1984 - Solo to Kenya and Seychelles: Mombasa

Friday 27 April 1984 – Mombasa

I packed my suit etc and very efficiently laid out my clothes for the morning and went to sleep like an angel until about 02.30 when I woke up feeling awful.

I had taken my two malaria pills (the disease is said to be rife on the Coast, although I haven’t seen or heard a mozzie up here) just before retiring – the chemist was insistent that I should only take them after a heavy meal. I’m pretty sure that was the problem because when I read the pamphlet it said that one of the side effects might be a feeling of nausea. I even tried to vomit but couldn’t, so putting it down to the pills

I tried to get back to sleep. I dozed on and off until finally I got up at 04.00, shaved, dressed and read my book until 05.30 when I checked out, having been told that I should be at the airport one hour before the 07.00 takeoff. There was no one at the airport at that ungodly hour apart from a bunch of disgruntled Arabs from Saudi whose flight to Mombasa had been diverted to Nairobi where they had been offloaded at 02.00.

Staff members and more passengers started trickling in about 06.10 and, surprisingly, we took off on time at 07.00. it was quite a circus getting the Saudis aboard as they had about twenty pieces of hold luggage plus umpteen bits of hand luggage and were 105 kilograms overweight. Asians are not the most popular people in Kenya and the ground crew gave them a bit of a hard time before relenting.

It was a very good flight down to Mombasa with some lovely views of Kilimanjaro which of course was in full view. The countryside is very flat however and looked pretty dry as we headed towards the coast. There was thick cloud over Mombasa and it was raining pretty solidly when we touched down. The hot humid air really hit me as I got off the plane. Mombasa is surrounded by mangrove swamps and the tide was out. So the fresh air was not quite as fresh as I had hoped it would be after sitting surrounded by Saudis who smelt rather strongly – dirty bums was the predominant odour – and who were smoking rank tobacco. I was in two minds to remind them about Allah’s views on the subject but thought better of it.

The breakfast on the plane was nice – fruit salad, rolls and croissants although I stuck to the fruit and the coffee, which was surprisingly good. (I’m not sure why I was surprised. Did I not know that Kenya was a major coffee producer?) the luggage came off quite quickly and I shared a taxi with another passenger – a Belgian named Freddie Finch – since we were both going to the Nyali Beach Hotel.

Nyali Beach Hotel

We went through the most squalid area of town with badly thatched mud huts apparently sinking into the mud which surrounded them, wrecks of cars and everywhere an air of desolation. The hotel foyer was pleasant however and our welcome was warm. Since I was on a “special” at $25 per day for dinner, bed and breakfast I was in one of the rooms furthest but four from the foyer – 250 metres to be exact and up three flights of stairs. The room looked a bit sparse at first glance, having no carpeting, but of course it is a beach hotel and the local sand is very fine. The reason for the long walk to the room is fairly sound too. The hotel has obviously grown over a period of time and as expansion northward is not possible it has spread slowly south – and thus ensured that every room is sea facing. The view from my room is rather exotic with an old wreck on the reef being framed by waving palms.

Nyali Beach

It continued to rain the whole day. Mainly a fine drizzle but occasionally a heavy squall would sweep in from the sea. It seems that this may have kept the temperature down a bit because it was only about 28C today. I went  down to the beach however to have a snouse around and a swim. That was also a little disappointing because it was dead low tide – which meant there was a bit of a smell about. Maybe that was from the weed which covered much of the beach and the bottom of the sea. Not that any of this  really bothered me, but I could see any chance of persuading Rab and Matt to accompany me on a return visit fading rapidly into the distance.

There were all manner of water sports available so I had my first lesson in Windsurfing. A very pleasant little lad – Selima – was my tutor and he did the job pretty well I thought. I spent all my time in learning how to balance on the board. Actually that is not correct. I actually spent most of my time in the water having failed to balance on the board. My lesson was cut a little short by a squall but Selima continued the basics of sail handling on land before grabbing the board and hurtling off at high speed, making the most of the wind.

