Day eight

Day Eight

All those miles on our bikes were nothing compared to the horrendous six hour or so bus journey we endured from Kisumu to Nakuru. In fact there were quite a number of us begging for our bikes back so that we could pedal to our destination instead.

I will never ever complain about the roads in Britain again after that journey!! To be honest, I’m not even sure that whatever it was we travelled over in Kenya could technically be classed as a ‘road’. Rubble fits the bill so much better - we were bounced and battered all over the shop as our poor drivers kept on ploughing ahead.

We also had a bit of an issue with ‘dust’ (In my head this word is uttered in the voice of Marjorie Dawes). Kenya being Kenya is pretty dry anyway and dust (there’s Marj again) just swirled around us like mini tornados as we battled along. We were torn between keeping the windows open as the buses were so hot and shutting them to ward off the dirt that billowed in and wormed its way into every orifice and every pore. Bad move slapping on the sun cream that morning!!!

Heaven forbid you nod off with your mouth open!

Every time we stopped you could feel your feet pulsing from the vibrations of clattering across the rubble and your skin oozing with what can only be described as mank.

On the plus side….because every cloud really does have that silver lining, even if it’s pretty well hidden…..the scenery was beautiful. We went through rural Kenya, towns, and villages – one last look at the country we had come to know and love.

After a brief toilet stop at a tea room…proper toilets woop woop!!... we continued on to Nakuru and eventually arrived at The Mercia Hotel around lunchtime. I’ve never seen the eyes of 100 women light up so brightly as they did when we walked into the lobby of the hotel. Compared to the places we’d been staying in The Mercia may as well have been The Dorchester….not entirely sure what the staff made of 100 tired, groggy, grubby women, but not one of us cared as we headed straight for the buffet table.

It’s strange what you come to miss when it’s not a part of your everyday life. We had come quite accustomed to rice, potatoes and beef stew by this point and so the sight of cheese made me physically weak at the knees! Cheese and an Orange Fanta….cheap date or what!!!

After lunch we had the option of taking a game drive in Nakuru National Park. At first I wasn’t going to take part in this. I had already done a sort of safari in South Africa in 2007 and thought that dishing out £100 (of our own money obviously- this DID NOT come out of the charity money just in case you were worried!!!) wouldn’t be practical when I had bills to pay at home. However, Belinda had persuaded me earlier in the week to go for it – it was an opportunity that I might never get again, plus the animals in the park were actually wild, where as the ones in South Africa were housed in a more safari park kind of setting.

I’m so glad that she did because the drive ended what had been a wonderful week absolutely perfectly, plus if anything this week had taught me that life is there for the taking and it’s up to you to do that bills or no bills.

We set off in safari cars….I have no idea what they were so I’m going to call them Jeeps with removable roofs (although not topless jeeps…it doesn’t really matter…we were in cars!!!)….and were taken to the park.

Naturally because this was a wild safari, it took quite a bit of driving before we came across anything, but we were like kids at Christmas the minute anybody caught sight of a fleeting tail or the movement behind trees.

Baboons, Water Buffalos, Zebras and various types of deer were common spots, but we were incredibly lucky to turn a corner and find a family of Rhino’s at the side of the track. We stopped and watched these magnificent creatures for a quite some time. They were absolutely huge – even the baby.  It’s sad to think that these gentle giants are still critically endangered due to the quantity of rhino horn being sold throughout the world – sickening really when you learn that it is usually sold as a post party drug to the rich…..in other words, a hangover cure! Political instability and wars have also meant that both black and white rhinos have not been protected as well as they should have been.

It was hard to tear ourselves away from the family, but eventually we carried on again, heading towards the centre of the park – a giant lake inhabited by Flamingo’s and Pelicans. Here we were allowed to actually get out of the jeeps and take photos. Later on in the afternoon we had more bonus spots – a lion…(well the tip of it’s head anyway as it lay sunbathing), hyena’s and PUMBA!!! (Wart hog).

I went a bit hippyfied being surrounded by all that nature and as we drove along I really did feel at peace. I suppose it’s the same kind of feeling you get whenever you take time out from the daily grind. Things had been up and down at work before I left for Kenya and the stress of organising everything from earning money, to fundraising, to training, to meeting deadlines had really taken it’s toll on me without me even realising. As we drove through the park I suddenly realised that not only had it been totally worth it, but that now I could return home with a different attitude and the energy to make the changes in my life that I needed to. I was de-stressed and inspired by the women that I’d met throughout the week. I have to admit that this feeling was not something that I thought I’d come away with after such a massive challenge, but one that I intend to hold onto for a very long time.

We left the park around sixish, towing a broken down jeep behind us! No…I wouldn’t fancy being stuck broken down in a game park either. Then it was back to the hotel for our celebratory end of challenge meal.

My poor room mate Gina had been taken really very ill overnight and after our morning transfer had gone straight to bed, missing out on the game drive. We caught up quickly when I got back to the room and then I tried to let her sleep. Unfortunately, as is normal for me when I’m trying to be quiet, I end up making more noise than an elephant on roller skates. I’m sorry Gina!! I gave up in the end and went down to the bar early. Elegance has never been my forte!

The meal that night was fantastic, not least because we finally had a more varied buffet and free wine!! After we had eaten various members of the group took part in a talent showcase and we were entertained with everything from singing, to brilliant poems about the trip and the Tina and Jo Henkisms act (hence where the phrase came from)  - their extremely funny take on our Henk and his phrases http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D5eoK2NPPRG4&h=eAQFaFB46AQHYxZc_iX4av5HtzrG_anmp7Hn-Wb8Fko0jRw.

Ann then dished out awards for; Best dressed cyclist, Most Improved Cyclist, Mother Teresa Award, Special Recognition and the Funniest Moment. All well deserved by those who received them.

It was such a lovely way to end our adventure together.