alone to Africa, I really didn't know what to expect. Many surreal and exciting thoughts and feelings shot through my mind on the Kenyan airways flight to Nairobi.
One of the things that sticks in my mind now I have returned are the 'not so concrete' roads and the hourly journeys to our many destinations! However being on a truck with 20 people, you soon get used to it – roads back in the UK felt so strange when I returned! We drove by many Kenyan villages seeing so many of the adorable local children. Everybody waves at you as if they are praising you, their faces glimmering with innocence. They have so few material possessions yet you can tell that they are happy with what they have. All you hear them shout is "Mzungu!" which means "white person" in Swahili as they try to grab your attention. It was definitely an experience when about 10 little Kenyan children started screaming and running alongside the truck trying to jump on. The driver eventually had to stop the truck and get out to calm them down and prevent them getting run over! They seemed as intrigued with us as we were with them.
Sleeping in tents for two weeks was definitely something to remember, however the cold showers and ‘holes in the ground’ are something I try to forget! There was one night while we were camping just above the Ngorongoro Crater where we were very nearly trampled on by an elephant - and I thought they were cute and friendly little animals, how wrong I was!
 Travelling through the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania was breathtaking. Not only were the animals amazing to see but the geology was also beautiful (and unchanged for 2.5 million years). Within 10 minutes of being in the national park we came across a leopard! We saw so many animals, including the big five (this consists of leopards, lions, elephants, black rhinos and buffaloes). It was incredible, all worth waking at 5am for - especially as we also saw the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen. It felt as if I was really in The Lion King!
One of the days while driving through the Serengeti we came across some Tsetse flies. They are in the same family as the housefly and breed along rivers and streams. If they bite you they can give you a fatal disease called sleeping sickness which is transmitted through their saliva. The whole truck literally jumped off their seats when we came across one fly and about 10 of us tried our hardest to kill the bugger!!! Remembering correctly, one woman slapped her husband across the face as the fly landed on him - unfortunately she missed the fly.
The Masai village was also an eye opener. As we entered it I recall about 5 little Masai children latching onto everyone’s hands and not letting go. Our guide told us that the men have about five wives, all having about seven children each! I really do not know how they handle that. Also, what really shocked me, were that young boys of about 15 were warriors and can marry! They are trained to fight at such an early age.
The whole trip was definitely an experience to take with me to university and to remember forever. I would gladly go back there and recommend it to anyone who wants to see a world so different from the comfortable and safe life most of us live today.
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