I was torn between another lesson in the afternoon and a visit to town. I finally decided on the latter so I could give a full and accurate sitrep on my return home. I bumped into Freddie in the foyer. As he had finished his business a little earlier than he had expected, he was also heading into town. He offered to share the taxi fare. I would really rather have gone on my own, but it was awkward to decline his offer, so off we went in a dilapidated Peugeot 404 taxi which I thought would cease to function any moment. It didn’t however and the driver carted us around pretty well, all things considered.

Prices in the shops here are higher than Nairobi so I didn’t buy anything except a Muslim fez which you can’t get up there. Freddy and I had agreed to meet the taxi back at the Castle Hotel so I made my way there. I bought Rab a rather unusual T-shirt with a sequinned leopard on it in one of the shops at the hotel which surprisingly enough were more reasonable. It is not much of a town I must say. It reminds me of the poorer Indian quarters of Durban. Very tatty and dirty and rather smelly.

There were plenty of pretty flash local girls hanging around with the tourists at the hotel and some pretty awful looking blokes who were presumably pushing drugs. I had a couple of offers in town and at the beach for marijuana or cocaine. We had a drink at the hotel while we waited for the taxi. Unfortunately mine came with ice which I whipped out rapidly as our hotel brochure had said that the local water is suspect. I couldn’t have been quick enough though because b y the time we got back to our hotel I had the gripes and the trots. By this time Freddy, pleasant as he was, was getting on my nerves a bit, so I used this as an excuse to return to my room.

I did feel a bit grim actually and just lay and read, replacing my lost liquids with tonic and bitter lemon from the mini bar being reluctant at that stage to even try the drinking water supplied. By 20.00 I was feeling a little better and rather peckish not having eaten since the previous night so I ordered a very pleasant meal from room service – prawn cocktail, grilled kingfish and fresh fruit. And so to sleep at about 21.30.

1984 - Solo to Kenya and Seychelles: Nairobi again

Thursday 26 April 1984 – Nairobi

I only woke at 07.00 this morning and since I knew I had to have lunch and dinner today, gave breakfast a miss. I nipped around to the travel agent and found that the Mombasa trip will be even cheaper than I thought - $120 for two nights Bed and Breakfast including the flight. Can’t complain about that.

I also bought myself a Kenya tie as the one I wore last night got a bit of curry on it and although I washed it when I got home (remembering not to put soap on it as soap “sets’ curry) I fear it is a write off. I also found a couple of shirts that fit me and bought them as souvenirs. Pretty cheap so they probably won’t last long.

 Then off to the Conference which was due to start at 09.00. They were handing out very nice leather briefcases at the venue, stuffed with all manner of goodies including a very nice leather key wallet – but that’s about all I got out of the Conference itself.

Proceedings finally started with a short opening speech at 09.30 from the local Royal Man – Brian Mills – which ended at 09.45 somewhat earlier than expected so the coffee break was brought forward a quarter of an hour. The next session was due to commence at 10.25 but we were told that observers could not attend as it was an Executive Committee meeting. We could however attend the AGM after lunch.

Peter Swinford-Meyer and I went back to the hotel and had a cup of coffee before he headed off to his local office and I changed and went for a stroll about town. It is quite an interesting place I must say and is probably bigger than Harare. It is difficult to say because it is so much more “jumbled” – there is no clearly defined smart shopping area, no area where offices are. I noticed that a number of the shops, which all have corrugated iron roofs, also have barbed wire rolls in the roof space – this to deter thieves entering from above. I walked through the local Woolworths out of interest – the basic foodstuffs seemed a bit cheaper than Harare and there was quite a good selection of imported goods at better prices than Malawi.

Back to the hotel for a swim before lunch and a quiet beer with Peter who was talking mergers again despite my lack of enthusiasm and then on to the lunch. Magnificent buffet but rather wasted (a) on me because I ate so sparingly and (b) because only about one third of the expected guests turned up. Food was very good – a small steak and salads and a couple of glasses of excellent French wine.

