Pushing the Bus In Kenyan Highlands

Africa holds my heart, and I cannot get enough of it. I was planning another trip for 2017, and friends wanted to come. Our third time in East Africa would be their first safari and voyage there. I selected a tour in Kenya that included two rescue places in Nairobi for October of that year.

Our ten-day itinerary included lunch at the Aberdare Country Club in the Highlands. The three vehicles of our tour group drove up an unimproved road, the jeeps rocking in deep ruts and the tires hitting large rocks. We arrived at a gate, and our tour director, Daniel, who drove our jeep, said they could not drive us up to the country club. We had to be taken by employees, and our guides would pick us up after lunch.

Originally built around 1936 by an English couple who wanted to raise their family there, the country club's homesite and grounds were called The Steep. Their children sold it in 1970, and new owners turned it into a country club. It is now a Kenyan heritage site.

The entire facility was updated in 2020 when Marasa Holdings took over. They updated the decor, all the rooms and furnishings, the bar, and the restaurant but kept the English countryside manor exterior look the same. There is a nine-hole golf course on a wildlife sanctuary of 1300 acres, which they fully restored. The golf club considers baboons a natural hazard as they sometimes run off with the golf balls landing near them.

The stone manor was charming, with its covered verandah and stone outbuildings. We all were served a buffet lunch in the manor house; afterward, we had a little time to explore the grounds on the hillside in pleasant weather. Shortly after, we and some of the Club's guests boarded a bus for a short area tour.

"Do you want to see a giraffe?" The driver, George, called out in the little English he knew as he stopped the bus facing a field. Everyone in the back was in their twenties and thirties and yelled YES in response. 

I thought, "No, I don't want to see a giraffe while on a bus; please don't drive into the field!"

He drove the bus off the road, and we bumped along over ruts, rocks, and small grassy mounds to some shrubbery, where he stopped and turned off the engine. He pointed to a mother and baby giraffe.

We took photos and "oohed" at the lovely scene, but we only heard clicks when George turned the ignition to restart the bus. No matter how he tried, it wouldn't start. We told him to use his radio and call for help, but his radio wasn't working either.

My retired Army husband and I looked at each other. I know what you think. We were on the grounds of a golf country club, but this is Africa, for crying out loud. There are wild, dangerous animals, and we had no idea which ones reside here. Between the six of us friends, a plan was made. The men would push the bus to jump-start it.

"EVERYONE OUT of the bus!"

One young woman in her sundress wandered off behind bushes, taking photos. My husband and I called her back: "Come back here to the bus. Animals are everywhere, and we don't know what is hiding in the shrubs." Startled, she scooted quickly back.

Geesh, do we have to act as wise adults ALL the time? In our neighborhood, we always text the neighbors at midnight when we notice their garage door is still open! In Kenya, we supervised and corralled tourists who thought the wildlife was okay to approach.

George got in the driver's seat; the guys would push and signal him when to pop the clutch to start the truck. They tried three times, but it still wouldn't start.

Annoyed now, we commented that George would be in trouble. One of our friends was angry at us for this comment, saying she wanted to give him some "grace." We responded that this was Africa, not a city, and the driver was responsible for us. He should have checked the vehicle and made sure the radio worked.

George climbed out of the bus and looked at me. I KNEW what he was thinking. He started to roll up one pant leg and looked at me again. I nodded at him. He rolled up the other one and conveyed with sign language that he would run back to the manor and get help.

"Yes, George, go ahead! Go get help. We will wait right here by the bus." He left the door open so we could sit in it if we desired, and the six-foot man took off running.

About fifteen minutes later, a bus arrived with George as a passenger. We were all driven back to the manor and surprised to find our safari jeeps parked in front of it. We climbed into our assigned vehicles, and I told Daniel what had happened. He was visibly annoyed upon learning of the breakdown and mumbled that George would most likely get relieved of his driving duties.

At home, I posted photos and videos on Facebook. A man who had worked for my husband in the Army commented, "Now you know better than to get into a vehicle you have not yourself inspected!" That gave us big laughs all around.

Copyright © 5/23/2024 by Andrea O. Corwin

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