Walk on the Wild Side Trek Kenya 2020

Challenge level: 3 out of 5

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When can I go?

14 February - 22 February 2020	On Sale
Duration	9 days

What does it cost?

Registration fee (payable today) £299

Remaining amount Self-funded pay the balance £1699 Sponsorship Minimum sponsorship target £3400

Total commitment

Walk on the Wild Side Trek Kenya 2020

Take a walk on the wild side on this roarsome seven-day Kenyan adventure, trekking right through Kenya’s Rift Valley to the banks of the River Malewa. Along the way, we’ll be immersed in an entirely different world and spot an extraordinary range of African wildlife, from hippos and giraffes to zebras, wildebeests and many more. We may even be lucky enough to spot the elusive cheetahs and lions – after all, we venture through Hell’s Gate National Park, the setting of The Lion King! We finish off this amazing challenge with an exclusive visit to an elephant orphanage, where orphaned babies are looked after and raised until they’re ready to return to the wild.

The wildlife isn’t the only thing to get excited about: we’ll experience spectacular landscapes and more than a handful of life-changing moments, from exploring Hell’s Gate Gorge to climbing to the ridge the Mount Longonot volcano. And the best part? It’s all in aid of animal and wildlife charities!

Your chance to give back to our beautiful planet
Whether you choose to support a charity for pets, assistance dogs, animal rights, wildlife or the environment, by taking on this Walk on the Wild Side challenge, you'll be standing up for those without a voice and so fundraising for an invaluable cause. Let's come together for our furry, feathery and scaly friends and face this challenge like a lion!

Although we fully encourage you to support an animal/wildlife/environment charity for Walk on the Wild Side, we understand if you hold another charity closer to your heart and would like to fundraise for an alternative cause, it's your choice.

Don’t want to fundraise? no worries.
Walk on the Wild Side is an Open Challenge – this means you have the option to self-fund your participation and there is no minimum fundraising requirement. We do encourage you to commit to a minimum sponsorship target instead and fundraise for an animal, wildlife or environment charity of your choice; but it’s completely up to you.

Places for this incredible African adventure are likely to be snapped up faster than a cheetah’s prey, so please secure your place so you don’t miss out!

Want all this info in one beautiful document?
See the Walk on the Wild Side Trek Kenya 2020 info pack here.

Your itinerary

Day 1 & 2
UK – Nairobi - Lake Naivasha | approx. 3 hours trekking

Our first ever Walk on the Wild Side adventure starts with an overnight flight from London to Nairobi airport, where our challenge guide greets us and transfers us to our camp on the shores of Lake Naivasha in Kenya’s Rift Valley. After lunch, we catch a short transfer to the nearby crater lake and take a “warm up walk” to ease us into our challenge. Our stroll takes us around the stunning fresh water lake, nestled between volcanic rocks and lush vegetation and we have the fab opportunity to spot some local wildlife. Home to over 400 different species of bird and a large protected population of hippos, we may also spot some giraffes, zebras, waterbucks and wildebeests! (We don’t call this our Walk on the Wild Side challenge for nothing.)

Day 3
Lake Naivasha - Hell’s Gate National Park | approx. 26km

Yesterday was just a warm up. After our first glimpse of the enthralling African wildlife, we set off on our real challenge, beginning with a trek to Hell’s Gate National Park. Once we’ve entered the park, we have a relatively flat walk through an interesting mix of typical African savannah and volcanic terrain, looking out for animals along the way. Renowned for its wide variety of animals and bird life, the park was established in 1984 and ten years later, the 1994 Disney sensation, The Lion King, was largely modelled on the park. We may be lucky enough to glimpse lions, cheetahs, along with the less elusive zebras and buffalo! We eventually reach our campsite within the park and rest for the night, far away from urban frenzy.

Day 4
Hell’s Gate National Park | approx. 18km

Our day starts with a short walk to Hell Gate’s Gorge, where we embark on a small abseil into the canyon. Once back on solid (horizontal) ground, we venture through the canyon, taking in the awesome views of the fast running water, the extraordinary geysers and wild vegetation. We stop for lunch, before continuing through the rocky gorge and bush and finally heading back to our camp in the park for a second night.

Day 5
Hell’s Gate National Park - Longonot National Park | approx. 18km

Today, we trek through more savannah with a range of flat and hilly sections and pass through the Kedong Ranch. This ranch stretches to a whopping 600 square kilometres and enjoys a beautiful backdrop of Hell’s Gate and Mount Longonot. We can’t help but feel dwarfed by the vast expanses around us, a welcome escape from the fast pace of the UK. Tonight, we settle down to camp in Longonot National Park, home to the incredible stratavolcano, Mount Longonot.

Day 6
Mount Longonot trek | approx. 13.4km (550m elevation gain)

We wake up today to quite a tough trek as we make our way up the extinct volcano, Mount Longonot and climb some 550m (from 2,220m above sea level to 2,770m). At the rim of the crater, we make the most of the spectacular panorama over the rift valley and Lake Longonot and snap a group photo or two. Of course, a camera can’t do justice to this incredible landscape, but it’s worth a try! Continuing our trek, we hike along the jagged edge and peer into the volcano, before descending back to our camp to relax.