I popped over after lunch to see Bill Olotoch, the GM of Kenya Re but he had disappeared. It turned out that the AGM had been held in the morning after the Executive Committee meeting, so that was the end of the Conference apart from dinner tonight! Bit of a farce really but still a well worthwhile trip. I have met some useful people as has Tererai and it has been money well spent. I picked up my photos – eight hour service – and after a swim headed for my hotel room to pack for an early start tomorrow.

The dinner – the final do of the Conference was held at The Carnivore a rather unusual restaurant a little way out of town and owned fortuitously by Kenya Re – our hosts. A selection of salads, sauces etc is set up on each table while dozens of spits of meat are cooked on a huge circular fire. On the spits are all manner of meat – chicken, beef, pork, sausages, legs of lamb and pork, sides of beef. From time to time, when a spit is regarded as being ready, the waiters circulate among the guests carving servings from the meat in hand. This goes on until everyone is sated.

I found it very difficult to resist such succulent meat and as they were also serving Black Tower Rhine wine I regret to say I broke my new regulations and overindulged considerably (but not, I must add, to excess). It was a good party and all enjoyed themselves. Although Mr Mwemi had been good enough to pick me and a number of others up in a Kombi to take us to the restaurant, I didn’t fancy waiting until everyone was ready to go, so shot off relatively early at about 23.30 as I recall. Perhaps “shot off” is not the appropriate phrase as the driver who offered to take me to town was definitely well indulged and was driving slowly with considerable care, if a little unskilfully. There was very little traffic about so we got back to the hotel quite safely.

1984 - Solo to Kenya and Seychelles: Amboseli

Wednesday 25 April 1984 – Amboseli

Well, what a day I had today!! Joe the driver turned up promptly at 06.30 and we were off through the early morning traffic like a rocket. I think the Safari Rally has a lot to answer for as far as local driving standards are concerned as everyone seems to consider themselves as would be rally drivers, which can be a little alarming at times. In fairness to Joe though I must say that he never gave me any cause for concern in what was about 650 kilometres of high speed driving. The car was a Datsun 120Y which went pretty well, although how the cars last after being driven over the appalling roads beats me. Joe said they replaced a lot of shock absorbers.

It was spitting as we left, but cleared up as we approached the Game Reserve. The road was tarred for the first 100 or so kilometres and was in fairly good condition. There was very little traffic – about the same volume as the Kariba road – despite the fact that the road led to Tanzania. The border is now open but there is very little trade between the two countries. The border town is Namange and consists of two garages and a few mud huts, some rather elegantly labelled as “The Continental Hotel” and the like.

We went to the “café” at one of the garages for a cup of coffee. Just as well Rab and Matt were not with me. Rather primitive conditions with cracked cups and the water boiling in a pot over a charcoal fire. I was given a warm welcome by all and sundry after Joe had told them I was from Zimbabwe. When we were driving of he told me that the consensus off opinion was that I was like a big buffalo bull.

No sooner were we out of the town than  we hit the dirt road – and what a road it was. Ruts, potholes and corrugations abounded. The countryside was quite pretty and the bush fairly thick with a few hills around. This was quite a contrast to the first 80/90 kilometres near Nairobi where the plain is very flat and uninteresting. We saw a lot of game on the way down, mainly Thompson’s, Grant’s and impala plus a few ground squirrels and a couple of giraffe.

Since we were travelling through Masai country we saw a lot of them and their cattle beside the road. The herds were usually in charge of a couple of lads armed with spears twice their size. Joe said one had to be careful driving through the area at night as there are often lions on the road keeping warm. The entire area south-west of Nairobi is just wild country with no farms and only one small settlement before Namange.

