Ecovolunteer in Muringa farm: Anne Sophie's comment

Anne Sophie, 29 years old:

The program: perfect, adapted to anybody’s skills, combines love for nature, animals and people, that are all connected. It is varied, days are fulfilled, all of it in a very beautiful scenery.

Muringa Farm: property of 10 hectares at 5 minutes of Subukia’s small village.
Everything is there: farm animals, domestic animals, wild animals, an incredible number of plants and flowers, all this in a historical scenery, as it is Mama Daktari’s former farm. Eric and Astrid kept the character of the house and its visit is a real museum!! The bandas, built on the local model are simple but charming, with electricity (solar panels) and warm water …The restaurant is situated at the edge of a small lake. The food, prepared by Charles and Godfrey, with simple and local food, is good and varied.
Subukia: the discovery of Subukia and her inhabitants is fabulous! Sensitive souls have to refrain: to go and have a cup of tea with the locals, to bring food to the refugees, to visit the orphanage, to see catholic missions working with disabled people and victims of AIDS and take kids on horse-back, animals some of them had never seen before, are moments that could make you feel like crying (and I know what I am talking about!;-D)Horses: longstanding horse-rider, the horse-riding aspect attracted me from the beginning and I was not disappointed. 4 small horses, 2 very kind bay ones and 2 a little bit more difficult black ones, in brief there is one for every level. And their story is so moving!
The rides in the surroundings of Subukia are beautiful and varied and the initiation to ethological horse-riding is very instructive, especially for a classical rider like me. In short, we have fun, we learn a lot, and we have crushes (isn’t it Typhoon???).

The staff: from the warden to the safari guide, everybody is smiling, kind and reliable. On the sports side, Benjamin and Vincent are passionated persons, a little bit shy at the beginning, they really start to speak after some days. On the kitchen side, Charles and Godfrey are up to it, I rarely left an empty plate and pancakes for breakfast are perfect to wake up! Korir, the safari guide, is stunning, always smiling, always quiet, full of knowledge, he can spot a lion in the bush at a distance of 1km (it is almost disgusting when we still confuse stones and buffaloes!). Samweal introduces people to donkeys good treatments, he is shy but very efficient!!! The wardens, cow (and cat!!) keepers and Sally are more discreet but are always on form!Safaris: a real pleasure! The lake Nakuru at 1 hour from Subukia can be visited in one day and abounds in animals in a magnificent scenery! The Maasai Mara, farer, but Eric and Astrid have a great small camp there, is one of the most famous parks in the country and if you spend a few days there, you understand why!We saw all the animals(except cheetahs, so we wll have to come back!) in a 3-day safari, and with Korir as a guide, we couldn’t dream better.In conclusion: a journey that met all my expectations and even more. The positive points: the scenery, the horses, the discovery of the population and the camp of Mara. Less positive: small problems with the car and the fact we couldn’t go swimming (but ok, it is not really negative, as we knew it before coming, but as Eric talked to us about a project of natural swimming pool, I am putting pression!). In brief, the last word is " I will come back!!! "
asgremeau@hotmail.com

