So we have on the truck 3 crew members. Olly is English and the team leader, Patrick is Kenyan and the Chef and finally Arthur is also Kenyan and the driver. So over the passed 2 weeks we have had lots of moments traveling through Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda in our trusty truck Neema.
But some of the more interesting/funny/daunting moments have been the four separate occasions we have gotten stuck in the mud. As yet we still have more time for that number to increase but right now it’s Olly 4 - Arthur 0!
Picture this Neema in a ditch, in the middle of a national park which is home to numerous animals including lions, leopards and Hyena’s, you know the friendly meat eating animals, oh and its 7pm and dark and there is no reception for the mobile phones on the truck! Oh and Patrick and Arthur are not with us! Did I miss anything!?!
Fear not though our fearless leader Olly loves it, he jumps out of the truck and into the mud to attempt to dig out his beloved Neema. The rest of us are assigned animal watch duty as we shine all our torches into the bush surrounding the truck watching for eye’s….
Its actually quite exhilarating being stuck, we have the animal watch going on protecting Olly, we also have 3 other cars pass us by and almost get stuck as well, one minivan is virtually on its side going through the mud to the horror of the tourists in the back (definitely a pant check was in order after that drive!). No offer of help comes from these drivers mind you and also the messages we sent with them to let the park wardens know we’re stuck also don’t get passed on! Terrific!
After about an hour, in which we now have half the people outside pushing and half still on animal watch, the cavalry arrive. Arthur has raised his concerns with the campsite on our absence and out came a minivan to collect us, but Arthur knowing Olly well has also rounded up George (SA) and Stephen (UK) who we have met a couple of times along the road and are driving through Africa for 10 months with their wives. They have 4x4’s and also a winch, Stephen is now my new hero!
As the cavalry arrived we pack into the minivan and got driven back to the campsite. We left behind Olly, Arthur, George and Stephen to dig out Neema. 5 hours later Neema was finally out and back at the campsite! She was a dirty thing!
Many thanks to George and Stephen, and if your interested George’s wife has a blog of their travels….and you might here about us! Twice! And also to Stephen's wife for the photo's above!
