Every night was different giving Jimmy a good intake into my world!
On our first night we planned to wild camp and sat admiring some good spots as a local lady stopped and asked if we were ok. She directed us to an orphanage down the road which was perfect to ensure ourselves and all of our items were safe. We climbed a massive rock escarpment to get the full view and shadows of the savannah as the orange melted into dusk; a stunning sundown.
Second night we camped in Hunters Lodge by a lake full of exotic birds and cheeky monkeys that stole our breakfast mango. You can pretend you have a catapult in your hand and monkeys know the actions and run. Jimmy thought it was best to buy a really well made hand crafted catapult from a guy flogging them on the street.
The next day we had to cycle through a National Park and saw more wildlife. We cooked noodles to attract some of the more ferocious wildlife from the bush but there were none to be seen! As Jimmy was on his holiday we had an early start and had cycled 100km by 2 pm so had a half day and splashed out spending our fourth night at Leopard Lodge; a stunning area full of trees for shade to camp and a swimming pool. The heat was noticeably increasing going down to the coast so we thought it was quite appropriate!
Jimmy noticed the amount of attention you get on the roads; the friendly people, how everyone approached us. We often see locals cycling past and have conversations with them intrigued about their life and destination.
As I have often wild camped which is a completely different experience altogether I urged Jimmy to stop at a local village for our fifth, last night before Mombasa. The people of the village were waving frantically from the main road so Jimmy decided to investigate. The villagers were so interested in our lives and vice versa. As the second language in Kenya is English it was really great to be able to communicate sufficiently. This was quite hard in the last 3 countries I came from. We locked our bikes and joined the people on a mass firewood collection activity. We tasted and compared each others food and told stories and made comparisons by the fire until my eyelids could no longer open. Arriving in Mombasa was fantastic; it always is when you spend that many hours cycling a day to reach your destination. We stayed there for 3 days relaxing on white sandy beaches and swimming in the warm Indian Ocean. I was used to the heat and thought temperatures were perfect.
Jimmy had come from one of the coldest English winters so he had another opinion! Maybe it was the heat slowing down our thoughts and making us lazy as we booked 2 tickets for the coach back to Nairobi to the cooler climate Jimmy dreamt of the mountains. We had 2 weeks left in total together in Kenya so every action from now on was decided knowing there was a strict time schedule. We agreed that it was impossible to complete all of our requirements including a downhill cross country race in North Mount Kenya on the 13th Feb to be back at Nairobi airport on the 14th Feb so we hired a car!!! For all the people who joked about me going on a massive holiday I admit I fully accomplished this in the last 2 weeks and have loved and appreciated every minute of it.
At least it was a circle of Kenya so I have not taken out any distance in kilometres between Cairo to Cape Town and this is the country Steve and I have decided to start doing some loops so if anything I will be adding on kilometres.
We drove through the Rift Valley ...
Up to Naivasha Lake where we left all items in the car and took off on our empty skeleton frame bikes and made our own cycle safari around the Lakes. We accidently cycled into private property which was stunning, peaceful and full of wildlife. We saw flamingos, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, hippos and gazelle and cycled straight past the guards at the entrance without any charge.
We kept cycling through ragged plains and finally visited Elsamere Foundation. If it was not for the buffet lunch sign we would never have entered and learnt about the interesting lives of George and Joy Adamson two British wildlife conservationists and authors – what an inspiration. Just another 3 books to add to my reading list; Born Free, Living Free and Forever Free.
That night not knowing it was unsafe to drive in the dark we headed to Mount Kenya. There was only one guy lying flat face down in the middle of the road at 12 at night. This was so you would stop while his team of friends jumped out of the bushes and high jacked your car. To put our mind at rest the rental company said the car was insured and if you were high jacked to just give them the car; no problem!!! We didn’t stop.
It was a long drive as there is a lack of road signs and that night we slept in the car. This was the start of the cold. I was not used to these temperatures my body had adapted to the warmth. We paid the extortionate price to enter Mount Kenya National Park for 3 days (this was the cheapest option - 150 dollars / 100 english pounds) and headed up the mountain.
We both went through ups and downs and took in turns helping eachother and feeling ill. There are no words to describe the sun; the rays of heat, the warmth and retainment of your hands after trekking in the cold dark for so many hours… and then the spectacular view.
The most horrific best challenge - Mount Kenya
Breathless
Taken so quickly
Your mind can’t help but think negatively
Why so unfit when I have cycled so far
Not realising the altitude the effects so hard
Struggling to the peak
Behind an o.a.p.
Whats going on, why did I agree
Didn’t even think; a walk in the park
Stunning views; not cold and dark
2am have I gone mad
Then reaching the top, the sky so glad
Stunning levels of frost,
Across
Layers thickening, dawn
Out of the warm
Light
On top of the world
A walk
A fright
A memory held tight
Our last few days together were spent camping in Borana National Park. Jimmy loves his downhill bike riding and managed to find an International Downhill bike competition in Kenya!! The atmosphere was outstanding, hundreds of people took part raising money for the conservation of Mount Kenya. There were professional cyclists from that region who trained and often cycled 170km a day around the Mountain!!!
The land was very rich full of farmland, I saw another side of wealth to Kenya.
My circle of Kenya has been filled with more natural wonders and unforgettable experiences (pressing my foot on the pedal of a car and the power of forward movement will be unforgettable).
...Filled with people; The constant interaction with people is definately my favourite part. Some crazy drunk man will run alongside your bike ranting about Kenyan politics and corruption. The cute kids (hardly ever ask for money) run frantically up to the road to make a line waving and repeatedly shouting "How are you, How are you, How are you?" The teenage boys behave like opportunists, they like to call themselves hustlers as they try their luck asking for a soda or some money. The guys hang out on the main road in town, seems they have nothing else to do. The women on the other hand will be making items, carrying them on their heads or selling them at the local market. Some even work in the fields.
The country has been such a pleasure to travel through. There are many signs of comfort. English words are used in bright bold advertisement on shops, I could buy sliced bread in any shop and the local tea was served with milk!!!! All relics of Kenya’s colonial past.
All of the mountains, planes and wildlife have been protected and conserved into stunning National Parks. I do hope the money is spread around the people and not all kept within the officials. I have heard many stories of corruption. The remote villages are very sociable. There are fields of crops that work with dry huge barrels of stone rivers to prepare for the rain. This is better preparation then I will ever manage there is only one thing I can do; pray!!
So Jimmie left and Steve and I finally met up for the next stage of adventures. Getting back into strict routine and pushing myself to complete our standard 120km a day was a shock to the system. Nice to be back on target though instead of going in circles! I won’t forget the man who was startled and explained "I have never seen anything like this" as I cycled fully loaded through his village to the next country; Uganda. I am pleased I make people smile!
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