Back to the dirt road, however. It was almost 80 km before we got to the Reserve entrance and we were covered in dust (no air-conditioning of course) which is very fine indeed – like talcum powder really. Off road now, Joe explained, as we rocketed off across a very flat plain, that we were actually driving on the bottom of Lake Amboseli which dries up every year until the heavy rains.

 

 A giraffe on the edge ot the "lake" - a mirage

There were huge herds of wildebeest plodding along as we drove towards what looked like the remains of the lake on the horizon. It soon became apparent that it was a mirage when a touring bus drove straight through the lake in a cloud of dust. Not that the wildebeest noticed or cared. They just kept on. It was a bit like a scene from a Western actually, with grim piles of sun bleached bones here and there. After driving around for a while we spotted what Joe had been looking for – a cheetah family. As it was now about 10.00 and getting pretty hot they were just lying in the shade of an acacia tree, panting. But they made quite a sight.

The cheetah family at rest

Satisfied with that we drove here there and everywhere during the course of which we saw a wide variety of animals and got even more dusty and hot. It is difficult for me to make up my mind which was more magnificent – the pride of lions at a kill or the enormous herd of elephant which we drove through – but both were pretty spectacular. The only large animal we did not see was rhino but that was not so important bearing in mind what we did see. (One of the incidents that I did not record in my journal, but which stayed in my mind was when Joe spotted a mother lion and her two cubs in the shade of a tree. He drove up close to them so I could get some pictures which concerned me a little because the soil was very sandy. I asked him what we would do if we got bogged in the sand. His response “One of us will have to push”!)

The lion cubs that caused some concern

One thing I would have liked was a good shot of Mount Kilimanjaro. Unfortunately there was a good deal of low cloud about and the peak only showed a couple of times at neither of which was it possible to get a good shot. It must be incredible on a good day because even the brief glimpses I had were really splendid. It simply rises straight up from the plain and the snow on the top really stands out against the blue sky. I must try and walk up some day. (This was easier said than done at the time with financial and political issues, but I had carefully finalised a plan, fully financed only to lose the opportunity when I was transferred to Australia.)

 

Part of the large elephant herd we saw

Giraffe on a lunch break

We headed for the Serena Lodge  for lunch as it was getting too hot for comfort and of course the animals were become more scarce as they sought the shade. Joe casually announced that the right front wheel was coming off but he would fix it while I had lunch. And he did! I had a very light lunch – just a very well grilled and tasty pork chop and some very nice salads. I was very tempted by all sorts of other items, but kept my resolve. I also had a beer but stuck to one. That’s will power. They had some interesting stuff in the shop there but I confined myself to buying a rather nice soapstone cat and a very pretty snake box - $6.00 the lot.

Joe replaces the fuel tank

We decided to head straight back to Nairobi after lunch but at the gate Joe explained that an old man had a problem with his car and asked if I would mind if he joined us. Of course I said not at all and off we sped. When we got to his vehicle – a Peugeot 404 pickup – the problem became quite clear. The petrol tank had fallen off! No problem said Joe and in about ten minutes with only a pair of pliers he had jury rigged a system which would enable the old boy and his passengers to get back to Nairobi – stopping every fifteen minutes it is true! What he did was to use the windscreen washer reservoir as a spare petrol tank. Ingenious.

As we sped on our way he said it was always possible to make a plan and fix most things. His best story was about the time the engine fell out of a Volkswagen Kombi he was driving. Because the road was so bad and he was going so fast he didn’t notice for about a kilometre. So his tourist passengers had the option of pushing the Kombi back to engine or carrying the engine back to the Kombi. They chose the former and in a short time both engine and vehicle were reunited. (Joe told a good story!)

We made good time back to town and arrived at about 17.30 after a most enjoyable day. Whether my regular travelling companions would have agreed is debatable. For the record, Joe’s suggested safari is two nights in Samburu, one in Treetops and two in Masai Maru. With that he said you would see everything there is to be seen and as he has been in the business for twelve years he may know a thing or two.

