Gravity Bites in Kenya
It
all seemed so distant, the digging in the midst of vast deserts, and being
stuck in the mud while in armed convoy. The fish eagle had landed on a branch
above my head and was keeping a keen eye either on the colobus monkey in the
opposite tree or on my plate piled high with the finest cakes, I could not
decide. We had been traveling for 177 days. I tried to count back the new
routes we had done, and the adventures experienced. It all seemed so innumerous,
the only thing that was easy to count was the number of showers I have had,
I concluded I was about to have my 20th. A gentleman appeared by my side,
topped up my coffee and placed a piece of lemon cake on my now empty plate,
Ahhhhh Bliss. The last few days climbing at hells gate national park had taken
it out on the skin on my finger tips and the coffee cup was far too hot to
pick up, I had to settle for the iced lemon juice instead.
Climbing at Hells Gate is fantastic. After yet another new route I sat at
the top of the cliff looking out over the lower grass and watched Wart hogs,
with tails erect, scamper around the much easier going Zebra. The giraffe
had moved on further down the valley and a large storm was building so we
decided to call it a day and cycle back to Naivasha. Before we left I got
involved in a breathtaking experience:
I hung in my harness 10m below Steve. "Ok 5 seconds" He shouted down to me. I lifted the camera to my eye and checked the settings. 30 seconds have passed since his 5 second warning. He noticed my impatience. " You have to get used to my 5 seconds they are often much longer then they should be". I let him have this one; after all I was hanging in free space 250m up off the floor. But he had his toes on the edge of the dubious rock above me. " Three, two" He counted himself down. "ONE" he jumped and his body shot passed me. My camera was in full flow taking four frames a second. A second had passed then two he was still falling. The third second passed, I wondered how long an object takes to hit the floor from 250m. I was about to count 4 and then a massive spread of colour appeared in the lens and the sound of his canopy opening echoed around the canyon. He landed safely and I saw others coming up to him to congratulate him. Mad bastard I thought to my self, I jugged up the rope and walked off the cliff, I was still shaking from Adrenaline when I shoke his hand an hour later.
"Excuse
me sir" A man cleared his throat behind me. "More Coffee and cake"
The sun was now coming through the clouds to set on the edge of the rift valley.
"What a good idea" I piled my plate high and forced a bit more cake
into my belly. After all it is not often you can sit on the lawn of the late
Joy Adam's (author of Born Free owner of the orphaned lion Elsa) estate, and
cram your self full of cream teas.
Kenya has been a perfect break for us. We have been climbing solidly for the last few weeks putting up new routes all along the edge of the rift valley. In evening we settle down to enormous steaks and cold beer. We are on our way north to lake Baringo to take balsa wood boats to devils Island in the middle of the hippo infested lake. After this we plan to jump on camels to explore the unclimbed super crags on the edge of the northern desert.
I approached the drivers door and awoke the driver. "Can you wait here
for the next half an hour, pick us up and then drive round the corner then
drop us off" I can understand why the taxi driver looked confused, I
had just woken the poor lad up. "I will pay you 200 KS (about 2 pounds)"
A smile appeared on his face and he looked happy at the fact he will be getting
paid to go back to sleep for the next half hour. As I walked away I added
"If you see me and my friend running to you can you start the engine
up and get ready to make a quick get-away." The taxi drivers bemusement
took a backseat for his excitement as he was now our get-away driver!
My other instruction before the others left me was to try and hold the video camera steady and not to shake it. My hands were unsteady with nerves and fatigue from holding it up for the last 5mins. Wayne and Jonny stood ready to clear people out of the way if things went wrong, after all we were in the middle of Nairobi on a Saturday afternoon. I looked up, there he is he had managed to give the security guard the slip and was now stood on the edge of the overhanging concrete skirt circling the top of the Kenyatta tower.
A
few pedestrians and seen him and started to stare. BOOM he has jumped and
within a second his canopy was starting to fill. I followed him with the camera.
At first the guards at the other side of the car park stood rooted unable
to move. They remained in the same spot as Steve swooped between two buildings
20ft above the floor and landed on the good side of the fence.
My flip flops were off and I was running, with the camera still to my eye, to join him. The guards were already on their way over. Luckily the side gate was unlocked and I met Steve as he finished packing his shute into the sack. The guards were now chasing. The taxi driver was there and was opening the doors ready to aid the get-away. The whole street stood still watching the pursuit. People began to clap us as we bundled ourselves into the taxi. The door was not even closed and the car sped off, the taxi driver had picked up his role very well. We had escaped.
Just another mini adventure I had this afternoon
Take care
Dave
