IcFEM Gap Volunteers

This is one of the best trips which IcFEM organise, the trip to Mombasa suits everyone's likes. During your time in Mombasa after driving through the Rift Valley, which has to be one of the best drives in Eastern Africa you’ll visit the Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary, have a guided monkey tour and nature trail through the Colobus Trust Park, drive a quad through the Shimba Hills and watch the world go by whilst relaxing next to the clear blue Indian Ocean. You’ll set off from Kimilili about 7:00 am and arrive in Nairobi about 2:00- 3:00 pm. You’ll be staying at the ACK Guest House, until the next day where you’ll start the final journey to Mombasa which will take the same amount of time. The journey from the Western Province to Mombasa has to be one of the most spectacular, picturesque journey in Eastern Kenya. You’ll drive through the Rift Valley and over the equator at around 9000 ft. It’ll be once in a lifetime experience. Once we arrive at Mombasa, we’ll check in at our hotel, freshen up, and go for dinner, we won’t have any time to go around Mombasa as it’ll be late, and after the long, hot journey, you’ll need to sleep and rest for the next day.

The first day at Mombasa we’ll have breakfast and get in the 4x4 and take an hour and half drive from our hotel to the Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary to experience a unique safari in a spectacular landscape. The sanctuary is a 60,000 acre feature, with dramatic cliffs and forested hills as well as bush land. Whilst walking around the sanctuary you might come across warthog, impala, bushbuck, leopard, cape buffalo and sable as well as the elephants. In these areas you’ll find petrified wood which remain from the forest which was here 200 million years ago. Once we have arrived at the sanctuary you’ll first notice the cliffs which tower over you and then you can start the elephant experience. After having explored the area, you’ll walk to the Manolo River Viewpoint Restaurant to have a fantastic lunch. To end the amazing day, you’ll be taken back to the coast where you can relax next to the sparkling ocean.

On the second day you’ll have breakfast at the hotel and we’ll take a short journey to the Colobus Trust. Once we’ve arrived we’ll be taken on a guided monkey tour around the park. It’s a unique opportunity to view wild Colobus monkeys in their natural environment. During the nature trial you’ll also be able track other Diani Primates species including Sykes, and Vervet monkeys as well as other rare mammals including Yellow Baboons, Golden Rumped Shrew and the Suni Antelope. The walk lasts for about an hour and includes a media presentation on the conservation work. At this time it’ll be lunch, and you’ll be taken back to the hotel to have lunch and to organise yourself for the afternoon activities. Once you have had your lunch, you’ll be taken further inland to ‘African Quads’, where you’ll spend the rest of the day driving around the Kenyan countryside on your own quad. This is a great opportunity where you can discover how to ride a quad on off beaten tracks of the marvelous Kenyan countryside and cross flat forested plains. You’ll be able to meet the local community, visit a local village and view the beautiful area of Shimba Hills. This activity lasts for half a day. Once you have explored the Shimba Hills, you’ll be taken back to the hotel for dinner.

On the third day, we have decided to give you this time just to walk around the area and explore the Mombasa coast line, relax next to the ocean with the waves gently rolling up the beach. It will also give you the time to pack and rest for the next days journey back through the fantastic Rift Valley. On the fourth day we depart from Mombasa around 8:00 am after having breakfast and head to ACK Guest House in Nairobi, where we’ll stay the night again. The fifth day we depart from Nairobi and back through the Rift Valley to Kimilili at around 8:00 am after breakfast. We’ll arrive in Kimilili around 4:00 pm.