After a swim and a shower I felt a new man and was ready for the cocktail party which was the first item on the agenda of the conference. It was held at the New Stanley of colonial days fame and as it was not far from the hotel I walked down via a few of the shops I had not seen before, including Rowland Ward. They had some pretty nice stuff and if I have any spare cash on the way back I may well acquire a couple of items and risk The Wrath Of The Rab.

The hosts of the cocktail party were Kenindia (the local branch of The New India Insurance Company) and most of the guests were their clients who had been invited to celebrate the opening of their new office building. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! The majority of the guests were Asians with very few black or white faces. The Asians were not particularly communicative, so it was heavy going at first but in the end was quite enjoyable as I met a few of the local and “travelling” insurance community.

The party started at 19.00 and ended at 21.00. the snacks were excellent so I didn’t need an evening meal. I got back here and the long day and several Scotches combined to send me off to slumber without a care in the world.

1984 - Solo to Kenya and Seychelles: Nairobi National Park

Tuesday 24 April 1984 – Nairobi

I read until quite late last night, forgetting the one hour time difference so felt a bit odd waking up at 05.00 this morning. Anyway I went back to sleep until 06.45 when my continental breakfast arrived. Papaya with lemon, mango juice, coffee and a croissant – not bad.

After getting dressed up in a suit and tie because that is what businessmen still wear here, I confirmed my bookings at Kenya Air and checked on some hotel prices in Mombasa then strolled down to the Lion of Kenya offices. (Lion of Kenya was one of the Group companies.) quite a pleasant walk but in full daylight and without yesterday’s lunch in me, there is no doubt that the city is shabbier than Harare. Broken pavements, potholes and grass and weeds abound. The people seem quite chirpy but perhaps not as happy as the Zimbabwean folk.

I met young Seaman, a young Pom who is heading back to UK next month and the Assistant General Manager, whose name eludes me at the moment – Morope I think. It was quite interesting chatting to him about his business here. It seems very similar to ours in Zimbabwe, but with twice the staff and running at a loss. He kindly invited me to lunch, which I declined and I left him, having done my duty at about 11.00.

I wandered around town on my way back to the hotel and bought a couple of knick-knacks for Rab and Matt. Most things here are very reasonable – a T-shirt for Matt only cost $3.00 for instance and it looks good quality. After a swim in the rather nice hotel pool and a refreshing glass of granadilla (passion fruit) for lunch, I made my bookings for Mombasa, staying at Nyali Beach and tried to sort out a couple of trips for today and tomorrow. It is difficult for the longer trips tomorrow because although there are plenty of tours advertised they are not running unless there is a minimum of 3 – 5 people since it is the off season.

I managed to find a local bus tour to the National Park, which is only ten kilometres outside Nairobi. Stacks of game there, although the driver said we were lucky as he had not seen so much this morning when he was out. He was a bit of a grumpy blighter – it turned out that he didn’t like French tourists and as four out of our seven were Frogs, he wasn’t too happy. We started late too which led, later in the afternoon, to an altercation between him and the remaining couple, a pair of scrawny, nervous Americans who demanded that he stay on duty for another half hour because we were a half hour late in starting. They were not successful.

 

Wildebeest and elephant

It was quite a site to see a huge herd of wildebeest (gnu) – I’d estimate it to be about 2,000 strong – grazing on the plain with Nairobi city quite clearly in the background. The animals all looked in first class condition and, apart from the zebra which looked exactly the same but smaller, differed from our game both in size and colour. They tended to be larger and darker. We saw wildebeest, hartebeest, buffalo, eland, impala, Thompson’s gazelle, baboons, warthogs, vervet monkeys, ostriches, secretary birds and plenty of evidence of carnivores – bleached skeletons –but no lions or cheetahs.

Vultures on the lookout for business

I enjoyed the trip very much and felt it was well worth the $10 I had paid. While at the hippo pool – the driver had said to me “I have to take them there. They won’t see anything but they will never believe me if I tell them. They never do.”

