Monday, March 31, 2014

Catch up blog : Various things

Abseil with a view ! 
A catch up blog as the last while has been very busy with work ranging from cooperate days with various companies, building a low ropes course to adventure training with various clients. The summer is coming to end on the equator and the rains are beginning to hit with some downpours that would put even Scotland to shame. Although its a pain on the roads it is nice to see the area turning green and the dust in the air lessen. Right now its huge deep thunder rumbling and rain falling torrentially. I have even bought an umbrella and welly’s. 
We have been steadily ticking away on the camp situated in Ol Pejeta installing various things for groups to use while in camp. A low ropes course which is now in good shape with various elements  and activities throughout the camp, the old Outward Bound apprenticeship coming into action. 

We have also been taking in groups. A very good adventure training course recently with some Nepali clients where we took on the canyon, climbing and the excellent Mount Kenya bike ride. That has some very nice single track winding through the forests on the lower slopes. Nepalis also don’t mess about when it comes to dinner time, chicken curry from scratch, and they know how to make an excellent curry, which had our camp staff running to the sink dousing cold water on themselves as it was a tad hot.
Some corporate groups have also been through including the middle management team for Ol Pejeta where we provided various team activities and then looked at relating those to the work place and also looked into the issues that they face while trying to work as more effective team. 
Tough hills, fine for some although for others little tough ! 
On the rock 
We have a big surge of groups coming through for some adventure training over the next week before we break up for some r and r perhaps at the coast. Then I shall be getting to grips with some staff training courses looking at the canyon and climbing plus the mountain. Mount Kenya is now getting a good deal of snow as this rain passes through so perhaps it will also be my time to get my snow fix as I need a day or two in a whiteout from time to time. 

Wildlife has been good to as the rains kick in there seems to be more about although the lion is the last for me to see, I have been hearing them at night roaring but have still to see one. We have though had a barrage of snakes through the camp in the last couple of days, certainly something which has made me think twice about the flip flops. Cobras and Mambas live here and there bite would not be something pleasant at all. The local camp staff seem to have a range of tactics to kill them if they are spotted which seemed to me to be a mix of pangas, spears, sticks and water hurled towards it in no great order, possibly a higher chance of getting panga’d than bitten by a snake. 
Learning new skills, chicken curry from scratch