Cécile's comments on her 1 month eco-volunteering experience, June 2010

Cécile, 29 years old:
« What a pleasure to come back to Kenya! And what is more, for an ecovolunteering experience, five years after the Taita Discovery Centre (TDC) inTsavo. I am here again in this beautiful country. And in a very different region than the ones I already know! It was an evidence for me to go to Subukia, after knowing about Wild Routes of Kenya and Astrid on internet. Especially as the activities would be supervised by Korir (former guide of TDC I already knew, and one of the best guides in the country)!
The welcome in Muringa Farm is great, thanks to all the team (Astrid, Erick, Korir, Benjamin, Vincent, Charles, Godfrey, Samweal, Sally and the others but also Kennedy and all the team of Mara) to have insured a very pleasant stay, in typical African bandas, with a restaurant on a small lake, where very good meals are being served … Furthermore, Muringa Farm abounds in animals: horses, donkeys, cows and also wild animals like colobus, blue monkeys, trees hyraxes and ibis which can be heard at night!In brief, the place of Muringa Farm is idyllic, in this green Kenyan countryside (thanks to El Nino this year!), where coffee, tea and flowers of any kind are growing! Come and read at the same time Anne Spoerry's book: " They call me Mama Daktari ". She is the former owner of the farm, and you will be bewitched by this place full of history!
Concerning the program, you will never get bored! The program is adapted to everybody. And there are so different activities to do there, that anybody can have a great time. Astrid concocts a personalized program to the ecovolunteers, according to their preferences. To train horses in the longing built in the property and to go and walk outside is a real pleasure, especially when you see how beneficial it is to offer a second happy life to these horses! Isn’t it Typhoon, Hurricane, Santos and Justice?
To observe wild animals in the property is great also, to admire the graceful colobus, birds, have fun with the blue monkeys’behavior, are activities you will never get tired of! The property has been planned to leave space for wildlife. The excursions outside are nice also: we understand the usefulness of Astrid and Erick’ presence and also of ours, when we visit people Muringa Farm is sponsoring - as Lilian and her orphans, or the children of Lower Subukia refugee camp. It was such a big emotion when we visited these children on horseback and when they all wanted to ride Justice one after the other! It is also necessary to explain to people how to treat donkeys in a better way ; there is a program of the KSPCA (Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals) for that. Samweal knows how to find all the owners of donkeys in the surroundings to distribute them headcollars!
Let’s speak now about safaris: the Nakuru National Park is not very far from Subukia and abounds in beauties. With Korir we were able to observe the flamingos of the lake, rhinos, buffaloes and other animals, and even to spot a female leopard, pregnant, coming down from its tree to go hunting! Magical!
Long stays of ecovolunteering also allow to go and visit for three days the mythical park of the Masai Mara. June is a good season from any point of view: dry season, temperature not very high and it is the beginning of the wildebeest migration from and towards Serengeti! You can find also elephants, hippos and "big cats" as lions and cheetahs (even if they where hiding this time!), which completes very well the Nakuru National Park!After all that, you will tell me: what else? The answer is: you have to come back! You never want to leave Masai Mara's camp, surrounded by Masaïs, or Muringa Farm in Subukia, because you feel fine there, because you feel like a useful and privileged tourist discovering the " real Kenya ", and also because there are still so many things to do (other parks to visit, other activities to run). And then especially you want to see Astrid, Erick, all the team, the horses, the other animals again, once you are back home!
So see you soon, I hope. In the meantime : “ long life to Wild Routes of Kenya! "cecile.querleu@orange.fr

An ecovolunteer's report: Margot, 24 years old

Wonderful experience, beautiful trip, if you like to discover and observe monkeys and birds families living in the property. But also to take care of farm animals, and to go and discover the Kenyan countryside and inhabitants.
I really appreciated to stay in a not very touristic region of Kenya, favouring encounters and exchanges with the local population in the countryside, and in the small village of Subukia.
Regarding Muringa Farm, it is a small paradise full of history, with a very low impact on the environment,
managed by a very kind and friendly team.

The farm is situated close to big towns like Nakuru (4th town of the country), where there is a very beautiful national park. The eco-volunteering programme is rich and open. I had the opportunity to observe the colobus and sykes monkeys, to participate in the inventory of numerous birds, or to go for a walk with the horses and the donkeys as well.

But also to do some trekking up to two view points, and visit a Kenyan family, share their lunch and a cup of tea with them!
Without forgetting all the informations regarding the trees (identification and medicinal uses) and the swahili courses!

Then, the icing on the cake, I had the opportunity to go to the Masai Mara for three days. The park is really amazing and there also, the lanscape is so beautiful and the wildlife so unbelievable that it is unforgettable.

Thank you Astrid, Erick, Korir, and all the team for this unforgettable stay!
Hope to see you again soon!
Margot (margot.sallenave416@dbmail.com)