Exciting times...we finally managed to escape Nairobi for a couple of weeks which is just fantastic (Nairobi is pretty horrid as cities go). The excuse was provided by our first visitor Philip who has been with us for the past three weeks.
Our first excursion was a trip camping next to Lake Naivasha in the Rift Valley. We ventured up with Lian and Nils and their 4X4 (no chance of getting there otherwise; the road is non-existant in places). Naivasha is pretty detached from 'civilisation' with the exception of the flower farms over parts of the shores. Did you know most of the flowers you buy in UK supermarkets are from Naivasha? Anyhoo, we all spent a lovely couple of days taking relaxing walks among zebra, giraffe, wildebeest and gazelle, boating on the lake to see hippos, cooking over an open fire and star-staring - there is very little light pollution near the lake so the stars are incredible and make it easy to believe this was the cradle of civilisation.
Katy, Nils, Lian and Phil spotting local fauna on Crescent Island
Cooking breakfast at the Naivasha campsite
Our next trip was to Laikipia in the Central Highlands. Some people in Nairobi had organised a party at a private ranch in the middle of nowhere so about 25 of us drove up for a weekend. Of course, we all drank far too much and did pretty much nothing though James and Phil provided an excellent set for those of us with the energy to dance.
The boys playing Scrabble by the pool at the ranch
Another highlight of the weekend was a game drive on the ranch itself (which was enormous). The managers kindly provided us with a rotting, dead cow to act as bait...they dumped it at 'hyena point' after dark while we sat in the cars with baited breath (excitement aside, the rotting cow smelt absolutely disgusting). Sure enough within ten minutes a pack of hyenas had started ripping up the corpse. It was grim but also amazingly hypnotic - just like something out of a documentary.
Our final, and most memorable, excursion was a four day trek up Mount Kenya.
Mt Kenya, with glacier...brrr
Day One - Katy, Emily and Phil check the equipment
I say memorable in a not entirely positive way - it was oh so cold and oh so wet up that bloody mountain - but I can now just about say I'm glad I did it without cringing too much.
Basic premise of the trip was three days climbing up the mountain (and gradually getting used to altitude) and one day down (a day that our guide failed to mention entailed 13 hours of walking!). We stayed in bandas (mountain huts) for two nights and camped for two nights. Did I mention it was oh so, oh so cold?!?
Consulting the map
Three bodies in a two-man tent
The top point was 4,900 metres. Lack of oxygen has strange effects causing me to feel utterly nauseous and the boys to have drumming headaches.
We began our final ascent at 3 in the morning (oh my god it was cold). Of course it was pitch black but on reflection that was a good thing as being able to see the full moutain peak and the steepness of the path might well have deterred us. We trudged and clambered over treacherously icey rocks (an absolutely terrifying experience in the dark on the top of a mountain) for three hours and finally made it to Point Lenana - our peak.
The view should have been spectacular as the sun came up but it was completely cloudy - seriously we couldn't see a thing but we couldn't help but laugh. It was also minus ten so we didn't laugh too long.
The summit!
Well, Phil has now returned to Blighty - we miss you Phil - and life is back to normal until our next visitor...Miss Lisa Miles...who arrives in ten days time.