Blog/Travelstory

Retreat in the serene Loita Hills

Eveline de Wal and Heidi Hessing guide individuals and organizations to create the conditions for natural change and development. Together with Charlie’s Travels, they developed the Wilderness Leadership Trail. A week in Kenya’s wilderness, free from distractions like Wi-Fi, work, or WhatsApp. Are you coming along?

Charlie's Travels | Blog | Retreat in the serene Loita Hills
Our (digital) era offers unprecedented opportunities, but it has also surprised us with a continuous stream of stimuli and busyness. Something we sometimes find hard to detach ourselves from. This program is aimed at embarking on a journey of awareness. To reconnect with yourself, each other, and nature. To gain answers and insights into questions and themes that are currently important in your life. Where do you stand at this moment, and what is your desire for the future? In what areas do you want to take the next step in your personal or professional development? What is most important to you right now? What do you need to realize your ambitions and make your dreams come true?

Reconnect with yourself and what truly matters to you.

This trail offers you the opportunity to return to who you are and who you want to be. Time spent in nature, without distractions from daily stimuli, provides a unique chance to reconnect with your own energy, inspiration, and creativity. It allows you to make contact with a deeper 'knowing' and the source of your own talents and potential. Through a journey in nature, we aim to inspire inner awareness as well as personal leadership, fostering a society in healthy harmony with nature. The goal is to offer a new perspective on the social and ecological challenges in the world, from a place of positivity.

For whom?

Wilderness leadership trails are not for everyone. What qualities should you have to participate in the trail?
  • Participants are open-minded and seeking answers and insights for the challenges they face in their lives, and are determined to create breakthroughs.
  • Participants want to establish a deeper connection with themselves and are open to learning from themselves, others, and the natural environment.
  • Nature is perhaps our most important coach on this journey.
  • Participants are willing to open up and be vulnerable with themselves, each other, and new experiences, as well as share these experiences and insights with the group.
  • Participants are athletic and feel fit enough to trek through nature.
Together, you will take a leap into personal awareness!

Kenya true nature leadership trail 2023

The group is carefully assembled by the facilitators based on intake sessions with the participants. With a group of no more than 10 participants, you will embark on a week-long journey into the wilderness with two guides, Masai warriors, a travel guide, donkeys, and a bush chef. The environment requires you to be comfortable with only the basic comforts when it comes to sleeping and eating in nature. Additionally, you must feel fit enough to trek through the wilderness from camp to camp, where you will cook over a campfire and exchange stories. You will sleep in tents or under the stars for those who wish. You will travel through wild nature, with little to no other people around, in your own bubble, free from distractions from your familiar life.

Trail Program

Every day, you will embark on hikes to the next overnight location, through the stunning and varied landscapes of the Loita Hills in Kenya. You will align with the group's rhythm and the natural flow of the surroundings. There is no time pressure. You’ll sense what the group needs and simply go with the flow… You will begin by sharing your intentions and personal stories. Each day, time is set aside to reflect and share these insights around a campfire or at a special location. There will also be room to discuss themes that emerged during the intake process or explore new ones that arise along the way. Often, the dialogue is guided with a talking stick, which helps facilitate deeper listening and allows both your own story and that of others to be heard openly. During the trail, you may also keep a trail journal, helping you to deepen and process your experiences.

Facilitators

The most important facilitator of this week is secretly nature itself; the insights and depth it brings are unparalleled when you open yourself to it. Charlie’s Travels ensures that all logistics in Kenya are well organized and everything runs smoothly. Additionally, you can rely on Heidi and Eveline to guide you out of your comfort zone throughout the week and support you in your personal experiences. They have extensive experience as facilitators, leaders, and coaches, guiding transformation processes and leadership journeys at both individual and group levels. They love nature, are adventure junkies, have a good sense of humor, and are always seeking to discover more about the journey of life. The journey through nature will also be led by a local Masai guide with experience in personal development journeys of this type, following a servant leadership style. The guide is familiar with the area, understands the natural environment, and knows what it requires from us. Together, the facilitators and the guide ensure the physical safety of the participants and help establish a connection with nature. Together, we prepare the group for the journey, guide the trail, and support the return process after the experience.

Program & planning

Intake Interview: Discussing personal intentions and expectations for the trail. Reviewing practical preparation and necessary items. Foundation Workshop: Prior to the trail, all participants will start with a kick-off workshop. This will be an opportunity for the group to meet for the first time, begin personal development work, and go over the trail principles and questions together. Trail: A 5-day personal discovery journey in nature, guided by the Masai guide and facilitators. Trail Report: After the trail, you will create a summary of key experiences and intentions based on your trail journal. This will help integrate the learnings into your daily life. The report will serve as the foundation for the integration meeting. Integration & Closing: After the trail, the group will come together to reflect on the shared journey and discuss the return process, including how to integrate the intentions and experiences into daily life.

Practical Information

Location: Loita Hills, Kenya True Nature Trail Dates: We will meet on January 29, 2022, in Nairobi to begin our adventure. After a final overnight stay, we will depart together into nature for the leadership trail. On Friday, we will transition back to the inhabited world. On Saturday morning, February 5, we will close the program together before flying back to the Netherlands, landing at Schiphol on Sunday morning. Extend your trip with remote work or travel: Participants are, of course, free to arrive earlier or stay longer. Kenya offers stunning places for remote work, such as Charlie's Travels Jungle Villa (the headquarters) in the vibrant city of Nairobi, as well as tropical beaches! The country and the travel organization are also perfect for planning an amazing road trip. Costs: The full program will be offered at cost price. This means that the cost will decrease if more people participate. The maximum group size is 10 people. After the trail, you determine how much the facilitators' guidance was worth to you. The amount that feels right can be transferred to them after the trail.

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