I'm up early watching the birds around the house. There
are lots of white-bellied go-away birds in the trees by the
house. Breakfast is at 08:15 and between then and lunch is
time to relax and pack up our belongings for the flight back.
There's a white liquid dripping from a candelabra euphorbia
tree in the garden and we're told to be careful as it can
cause damage if it gets in our eyes. There are a couple of
guys repairing barbed wire fences around the garden. Mount
Kilimanjaro can be seen a long way away, the white summit
hovering above the clouds. With binoculars I spot a few
giraffe in the distance.
I go with Chris in his own Land-Rover to pick up some
crates of drinks from a nearby village. There's a high lift
jack strapped on the front and we wonder whether we might
need it, as Chris detects that the handling is a little
strange, but although the one remould tyre looks a little
dodgy it comes to nothing.
We have lunch at 13:00 and then after having a collection
for the staff we head off to Nairobi in Chris's Land-Rover
which is a bit of a crush. There are still the odd zebra to
be seen even quite close to the environs of the city. We stop
by at the African heritage centre where there is a huge
selection at very reasonable prices. Bill wants a CD with
some tribal music on it to use in their slide shows but
there's nothing to be found. Chris is unhappy to leave the
vehicle unattended with so many belongings inside. So, even
though we are inside a compound he stays with it and I join
him as soon as I've got some more napkin rings to match the
ones I have already, as I was a few animals short of a pair
of sets. There's a moment of concern as Chris's Land-Rover
refuses to start but by removing and replacing the electrical
plug that forms a simple immobiliser the problem is solved.
We have a drink at the same cafe at the airport we used
before and then we give our thanks to Chris and go to check
in. We pay our departure tax at the counter and receive a
stamp on our tickets to record this. We then find that we
have to wait quite a while before we can check in, and so
people make some phone calls back home. By the check-in desks
is a brilliant advertisment for British Airways showing a
Masaai warrior and a cheetah looking at each other from the
pilot and copilot's seats of the cockpit of a Concorde. Val
is in a lot of discomfort from her throat. It later turns out
that the larium tablet she took the night before is lodged
there. We do eventually manage to check in and go through
into the departure area.
We take it in turns to look after the camera bags and
other hand luggage whilst we have a look around the shops.
The goods are quite expensive compared to the things we've
bought elsewhere. There is a bookshop that looks interesting
but it's shut. Fortunately it opens whilst we're waiting for
our flight and we have a good look around and Bill looks at a
copy of the Road
Atlas of Kenya. There's a lot of time to kill as it's a
night flight and we sit at a cafe and have some refreshments.
The plane is late leaving due to late-comers but at 10:55
we are off back to London.
Today's driving totalled 215 miles.
