23/11: Hell’s Gate

Today I am going to meet my dad in Naivasha town before we head over to our accommodation at Dea’s Gardens and then onwards to Hell’s Gate for the day.  I took the matatu there, there was this guy sitting next to me who kept speaking to me about what I should do when I get back home to support Africa. I tried to tell him that it is not as easy as he made it sound, but he didn’t really believe me. Once in Naivasha I went to our meeting place at La Belle Inn and waited a little while as my dad’s taxi driver didn’t know where it was, but then I heard the sound of a car horn and looked up to find a taxi with my dad in it. It was really good to see him again. We then hurried on to Dea’s Gardens though it was a bit hard to find because it is not signposted. We were welcomed with a tree tomato welcome drink and shown to our accommodation. It is a cabin with two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a pretty big living room. With our picnic in hand which they had prepared for us, we went on to Hell’s Gate. On the way we rented bicycles, Hell’s Gate is the only national park where they actively encourage people to bike. Once there we paid the entrance fee and went on our way. Our first stop was at Fischer’s Tower where you can climb. I climbed one route, I had one difficult spot, and they kept telling me to do something that didn’t work, so I found my own way. It was really fun, but I could feel it is a long time since I have been wearing climbing shoes. Then we biked on in the park. We didn’t see so many animals before we reached the gorge. The gorge is very beautiful, but there was a lot of water. Apparently some of Tomb Raider 2 was shot here. Then it started to rain a lot, we could see the individual rain drops, they were that big. Then we went up from the gorge again and had lunch before we moved on. We wanted to do the Buffalo circuit because there were supposed to be more animals, though the guidebook said it was fairly strenuous. It was! We ended up having to drag our bicycles up with us because it was too steep and too bad a road. And there was so far up, it just continued. But it was really nice in the way down, not only could we see Mt. Longonot in all its glory, there was also a lot of animals. We saw so many zebras and they were all really close to us. Then we continued down towards the gate. No taxi driver seems to know where Dea’s Gardens is, but ti think she likes it that way. There I had the best shower I have ever had, forget about whatever else I have said, this way the best. That evening we had an incredible meal, first an appetizer, then a soup, main course of duck and a dessert. All the guests and Dea had it around the dining room table. I slept peacefully that night.