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So it was time to leave the Masai Marra and after the plan changing about four times (these two boys do like planning! For which I have to say I was very glad for one night in the dark in Nakuru National park, but I'll get to that story later!) we decided that Daubs need a bit of a rest from driving and we all wanted a lie in (having been up at 5.30 most mornings for game drives). So we drove to Naivasha where we finally put the tents to use, oh and my baby mat, Daubs purple bit of foam and Rupert's very smart self inflating mattress - poser! I will say now, hysterically this was the only time the tents were used - some camping trip! Ha!
So we were camping very near to the lake, in fact probably only 10 metres from the electric fence that keeps out the Hippo - and yes, they certainly do come that close. As Daubs was showering and Rupert and I cracked open our first cider suddenly there was this massive shadow and munching noise - they had come to say hello! Canvass and an electric fence (that doesn't always work) between us and the hippos! Slightly nervous about this fact what didn't help is that in the middle of the night there was an almighty crash, me thinking that hippos were about to gobble me up and that life was over was reassured by Daubs that it was only a branch falling from a tree and that he hopped it hadn't fallen on Rupert's tent as it sounded pretty close. What is concerning when I think back is that neither of us actually checked that Rupert was not squashed and in stead must have just gone straight back to sleep - oops!!
What is it with our luck? The first person we met in the bar was the owner, an ex club owner from Shorditch who had been left the land by his late gran and since set up the campsite and bar.....ok so we thought this was a good shout and probably a good connection to have, but after dance / techno music for three hours were questioning it, admitting that we were getting old and deciding that maybe we should have gone for the quieter option next door! However, he does run Kenya's answer to Glastonbury each year, so one to keep sweet I still reckon! We decided to refrain from partying with the loud Northern, backward wearing baseball geezas (god we are snobs! The boys as much as me!) and instead had dinner, drank cider, went onto the g&ts and finished with Bex sized Bundy and coke, studying clouds and describing patterns we could see - mmmmm, slightly drunk I think!
The view of the great rift valley on the way back from the Mara was awesome, not a cloud in the sky, if we thought it was impressive on the way with only half visible, this was obviously doubly so! One of my favourite parts of travelling in the developing world is driving through the different towns and villages, I find watching the communities going about their business fascinating, a hive of activity, with sights and colours so alien to the developed world that I could stand and take this in for hours. Again though, there is that globalisation so evident - the coca cola brand splashed across cafe fronts, the orange mobile sign painted on the side of buildings and bill boards advertising everything from Samsung to Heineken.
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