I got chatting to the driver of another bus – there were about a dozen there – and this is the quiet season! The upshot of our chat was that I managed to wangle a trip to Amboseli Reserve tomorrow with his tour company. It is costing an extra $30 more than usual – I am in effect paying for the other two passengers who usually make up the minimum load.

Warthog

But it will be a one man safari so it should be fun. We leave at 06.30 tomorrow morning.

1984 - Solo to Kenya and Seychelles: Nairobi day 1

This is one of the relatively few trips I did without Rab or Matt. From a business point of view it was important to start establishing contacts with African organisations and other African insurers since this had not been possible during the War in Rhodesia. There were two conferences to which I had been invited – one in Nairobi, Kenya and the second in the Seychelles. At that time it was not possible to get into Kenya with a South African passport or, indeed a South African entry or exit stamp in any other passport. I had acquired a British passport which had never been near South Africa, but Rab and Matt still had South African passports and were therefore barred from entry.

Monday 23 April 1984 – Nairobi

Off again! Somewhat sooner than I thought since our next trip was planned for December to the Far East. Unfortunately Rab and Matt are not with me, which I must say depresses me – or perhaps it is just that I feel guilty leaving them behind. They are actually in Durban all this week and are probably having a great old time, so I don’t know why I worry, but I do.

We have all had a flying visit to RSA. We left on Wednesday 11^th and went down to East London to see the family. We stayed three nights at the Dolphin in Nahoon which was very good value and saw all the family except Johnnie and Petra and Shirley. Sal and her kids were there too so we had a grand reunion. From there we went down to Cape Town to stay with Pad (minus Kathi) and see all our old friends. The weather was great all the way - most unseasonable – and Matt and I had some most enjoyable swims. Of course we ate too much and drank too much with the result that I am now at my greatest recorded mass – only by one kilogram it is true, but something will have to be done.

 

Trek fishermen hauling in their nets at Fish Hoek beach, near Cape Town

We all left Cape Town yesterday morning (Easter Sunday). My flight due to take off at 08.00 and Rab and Matt were on the 08.20 to Durban via Port Elizabeth and East London. We were a bit concerned because it was pretty foggy when we left Pad’s flat, but it was not that bad at the airport and there were no delays.

I had an uneventful flight – via Bloemfontein unfortunately – to Johannesburg but had a bit of a problem with my feet and legs. We were on a 727 with no room in the lockers and very little room between the seats. My flight bag was full of the usual ‘imports’ – booze, batteries etc and weighed about 20 kg. I couldn’t put it in the hold because the rest of my baggage weighed in at about 31.5 kg. so I just had to sit with a couple of inches of leg room.

I had a couple of hours in Johannesburg and phoned Steve and Jen to wish them Happy Easter. We took off on time for a change and I had a pleasant German couple sitting next to me. They had no English, so we chatted away in my pidgin German. Quite an interesting session. I nipped into the office to do a bit of work before going home to a rapturous welcome from the dogs. They weren’t very happy when I left this morning though.

We took off from Harare at 11.20 this morning, me travelling Executive Class on Air Zimbabwe. How nice! Given the ban on the local payment of First Class fares, they have converted the 2x2 setup to the standard 3x3 but with plenty of leg room and a slightly greater rake on the seat.

Extra services are provided – French champagne on take-off, free drinks, including German wine, and a choice of main courses, all served on crockery. I chose Duckling a l’Orange for the main course and very good it was too; the starter was smoked salmon with a slice (very, very small) of crayfish. There was also imported cheese – French Camembert and English Cheddar. All in all a splendid meal (It may seem odd commenting positively about such mundane items, but at this time in Zimbabwe the only cheese available was local cheddar – OK but not in quite the same class- and bream caught in Lake Kariba.) I had intended not eating too much, but the temptation was too great. I have atoned somewhat tonight, just having a steak sandwich in my room.

