Diary - Day 4

Wednesday 10th October
Up early, left late. The first night of bush camping was mixed for all with some apparently hardly sleeping at all. Myself and John had been treated to a further hour of guitar by Rogarty before turning in and we were all a little tired but ready to get trekking. After a breakfast of porridge and sausages (not together), we set off in the buses to drive half of the 50kms to Kitumbeine. Having stopped at our first sighting of giraffe we eventually stopped and began our trekking on sand and dust tracks. The journey was gentle and uneventful until we chance upon a herd of 8 or 10 giraffe that we watched for a considerable time. We then continued before reaching our lunch stop where we enjoyed freshly prepared salad and fruit. The morning walking had been tame so far but as the heat intensified the group became strung out along the path and stragglers were picked off. Two required the assistance of support buses but the rest were able to continue with brief but regular stops as we crossed the Rift valley floor where we were met with a short burst of rain that provided relief for some but gave increased humidity for the final 2km through the village and on to the campsite where we were greeted with a cold drink and flannel to sooth any aches and pains. There was a mixture of joy and relief and reaching our destination some 23km away – some suffering more than others.
Many trekkers took the opportunity of a shower before a dinner of chicken and vegetables. We sat briefly around the campfire with drinks before heading to bed and a restful if somewhat warm sleep.