Day 22 - The Best for Last

11:15
I’m awake early - around 05:00, but I don’t care. I’ve been SO excited for this morning. I get up, shower and pack. I’m done by 07:00, but my ride isn’t coming until 08:45. I grab some breakfast, and chill in the garden for an hour. I need to check out before my morning activity, as I’ll not be back until 11:00, and check-out time is 10:00. That also means no shower later, but I’ll cope.

Arriving at my activity, I can see a small family of elephant (definitely not a family of small elephant). I’m going to hang out with these guys for the next 90 minutes. I’m not gonna lie - it’s one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I spent 10 minutes with an elephant at a conservation park about 25 years ago in South Africa, but this is so much and more. The big male is Boniface, about 50 years old, and weighing in at around 5.5 tonnes. He’s been at the conservation project since 1994, when he was rescued from a group of poachers in the Zambezi National Park. Because I feed him his favourite treats, he is my friend, and will (and I find this staggering t believe) always remember me. If I come back in 15 years and feed him again, he’ll remember my smell, and that I’m good people. Mum is Tongwe, around 35 years old. Much smaller, at around 3.5 tonnes. She’s been here for coming up on 10 years, having been rescued from terrible drought conditions that killed thousands of elephant across Zimbabwe. Finally, we have Mdudu, who is 1 year and 3 months old. He’s teeny, but not - weighing in at 420kg.

Feeding them, stroking them, cuddling them is a mind-blowing sensation. The touch of their skin is beguiling. It’s so much softer than I’d expected. The back of their ears is almost velvet to touch. Their skin, despite being as thick as 3cm in places, is super sensitive, so I must be cautious. Their trunks are incredibly tactile. Simon, the lead guide tells me so much about their family hierarchies, the poaching industry (and how it’s generally being beaten), their teeth… I definitely consume some of what he’s saying, but honestly - I’m swept up in the coolness of hanging out with this awesome family of gentle giants.

The time races by. Solomon, another of the guides, has had my phone for the whole experience. When he hands it back, it as 300 photos on it! I say goodbye to my new-found friends, and am driven back to my lodge. I’ve now got about 6 hours to wait until my transfer to the airport. I don my board-shorts, and cool off in the pool. Probs time for a Savanna soon…

17:00
There is nearly a major international incident. I ask Charles for a Savanna shortly after 12:00, and he tells me there is none left. The look on my face is clearly not a happy one. He offers me a Hunters Dry as an alternative, which I decline. It’s just not right. I put on a brave face, and accept a South African Chardonnay. It will simply have to do…

The wait drags on a bit. I have some lunch, feel like I need a nap, but can’t have one. I have another pool dip to wake myself up a bit, which helps - for a while. Finally, FINALLY my airport transfer arrives at 15:40.

We’re at the airport by 16:00, and by 16:10, I’m sitting in the lounge, being offered an ICE COLD SAVANNA! I feared the whole country had run out. While I’m wallowing around in the shallow end of my second Savanna, the lounge dude comes to tell me that my flight is delayed by 45 minutes. This is usually no big problem, but I have a tight-ish turnaround at Nairobi. I check Kenya Airways’ website, and am given no additional information. The 18:00 flight is just showing as ‘delayed’ without any indication of by how much. I check Victoria Falls airport’s website, and the flight is showing as leaving on time. I check SkyScanner’s website, and it has the departure leaving at 18:10.

TIA.

23:55
The flight took off at 18:50, around 50 minutes late. Unless we make up some time en route, my transit at NBO is gonna be pretty tight. My plan (if we can call it such) is to get fed on this first flight, and then try and catch as many zizzes as possible on the longer flight from Nairobi into Gatwick. The lovely Grace brings me a fairly anonymous beef dish, accompanied by a much better than average glass of Pinotage. The pilot announces that we should only be 30 minutes landing into Nairobi = WIN. I watch a movie to pass the time, and soon enough, the cabin crew are packing up the plane for our descent.

I always forget how big Nairobi is. It’s a fairly flat city - not many buildings taller than a handful of floors. It stretches for miles into the distance, all the more clearly so as it’s dark, and the twinkling lights of the city are unmistakably clear. We hit the ground at exactly 22:35, and begin our taxi to the gate. I’m enthused about the likelihood of actually making my next flight. The lovely Grace assures me that I’ll make it. I’m not saying I don’t believe her, but I’ve been mugged off by cabin crew about transit times before.

What follows is one of those *sodding typical* set of circumstances that only ever happen when you’re in a rush:

1) The aircraft taxi is to the furthest possible gate. We pass countless empty gates along the way. We go so far that I wonder if we’re gonna end up with bus to the terminal, but no - it’s THE last main gate of the terminal.
2) The jetway is achingly close to the door of the plane, but no one is operating it. I can see some people generally gadding about, but not doing anything. None look like the jetway is their responsibility.
3) YES! The gate we pulled up at is actually RIGHT next door to the transit security area.
4) NO! Kenya Airways cabin crew keep pushing in front of me in the security area, telling me, “Flight to catch.” ME ALSO. When I remonstrate, I’m roundly ignored. When I indicate to the security dude that I have a rapidly decreasing number of minutes to catch my next flight, he shrugs at me. TIA.
5) Through security! My flight is showing final call. As long as it’s not the absolute furthest away gate, I should be fine.
6) It’s the absolute furthest away gate, isn’t it? Of course it is. I set off at the closest I can get to a sprint carrying my bags, and avoiding careering into other people in the terminal. It’s 23:10, and the gate apparently closes in 10 minutes.
7) I arrive to the gate, throw myself through the door, and find…. A gate lounge full to bursting of passengers looking overheated and thoroughly bored. The flight is delayed - only by 20 minutes. This is information that would have been great to have had about 30 minutes ago.Read more