Hell's Gate (FE 26) - excursion continued

After spending the morning at KCC, we headed to a National Park called "Hell's Gate". It started with a 7km bike ride down a dirt road, which luckily was pretty flat, and sometimes slightly downhill. It was a very hot, dry day so it was nice to pedal leisurely. I had only 1 working gear on my bike!!

What was awesome was that we rode past zebras, giraffes, impalas, wart hogs, african buffalo and baboons. One zebra decided to cross the street right in front of Louise and I - we actually had to slow down so as not to ride right into its path! It was so awesome to be that close!! These animals were just free in the wild, all around us, as we biked through "their home". Now we don't have to spend $200 on a safari!!

The background in this picture is supposedly "pride rock" from The Lion King. Not sure whether to believe this - our guides were full of tall tales - but being such a fan of The Lion King, I wanted a picture....just in case!! :o)

After biking, we started on a hike into Hell's Gate gorge. The terrain was very rugged - it was going to be a challenging hike!

Well, if it wasn't tough enough...it started to rain! We tried jumping from rock to rock, trying to avoid puddles, but it got to the point where the rain was torrential and the water was flowing down from rocks above - there was no staying dry!

Me, Melissa and Jennifer- soaked!

           Anna

We had to scale a couple of trees to move from one level of the gorge to another, and climb 90 degree rock faces! We waded through muddy, rocky, sandy water, nearly hip deep in some areas.

Everyone helped push and pull (and drag!) eachother up and down the rocks. It was definitely a bonding experience for us all!! The strata and rock formations were breathtaking, but unfortunately all of our cameras got placed in a big plastic bag for protection - so not too many pictures were taken.

OK...so my Dad had called me the night before and his parting words were: "Now be safe", so to not admit disobedience over the Internet, nor raise any concerns in others, I will not go into any more detail!! Let's just say it was an UNFORGETTABLE experience!!

We got out of the gorge, all safe and sound, just as the sun was setting. Cold and dripping wet, we drove to Camp Canelli on Lake Naivasha. Nursing a few scrapes and bruises, we relished the HOT showers, had dinner and a few drinks, and warmed up by the fireplace. A good night's sleep was had by all!!