Eco Bricks, Safari and meet Jack, the eight week old rhino!

The Community project involved collecting plastic litter from streets around the Rugby Club - the photo showing the mound of litter is what we collected in an hour and a half! This was then stuffed in to discarded bottles to make eco-bricks used in local construction projects.

C

Is That A Magpie? By Matt Long

Good evening ladies and gents, thankfully the sun rose once more that blessed us with bundles of joy and jubilance.  After a wonderfully warm shower, I guzzled down some golden corn flakes which nicely set us up for the morning of plastic accumulating.  We joined Solomans' army as we paraded proudly around the streets of Livingstone, taking every opportunity to annihilate plastic waste.  After a 90 minute circuit of the city we arrived at the Rugby club and we began eco-bricking, morning done!
We returned to the ranch to fuel up before setting off on an afternoon of mammal monitoring, as if by magic 3 jeeps arrived outside of base and merrily we hopped aboard.  After 20 minutes of cruising, we arrived at the National Park where we picked up our armed guard and his alarmingly large rifle.  A short jeep journey later we parked up and were briefed on safety pointers and set about safariing on foot.  It soon became apparent that we were something of a crud connoisseur as we correctly identified the excrement of impalas and rhino.  We walked through the park with excitement, seeing many impalas, the odd warthog and various birds until we stumbled upon the rhinos and all their majesty.  There were 10 rhinos including 8 week old Jack and his curious aunties.  These 10 rhinos are the ONLY rhinos in the whole of Zambia and we managed to get in a whisker of them.  It was marvelous.  We returned to the jeep, enjoyed refreshments and said goodbye to our friend with the gun.  We proceeded to take the scenic route out of the park.
So to conclude, today we have seen; giraffes, zebras, rhinos, elephants, wildebeests, impalas, monkeys, baboons and many others.  We had an enthralling day, however it was slightly tarnished by the absence of our dear Mr Taylor, his wit and wisdom was missed by all, although a brilliant day.  One I will never forget, see you all soon!



Litter Picking and Rhino Walks By Sophie Keen

Hello All it's Sophie here.  Today I slept in till 8am (what a lay in) and Eva waking me up 20 minutes later, I was ready to start my day.  We spent the morning helping the community by litter picking, which was very successful as we collected huge amounts of plastic to fill the bottles with, which disgusted me but also gave me a huge sense of helpfulness.  We then came back for a hearty lunch, consisting of our 17th roll of the trip.
Getting picked up by safari jeep got me excited for the trip that lay ahead of us.  To begin the trip we sailed along the road at the great speed of 10mph, soon to arrive and be greeted by a herd of elephants with 2 adorable babies among them, what a start to a safari.  Surprisingly, we then hopped out of the jeep keeping a close eye on Rosa, and walked into the unknown.  The guide then proceeded to show us animal droppings and an array of insects before we reached the show stopper of the whole safari, which was 10 beautiful sleeping rhinos, accompanied by a 8 week old baby.  It was all very mesmerizing until they all got up and began to stare at us whilst sharping their horns.  Then Eva being Eva, decided to try and get a photo of the calf, while not noticing the adult rhino in the bush next to her.  It was the most amazing experience ever, but unfortunately my camera was dead.
To finish the day off we had African cuisine for dinner, which was interesting to say the least.  Overall this experience has been truly amazing, I am sad that it has come to an end but I am missing everyone greatly so am excited to see everyone.
Miss you mum, dad, Jake, Sid and everyone else xx


An Amazing Adventure By Ceire Perks (Miss)

Wow, what an adventure this trip has been.  It honestly still has not hit me that I am/have been in Zambia.  I have always listened to the stories from the other staff and Horrod, but to see if with my own eyes is something else!
Visiting the schools, seeing the passion of teaching in the teachers and the want to learn from the kids really hit home.  Watching our students grow in confidence throughout these couple of weeks, whether it has been in coaching/reffing or interacting with the children and teachers, has really made this trip amazing.
Today we helped Soloman with his eco-brick project by collecting plastic along the roads, to then build the eco-brick, a project I think we could continue back home!  I couldn't believe just how much plastic could fit into a bottle and how sturdy they are once full.
The afternoon with the walk safari was brilliant!  Being able to see rhinos so close up (slightly worrying when the big mum rhino looked like it was coming my way - I was every the professional and may have backtracked behind some-one else! All safe though!).
Seeing these views, experiencing this adventure has just been crazy and I am so grateful to have been given the chance to come on this trip.
Hope all is well at home, sending lots of love (especially Jaya, if someone reads this to her! Miss her lots but will be home soon!) xxx
P.S.
Apologies to my sister who I know will be unbelievably jealous of this trip and the safaris in particular! :)