7am and the 15 of us were on our way to Hells Gate National Park on our bikes. 5 miles from Fisherman’s Camp where we were staying – we finally all got to the park entrance where we were all dying, almost 3 weeks of no exercise to high altitude biking was a little extreme and this was only the beginning.
Hells Gate being the inspiration for Lion King, where scenes from Tomb Raider was filmed we were all pretty pumped. We rode into the park and it was absolutely stunning. Lush and green everything contrasted with the red rock of the towering cliffs on either side. The 15 of us rode down the winding sandy roads while being covered in dust. Riding along beside Zebras, Impala, Warthogs, Gazelle and Buffalo was a pretty cool experience. Our first stop at the bottom of a hill where Joseph our guide for the day – an ex-army guy, led us up to the top of the hill where we came across a cave where a leopard lives – bones scattered all around the opening of the cave was a dead giveaway. The views from the top were incredible and could see forever.
Back on the bike for about 15 minutes and I wiped out hard.. Full yard sale – scraped my elbow, knee and cut my hand. Covered in dust and back on our way we made it to the picnic area for lunch. We hiked from here through Hells Gate Gorge which was stunning. Hot springs coming from the towering cliffs on either side. Finally to the infamous pride rock a 15 minute hike up the side of the hill we were all encouraged not to look back until we were at the top. At the top it was totally worth the wait and everything that I expected, views for miles, green for as far as you can see with protruding red cliffs. Blasting the Circle of Life at the top completed the experience. I could have sat up there for hours just taking in the views.
We hopped back on our bikes to make our way back to the Fisherman’s Camp. I didn’t think I was going to be able to make it back – 3 hours on the bike already and we had another 1 and a half to go. We finally got back to the camp and we all raced for the showers to rinse off the tans we thought we had. I thought I was getting a great tan but no it was just dust from the road.
A great day in Hells Gate and of physical exhaustion – we had our first North American meal since we’ve been here. Penne arrabata and a few Tuskers was a perfect end to the day.
(Blog written by Erin from her 6 weeks in East Africa)
