HILLCREST SECONDARY SCHOOL Final HILLCREST MAG 2017 | Page 54

President’s Award
None of us were very certain of
what we were in for when we signed
up for Presidents Award back in
September but we were all excited
at the prospect of a trip and the
opportunity to satisfy our hunger
for adventure! Little did we know
that PA would not only fulfil our
sense of adventure but also bring
out our ability to take initiative and
responsibility, tighten the bond of
friendship and boost team spirit.
For the bronze President’s Award
qualification, each member of the
team must complete a two-day trip
involving treacherous hikes through
the Kenyan countryside, 3 months
of community service, 3 months
of physical recreation (outside of
school) and 3 months of a skill.
Back in the first term we were
bundled into the school bus by Mrs
McCarthy and Mr Baker and taken
to Kijabe in the Rift Valley for a pre-
expedition trip for a taste of what
PA is really about. At the end of the
trip we were all pleasantly surprised
and completely exhausted after two
days of long trekking through hilly
terrain, freezing night
shifts at ridiculous hours of
the night, huddled around
a demanding campfire
and getting very lost.
Nonetheless we were all
eager for more!
Our next trip, on which
we would be accessed for
bronze level President’s
Award was to the
Aberdares. The two teams arrived
at around 2:00 pm and our arduous
walk began. We scrambled up steep
terrain, jumped across streams and
cascaded through tea plantations
until we finally arrived at our
campsite as the sun dipped below the
horizon.
Tents were put up in the darkness
Year 10 Biology Trip
Our trip began with Ms Meggy sharing
her experience about working at Turtle
Watch where she discovered how
important turtles are to the ecosystem.
It was amazing that in the short space
of time we had, we managed to gain
so much knowledge about turtles and
their conservation. However, our trip
was taking us to watch other animals
within the Ololua Forest ecosystem
beginning at the Elephant Orphanage
through the Giraffe Centre and culmi-
nating in the Forest. At the orphanage,
we were greeted by an eccentric look-
ing Maasai warrior who was more than
happy to take pictures with passing by
tourists as well as ourselves.
To our disappointment we were wel-
comed by a small group of warthogs
rather than the herd of elephants that
we were highly
54
anticipating when we got into the ele-
phant sanctuary. When the elephants
eventually arrived, they were very
hungry and went straight for their milk
bottles as most of them were infants.
As some rolled around in mud and
others continued to eat twigs, a larger
mass (of adult elephants) approached.
After interacting and touching the
elephants, we
made our way to
the Giraffe Centre.
Many of us had
visited the famous
Giraffe Centre
before so we were
not expecting
anything new.
However, this did
not take away the
joyful experience
as we were allowed to feed the giraffes
with small pellets. There was the option
of allowing the giraffe to eat from your
mouth but many of us, being extremely
squeamish, politely declined the offer.
We made our way to the final part
of the trip at the nearby Ololua
Forest. Our activities here revolved
around noting down the wildlife and
2017 | Hillcrest Magazine