 

First view of Nairobi from my hotel room

Kenyatta International Centre

We landed dead on time – 13.00 local time – and I had no trouble getting through Customs and Immigration. I was met by a Mr Mwemi from Kenya-Re who escorted me through to the hotel – the Hilton. It is a very nice hotel indeed and my room is comfortable. The service seems to be good and the staff pleasant. The Kenya Safari Rally was finishing this afternoon, so after watching a bit on TV while I unpacked I took my camera and headed down for Kenyatta International Centre where the action was.

There were thousands of  people there of all hues and nationalities, the majority of course being black Kenyans. Everyone was cheerful and enjoying themselves. I took a couple of shots of the rally cars for Matt and then headed back to the hotel via a circuitous route to see a bit of this end of town. It looks quite pleasant so far, rather like Harare, but scruffier. I didn’t think it was really dirty though – at least the bits I saw.

I bought a couple of bits and pieces for the family but decided not to buy Rab a turquoise necklace (only $210) as she had given me strict instructions not to spend too much. After I bought an elephant hair bracelet (for 75c) from an itinerant vendor I was very surprised when he offered me dagga/marijuana or cocaine. I wonder if tourists in Harare are made such offers?

I was being pestered by a couple more salesmen – also offering bracelets and dope when I had a rather unpleasant experience. A tall, Kenyan well dressed in a suit and speaking rather well fell in beside me and, having shooed the peddlers away and proceeded to tell me what a terrible Government they had, how tribalism prevented him from getting a decent job – and so on in similar vein, raving somewhat. He didn’t smell of booze, but his eyes were very red and his nose was a bit runny. My guess is that he was high on drugs so I was a bit wary about telling him to push off, especially as he was a very large man. I managed to get a good position at the corner to the hotel and just shot through at the first available opportunity.

I must say would not feel as safe at night here as I do in Harare. As it was beginning to get dark, I just explored the hotel for a while and then headed for my room. There was nothing very interesting on TV – Flamingo Road after the news - but there was a film – The Eiger Sanction - on the in house channel so I watched that. Very disappointing.

So that’s the end of my first day in Kenya.

1983 - Snow and QE2 14 January 1984 – Home Again

Friday 14 January 1984 – Harare

                                                     

Although we were lights out at 20.30 in Zurich, I was awake at 00.30 and could not get back to sleep. Rab stirred soon after and Matt was awake at 03.00. None of us could get back to sleep so we were up and about at 04.00 breakfasting on the remnants of last night’s supper. (This was the first occasion we had completed a long flight West/East. Over the years we found those flights more difficult to recover from than equally long East/West flights.) We were down for a proper breakfast at 07.00 and thoroughly enjoyed our last true Continental breakfast.

 

Lucerne bridge

We had decided to have one last look at Lucerne and contemplated driving down but in the end decided to catch the train. We made the 08.58 which was unusually empty and had a most pleasant trip down. The countryside was covered in snow again as was Lucerne, which made it even more beautiful than before. We left all our luggage in a locker at the station and just strolled around until lunchtime when we had a final raclette at Zum Raben. A final visit to the bank and then we were off to the Bahnhoff and the Flughaven .

 

Last view of the lake at Lucerne

We were all nodding off on the train and felt very tired indeed. There was no problem checking in and after spending our last few francs on chocolate we went through to the departure lounge. It was snowing quite hard as we got to the airport and we were concerned that there might be some delay at both Zurich and Geneva. There were some, but not too serious and we landed up being an hour late at Athens.

Dinner was served between Geneva and Athens and, as usual, was delicious. Even Rab and Matt were tempted by it. Poor old Matt was very tired and had fallen fast asleep at Zurich airport while waiting to take off. We finally took off from Athens chock full of passengers (so much for the urban myth about no one flying on Friday 13^th!) and after a light cold collation we settled down to try to sleep at about midnight.

