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Day 2: Watamu to Kilaguni, 17 February 2020
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Rogier and Marjan Quekel, Mercedes-Benz 280SE
Today we were sharing the road with the locals
The rally shared these roads, running through the park,
with a smattering of zebra, countless gazelle and antelope,
and a generous helping of elephants covered in the most
amazing red dust.
We were almost at half-time now and most of us thought
we’d put in a solid premiership performance so, by the time
the lunch halt and Time Control in Aruba Lodge arrived,
pretty much everyone had something to talk about over
another excellent buffet. And, between preparing some
really superb food, many of kitchen staff also sneaked out
to grab a quick selfie with the car of their choice.
The second half of the day took us into Champions
League territory. The dust got redder, the roads became
more challenging, and the wildlife became more exotic,
including giraffe, wild dogs, monkeys and baboons.
A Passage Control and regroup in the bustling town of
Voi allowed the crews to fill their tanks and take on some
more cold drinks before they deftly slotted into the Tsavo
West National Park for the last 70 km of the game which
were described by some as being “magnificent”.
By mid afternoon we were so deep into the bush that,
as well as the wildlife, our only companions were the
Kenyan anti poaching patrols, who do such an amazing
job of protecting their precious wildlife from the assorted
miscreants who have malign designs upon them. Armed to
the teeth and ever vigilant, these stealthy safari sentinels
took time out from their duties to wave and cheer the cars
along the ever narrowing tracks.
Some crews may have harboured doubts about where
they were actually going as they skipped along this remote
stretch of hillside. Soon their faith was rewarded as the
minute they drove into the Kilaguni Serena Lodge and
swept through the reception, they arrived at the vast raised
terrace overlooking the hills, two water holes and a thick
forest beyond. This backdrop, impressive enough by day
was to prove even more so after dark with an elephant /
hyena face off top of the bill over dinner.
By the close of play today nobody left the pitch
disappointed, although one or two had managed to pick
up a couple of ‘injuries’. David and Jo Roberts for example
limped into camp with a collapsed rear suspension unit.
The sweep team of Jamie Turner and Andy Inskip worked
late into the night to get it fixed.
Charles Stuart-Menteth experienced starter motor
problems throughout the afternoon leaving him needing
the occasional push from park wardens and fellow
competitors. He admitted, “it’s not really a rally unless
you’ve had a breakdown and sorted something out by the
side of the road”.
The FJ40 Landcruiser of Bernd and Christiane
Dannenmaier ran out of fuel this afternoon, luckily they
had enough in their jerrycans to get them through to the
next stop and arrived safely at the lodge in plenty of time
to enjoy the superb sunset.
Most of us will be up early tomorrow to get a glimpse of
Kilimanjaro before we set out again for another epic slice
of safari rallying.
Gerardus Mercator, Dispatch reporter
www.rallytheglobe.com
