As the saying goes all good things must come to an end
and today was the last day of the tour.
It practically was a travel day and a half day at that. It was a sparrow’s start this morning with a
wakeup call of 5.20am…… I understand
getting an early start, but considering that there was nothing panned but
dropping half the group off in Narok and then us getting back to Nairobi and I
am not sure it justified a 5am start.
Starting that early had the plan of getting back into the city between
11-12 noon. I think the main point was
to get Dan, Susan and Alex back early enough for them to be able to get some
personal things done and prepared for the turn-around tour that they would be
doing, starting for Dan tonight with a pre-departure meeting and then off they
head again tomorrow. I guess they need
to make hay while the sun shines, as it is peak season for tourism here in Kenya
and it makes up for the slower months, and they do work hard in these months on
turn-around tours. BUT 5am-really?
Susan was up at 4am to get is breakfast ready for us and
it was a feast of sausages (which I LOVE) pancakes (which I LOVE with my
vegemite), French toast and gourmet baked beans and it was a great way to start
an early day. We were also very privileged
that while we were eating breakfast Dan and Alex went and packed all out tents
up for us trust me this is a luxury, and we have been fortunate to have had
their help all week, not just with tents, but the pot scrubbing and also the
truck duties. After other tours I have
been on, we were very spoilt indeed. I
am just trying to work out, I think part of it was an act of kindness for us
and also they would pack the tents up a lot faster and better that we ever
could and wanted to make sure that we were on the road on time and not have us flaffing
around in the dark (it was still 5.30am) trying to get the tents packed
up. Either way, whatever their
intentions, not having to pack up the tent is okay with me.
We were all locked and loaded at 6.45am and as the truck
was pulling out of camp we saw a pair of Dik Diks as we were leaving and Team
Dik Dik thought it was wonderful of them to come and say goodbye. I LOVE the Dik Dik’s. I’ve been a fan of these cute little ‘Bambi’ miniatures
when I first saw them in Namibia 2 years ago.
They are a unique animal. A dik-dik is a small antelope
and stand about 30–40 cm at the shoulder, are 50–70 cm long, weigh
3–6 kg and can live for up to 10 years. Dik-diks are monogamous, and have life-long partners and
if one dies the other will commit suicide (by not eating)-very Romeo and Juliet
and they have excellent eyesight and the ability to reach speeds up to
42 km an hour. Really, they are the
cutest animal.
So with a wave to the Dik Diks, it was time to bounce our
way back onto the main road (unpaved) and get out morning dose of fine dust and
an African massage. It was till cool as
the sun started to slowly rise over the mountains, so we had all our windows
closed, but the dust was that fine that the truck filled with it and as crazy
as it sounds we had to open a few windows to let the dust out, even though we
were still stirring up dust as Alex hurtled down the road. There was one point that I saw a giraffe whiz
past us, and I called out to stop-and when I turned around there were two of
them and they would have been 10m from the truck, and Alex DIDN’T STOP. I was a little disappointed that they felt
the need that they had to get back to Nairobi so quickly that we couldn’t stop
for 3 minutes to get a photo. It was the
closest that we had come to a giraffe all week and we just cruised straight past
it. Bummer dude. Daniel went up the front and said the next
ones we see, to make sure we stop, but we were nearly back the Nairobi Highway
and the chance of seeing more was going to be very slim. We did see some more Dik Diks and also some
more Tommy’s, but bug deal, we had seen many of these and the Truck Express
obviously wasn’t going to be stopping for anything this morning.
We made good time and arrived into the busy little town
of Narok at 8.45am to drop off some of the group at the best hotel in Narok-the
Seasons Hotel. There were 12 of us on
the trip, and 8 of the group were continuing on for a second week into
Tanzania. To save then traveling back to
Nairobi and then coming back out the same way in the morning, they were going
to spend the night in Narok and then get collected with the new group tomorrow. I have mentioned this many times, I hate a
split tour. The only good thing that
does come from a split tour is if you have a bad group, the change-over will
help the dynamics of the group introducing new people and blood. The downside is when you have an AMAZING
group like ours, it is harder to accept newbies and you have to hope for a better
group than what you had (and that would NEVER happen if you ask me!!!). We dropped off the group at the hotel, Dan made
sure that they had all checked in okay, we got a group photo and then with
waves and hugs goodbye we were down to Anne, Effie, Ads and I left on the truck
for the remainder of the drive back to the city. Four people (plus Dan) in the back must have
looked weird to people watching us pass by-all that truck for so few people but
I know that Intrepid will run tours with only 4-6 people on them on these
trucks and I would hate that-it would be such a lonely trip and imagine if you didn’t
get along with the 3-5 other people-yikes!!!
I was lucky, I knew that I would be seeing Nic in a week’s time, we have
arranged to have dinner at Carnivores next Sunday and I have to go back to the
Kivi Milimani at some point as people are leaving some blankets and pillows
after their tour finishes for me and I have to go in and collect them so I will
try and coincide my trip with the arrival of the truck next Saturday.
So we were back on the road at 9.10am and doubled back in
the same way we had travelled a week ago.
Traffic wasn’t too bad and after a mid-morning stop for some snacks we
were back into Nairobi at 11.45am. This
was the end of the line. So our goodbye
were said to Dan, Alex and Susan and living here in Nairobi I hope to see them
again when their trips settle down in the new year. Effie, Ads, Anne and I walked up to reception
and I called Steve to let him know I was ready for collection. Effie and Ads were heading into town to the
markets and were then staying with a friend living in Nairobi so with MASSIVE
hugs to our newly formed ‘WOLFPACK’ and promises to keep in touch and a trip to
New York next year for a reunion we were left with just Anne and I. Anne was staying at a lodge (bit of a splurge)
for her last night, so we called her a taxi and I made sure that she got off
okay, wished her luck for her flight tomorrow with JKIA still under a cloud of
confusion and a possible catch-up in Brisbane when I am back at the end of the
year, there was just me left as I waited the 20 minutes for Steve to collect
me.
I had an AMAZING week with amazing people and I am just
so blessed to have had the group that we did.
It needs to be said that if you have a shitty group this also reflects
on your trip, so a small mention needs to go to each and every person that was on
my trip and whether it is a week-long or a 6 week trip it doesn’t matter. Everyone was happy to help, do duties that
weren’t theirs and the chore roster was just a formality as we didn’t really
need it with everyone chipping in. Trust
me that is a rare thing and shows the integrity of the group. It may sound like a small thing, but when you
are with people 16 hours a day-little things become big things as we just didn’t
have to worry about that on this trip.
Even though I live in Kenya, anything I do is not taken lightly and I am
thankful for each and every day I have on this magnificent continent and you
guys helped make the trip of a life time just that and I will never forget any
of you. Never.
So in no particular order:
THANKS TO:
Anne aka roomie
Adrienne aka Ads
Eefje aka Effie
Nicola aka Nic
Peter aka Big Fella
Evelyn aka Evie
Janice
Elretha aka Smokie
James aka Jimbob
Jess
Linda
And of course the magnificent Intrepid staff of Dan, Alex
and Sue.
Safe travels to all-where ever you may be heading and
keep exploring this beautiful planet of ours.
Hold a true friend
with both hands. ~ African proverb
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