We all slept quite well and started stirring at about 05.30 aware of the fact that there were only three toilets so thought we might as well get cracking early. Breakfast was delicious and once again Rab and Matt managed to eat some! Most unusual that!

We touched down on time in Harare at 07.30 where Dad and Lucy met us. A marvellous holiday, but good to be home.

                                                                                                                      

1983 - Snow and QE2 12 January 1984 – Heading Home

Thursday 12 January 1984 – Zurich

Well, they haven’t been too bad at all. We woke up at 05.40 and got cracking pretty quickly as I was not certain how long it would take to get to the airport.

We left at 06.40 as planned. It was still pitch dark and quite cold. There was very little traffic about until I stopped to fill up and then there suddenly seemed to be hordes. We missed our first access to the freeway but managed to find a second. Both were badly signposted and since I am not at my best driving on the incorrect side of the road in the dark, I was a little tense. The airport turnoff was not that clearly marked either, but we got there quite well, arriving at about 07.20.

The Skycap who took our bags was an ill-mannered blighter as was the security man but at least we got our bags checked right through to Harare.We would have been well above our allowable weight of 20kg per case if we had to check the luggage in Switzerland. But as it was we were allowed the TransAtlantic allowance of two suitcases per person, irrespective of weight. We had packed on the basis that we would just have our flight bags with us in Zurich, so all was according to plan.

We took off at 08.30 in a United DC 10 with a very pleasant crew. Rab and Matt had a snack in the airport so didn’t have the airline breakfast, but I did – pancakes and omelette – delicious! There were some spectacular views of snow covered mountains before clouds intervened. Since this coincided with the start of the film – an enjoyable Dudley Moore comedy – that suited me.

The plane was half empty so there was plenty of room for us to get comfortable. After the film finished we had a lunch of cold cuts, which wasn’t up to the standard of the breakfast. By then we were flying over Lake Eyre which was frozen over completely – a lovely sight. An interesting feature of this flight was that you could tune into a commentary given by the pilot, which added to the enjoyment.

There was some concern about the weather reports for New York. The night before we left about 5in of snow had been dumped on the city and we thought we might be delayed. It made a lovely sight as we came in to land on one of those cloudless winter’s days. We landed at Kennedy a little early at 10.20 Eastern time although of course it was 13.20 by our body clocks.

So far so good, but that is when the problems started. The runways were very icey so speed on the ground was kept right down. Although this gave us some fascinating views of the aircraft in line to come in to land stretching into the far distances, we were a little concerned as we had to change terminals and I had to pick up the two suitcases we had left in safe custody before checking in at 17.00.

We finally got off the plane at 15.00 and were lucky to catch a link bus right away. We retrieved the suitcases and although I had a slight problem checking in because I didn’t have Rab’s passport or the San Francisco baggage checks we were aboard by 17.30. We had very nice pre-booked seats over the wing but there were two yelling brats in the centre aisle seats alongside of us and we didn’t fancy listening to them all the way to Geneva. Using the fact that the carpeting under my seat was soaking wet, we escaped to the back of the plane where there was an empty four seater as the plane was far from full. Although it was in the smoking section and we bounced around a fair deal, at least it was peaceful.

We had a very good dinner – Duckling A La Orange – and then watched the movie – John Travolta leaping around. Once this was finished there seemed little point in trying to sleep since it was only two and a quarter hours to Geneva but we did doze a bit until the cabin lights came on an hour later for breakfast. Just a continental breakfast but very good.

We landed on time in Geneva despite having taken off an hour late from Kennedy, having made up the time during the night. Soon after we touched down it started snowing heavily which caused some delays as our wings were de-iced and the runway cleared. Once we were in the air it was a short 30 minute hop to Zurich, where it was raining.

The du Theatre felt like coming home and since it was 00.40 by our body clocks – 10.40 local time – we had a good old snooze for three hours before going down town to get some money and various other bits and pieces. Had a snack meal here at the hotel and were abed by 20.30 after a long day!.

Back in the snow!