Worldschooling Opportunity: Kilimanjaro and Africa Trip 2024
Interested in a structured world schooling opportunity travelling to Kenya and Uganda?
In February 2024, The Infinite Game of Life Tour Company will take teens and their parents or grandparents to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, go on safari, and encounter mountain gorillas. This is a 3-week trip in partnership with the Socratic Experience online school.
My name is David Siegel. I’ve been to 99 countries and have been to Africa seven times. As part of our services, Christina and I want to offer adventures that push all of us to new levels. This trip is designed to bring teens and their parents together on a shared adventure with big common goals.
We have a summer bootcamp in Colorado in early August. The for-credit class begins in September and runs through April.
We — The Infinite Game of Life — are the tour company. We will rent and drive our own vehicles, handle security and logistics, get insurance, and take care of everything from the first day to the last.
This trip requires a minimum of 18 people and a maximum of 35, including children. The number of people determines the price. Everyone coming on this trip must commit to climbing the mountain.
Climb Kilimanjaro!
Families with children 12 and up will train together, get their gear together, and spend 7 nights on the mountain acclimatizing before the final summit day - a day no one will forget!
Go on safari in Kenya and Uganda
We will spend 13 nights in lodges and on safari, taking game drives, walking safari, visiting chimps and looking for predators hunting their prey. We’ll see flamingos, rhinos, and more elephants than we can count. This trip is 22 days in Kenya and Uganda. This doesn’t count the travel days getting into and out of Nairobi. We would love to add another week in Tanzania for those who wish to extend
Study animals in their natural habitat
No zoo visits! We’ll learn about habitats, animals, and the people of East Africa. Photographers and videographers will work on getting the shot, while others will interview naturalists and observe animals up-close.
Hang out with mountain gorillas!
We will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be with mountain gorillas in their habitat, learn, and photograph these amazing animals.
Children must be 12+. They will train and study for months in advance to prepare with their parents. They must be able to walk ten miles in a day. The youngest person to climb Kilimanjaro is an 8-year-old girl. Kids can do this, but they must take training seriously, they should come to the Colorado high-altitude bootcamp in July, and they should not be complainers.
This trip will be a TSE elective. Students will choose what aspects of Africa they want to focus on and learn, keep journals, interview local experts, take photos and videos, have discussions about what they see and hear, and put together presentations and videos. After the trip, they will create presentations, videos, and reports, which we will put on the TSE website. We want to coordinate with your child’s school to make this into a serious learning experience.
This is a trip you must train for. Everyone going on this trip will attempt the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro. You must have a serious training regimen to build up your mileage, endurance, breathing, and exposure to altitude.
There will be a mandatory weekly meeting, starting in September. We are going to take this seriously. Travelers will need to start training for the hike in July. We will have a weekly session to talk about training, gear, preparation, and study for the trip.
We would like to set up a kick-off training trip in Colorado in the first or second week of August. This would be a high-mountain trip based in Leadville, where we climb several peaks over 14,000 feet. It will give people a chance to see how they do at altitude. This is for people who like to get up and out early in the morning, as it rains every afternoon in the Colorado Rockies in August.
We are not making any money on this trip. We’re running this trip at cost. We’ll take deposits in June and make reservations. Then we’ll figure out all the details, and in Nov or Dec we’ll send the final bill for the exact cost, with no mark-up.
I have the experience. I have been to Africa 7 times and led safaris from Namibia/Botswana to Kenya/Uganda/Rwanda. I have been to most of the lodges on this trip. I’ll have insurance, rent vehicles, drivers, arrange for all the hotels and flights, etc. This saves money vs putting all this together with a local operator.
We will take care of you. We can handle any special diets, medical needs, special accommodations, etc.
Learn wildlife photography. Many people who go on safari get expensive gear a few weeks before the trip and read the manuals on the airplane. I have hundreds of hours taking photos in the bush and have taught photography in Namibia and Botswana. We’ll start six months ahead and make sure photographers have the equipment and skills they need before we arrive. Those who are interested can come with me to work on skills for focus, exposure, framing, working with light, and more.
What’s special about this trip. Anyone can book a safari. Anyone can book a trek to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro. Very few companies will do both. We are the only company that will be with you for six months, checking in, tracking your training, making sure you have everything and are prepared. We are the only company working with schools to make it educational for kids, so they can get a month off school and learn from the real world. We will help you prepare, train, be in the summit photo, finish the trip, and then document it afterward.
Proposed Travel Itinerary
Day 0: We will meet your flight in Nairobi and take you to your hotel, where we will have a group dinner and a walk around town. We will leave most of our stuff in Nairobi with a member of our staff.
Day 1: We will drive 2-3 hours to Arusha and stay in a mid-range hotel. We may stop for a game drive on the way if time and weather permit.
Day 2: Transfer to Moshi, where we will meet our guides, and then another 1 hour to the Londorossi gate trail head (elevation 7,800 ft). Rain or shine, we will hike to Forest Camp (elevation 9,500ft), about 3-4 hours through the rain forest.
Day 3: Forest Camp to Shira Camp 1 (11,500 ft), 8km, 5-6 hours. Habitat: moorland.
Day 4: Shira Camp 1 to Shira 2 to Moir Hut (13,800 ft), 14 km, 5-7 hours, moorland.
Day 5: Moir Hut to Lava Tower to Barranco Camp (13,000ft), 7 km, 4-6 hours, semi-desert.
Day 6: Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp (13,100ft), 5km, 4-5 hours, alpine desert.
Day 7: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp (15,300ft, 4km, 4-5 hours, alpine desert.
Day 8: Barafu Camp to Uhuru Summit (19,345 ft) and down to Mweka Hut (10,000 ft), 5km ascent, 12km descent, 7-8 hours up in the dark (no full moon), 4-6 hours down, arctic environment.
Day 9: Mweka Camp to Moshi (5,400ft), 10 km, 3-4 hours, rain forest, shower, relax, and have a nice dinner with our guides.
Days 11: Drive or fly back to Nairobi, allow kids a chance to catch up with school, meet some locals, and other sights.
Day 12: Drive to Loldaiga Hills, a private ranch near Nanuki.
Day 13 & 14: Loldaiga safari and learning
Day 15: Drive to Nakuru for our charter flight to Kasese in Western Uganda. A very short drive takes us to a local hotel, where we will spend the night. Next day will be a hike in the Rwenzori mountains if weather permits, then drive to Mweya Lodge.
Day 16: We will stay at Mweya Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park for four nights. The lodge will be our base for game drives, boat trips, and possibly a special trip to a cacao plantation in the Republic of the Congo (not dangerous, we have friends there).
Day 20: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Southwestern Uganda. We will have 3 nights at the Nkuringo Gorilla lodge. This is a rainforest. It is not for everyone. There are bugs. There are stinging plants. You have to plan accordingly. We will have a special 4-hour habituation gorilla encounter here. Most gorilla tours give 1-hour access only. In addition to learning about the rain forest, we will also meet and learn about the pygmy people who live in the region.
Day 21: Drive back to Kesese for our charter flight to Nairobi. Overnight Nairobi.
Day 22: Depart Nairobi.
You can read more information about the trip over on our website www.infinitegameoflife.com
