EIGHT intrepid school pupils have packed their trunks to visit an adopted elephant and rhino in Kenya.

And during the two-week trip of a lifetime, the teenagers from Bury C of E High School will also climb Mount Kenya as well as visiting many landmarks during a busy itinerary.

All eight are members of "The Children of Sheldrick Wildlife Trust" which has been raising money to fund projects at Kenya's Tsavo Park, run by Daphne Sheldrick and her team.

The excited party, led by teacher Mrs Jackie Vet, will fly off tomorrow (Sat Feb 17) for what will be a memorable journey.

Mrs Vet said: "The trip, which culminates months of enthusiastic fundraising, will give the children first-hand experience of the 'real' Africa as they participate in their own private safari.

"They will first be making an ascent of Mount Kenya where the children will trek to Point Lenana, 16,300 ft above sea level, in an effort to raise more funds for their current windmill project."

She added: "While in Kenya, the children will have the unique opportunity to see for themselves the school's adopted orphans, Lewa the elephant and Magnum, the rhino.

"They, along with orphans of the illegal ivory trade, are being rehabilitated and returned to the wild in the Tsavo Park by Daphne and her team.

"The work of Daphne Sheldrick is, of course, hailed as one of Kenya's most celebrated conservation projects."

The party, courtesy of several sponsors, will spend a fortnight exploring the wonders of Kenya, spanning the dizzy heights of the country's highest mountain to the balmy tropical paradise of the Indian Ocean coast at Mombassa. In between, the group will have a chance to bottle-feed a baby elephant, help a rhino have a mudbath, meet Kenyan schoolchildren and picnic with Daphne Sheldrick at the base of a windmill the children paid for as their millennium project.

The eight pupils making the trip are Nathan and Aidan Stonehouse, Stef Woodward, Ashleigh Rowling, Sarah Gully, Daniel Milner, Simon Ellison and Amy Bladen.

They were taken by surprise when Mrs Vet challenged them to "do something different" by way of fundraising in the half term holiday by climbing Mount Kenya.

With regular visits to the gym, sessions in the swimming pool and hikes in the snow, the children are well prepared for the challenges ahead.

An excited Aidan Stonehouse (15), said: "Not only do we get to climb Mount Kenya, but we will also see for ourselves the truck we have provided, the water borehole and the windmill too that we worked so hard for."

Waiting to greet the party in Nairobi will be top Government and Kenya Wildlife Service officials.

These include Uhuru Kenyatta, son of Jomo Kenyatta who led Kenya to independence, and the renowned conservationist and anthropologist Dr Richard Leakey, head of the Kenyan Civil Service and secretary to the cabinet.