Day 7
Malewa River Gorge trek | approx. 12km

This morning, we transfer to Malewa River. This brings us into the middle of Africa at its natural best, lush with flowers, trees and wildlife each side of the river. We start our last day’s trek by crossing the shallow Malewa River Gorge, enjoying the extraordinary sounds of animal life all around us. After passing our last crater pool, we trek to Malewa Camp for lunch and more importantly, our finish line! From here, we transfer to our night’s hotel accommodation in Nairobi and celebrate with a farewell dinner to toast our achievement.

Days 8 & 9
Nakuru – Nairobi - UK

On our last – and potentially best - day in Kenya, we have the wonderful opportunity to visit an elephant orphanage, where orphaned babies are looked after and raised until they’re ready to return to the wild. We get to meet the baby elephants and learn how their carers look after them and keep them happy after their rough start to life. We then return to our hotel in Nairobi for our last night sleeping in Kenya! We have an early start on Day 9 and transfer to the Jomo Kenyatta International airport in Nairobi for our daytime flight back to the UK, touching down in London later that day, ready for Home Sweet Home.

Book my place

Self Funded

Pay the challenge costs yourself and choose to fundraise or donate as much as you can for your chosen animal, wildlife and/or environment charity. Although we fully encourage you to support an animal/wildlife/environment charity for Walk on the Wild Side, we understand if you hold another charity closer to your heart and would like to fundraise for an alternative cause, it's your choice.

£1,699

pay the balance

Pay a non-refundable registration fee, which is used to administer the challenge and secure your seats with the airline.
Pay the challenge costs yourself 10 weeks before your challenge starts.
Choose to fundraise as much as you can for the animal, wildlife or environment charity of your choice or make a personal donation.
In return, everything for the challenge is provided – flights (not including airport taxes and the fuel surcharge), food, accommodation, transfers, guides, medical and technical support.

Book my place

Sponsorship

Pay a non refundable registration fee and then commit to raising a minimum amount for an animal, wildlife or environment charity of your choice. Although we fully encourage you to support an animal/wildlife/environment charity for Walk on the Wild Side, we understand if you hold another charity closer to your heart and would like to fundraise for an alternative cause, it's your choice.

£3,400

Minimum sponsorship target

Pay a non-refundable registration fee and then commit to fundraising a minimum sponsorship target for an animal, wildlife or environment charity of your choice.
Your charitable funds must be paid in 10 weeks before your challenge starts.
Providing you have raised the funds, the charity you are supporting will pay the challenge costs on your behalf.
The challenge costs cover your flights (not including airport taxes and the fuel surcharge), food, accommodation, transfers, guides, medical and technical support.
The more money you can raise, the higher the percentage of funds that will directly support the work of your chosen charity. You are therefore encouraged to exceed the minimum fundraising target.

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FAQs
Walk on the Wild Side Trek Kenya 2020

How fit do I have to be?

This challenge is not designed for Olympic athletes – it is designed for people looking for an amazing goal to train and get fit for. A number of the people who will take part on this challenge will have little or no fitness level when they sign up. Walk on the Wild Side is the perfect motivation to get fit and have an experience of a lifetime.

I’m worried about signing up on my own…

Please don't be! The majority of people will sign up on their own and our Dream Challenges are renowned for the amazing camaraderie and life long friendships made as our groups take on these incredible feats together.

Once you've signed up for the challenge, we'll send you a link to a private Facebook group for everyone registered for the Walk on the Wild Side Trek Kenya 2020. Please feel free to use this space to swap questions, advice and updates with your fellow trekkers on your training and fundraising. You may also want to reach out to the fellow participants in this group to see if there's anyone in your local area you can meet up to train and fundraise with.

Am I too old?

Absolutely not! One of the amazing things about the challenge is that people of all ages will come together to do something very special. The age range is likely to be from 18 to a youthful 80.

Do I need special equipment?

You will of course need a pair of walking boots. We will supply you with a comprehensive list of everything you will need to take on the challenge well before your departure date.

Where will we sleep overnight?

We'll camp in comfortable campsites throughout the challenge, apart from two nights in a hotel in Nakuru and Nairobi ( the nights following Day 1 and Day 7).

Can I extend my stay at the end of the challenge?

Yes of course! If you wish to extend your stay you will need to come out of our group flights (and of course, we would deduct the cost from your balance).

What other costs will I pay?

In addition to paying your registration fee, you will need to budget for your visa, airport taxes and fuel surcharges, personal travel insurance, gratuities, optional tours and personal expenses including travel to and from the departure airport in London.

What about insurance and visas?

You will need to take out your own personal travel insurance, covering health, accident, loss and repatriation. Dream Challenges has a recommended policy that provides appropriate cover for this type of activity. We will send you the details once you have registered. You can however take out your own insurance, providing it covers you for a charity trek in Kenya.

How will you support me?

The Dream Challenges team are here to help you achieve your challenge and will support you all the way. We are on hand from the minute you sign up to answer any questions that you may have about your training or the challenge itself. Once you have registered, we will send you a realistic training programme to help you get fit for the event. The programme builds up gradually as the event gets closer.

Can you offer travel vaccination advice?

As we're not medically trained, we're afraid we can't offer you advice on this. We recommend you contact your GP or your local travel clinic, who will have the latest travel health advice.

We also recommend you visit the NHS Fit for Travel website here, to keep up to date with current travel health news and advice on staying healthy abroad.

NHS Fit for Travel website: https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/home