On the road again for several hours to pass close by the Ugandan border
and then to head East to Marich Pass in the Cherangani Hills.
This is
a stunning landscape very different from the Rift Valley in Southern
Kenya. Despite the flora the scenery is not dissimilar in character
to the Llanberis Pass in North Wales, albeit the mountains here are a
bit, no a lot higher. We had passed into the West Pokot region through
Kenyan Army check points where heavily armed guards gave us close and
sullen scrutiny. Paul and Harmon had worked this area for many years
without incident, but it is renowned for armed conflict between disputing
tribes. I was to learn more about this in the next few days.
We arrived
at the Marich Pass Lodge, where Harmon had struck a deal with the
owner. Once a farm, the lodge is now a conservancy area, which has already
helped the elephant population increase and was shortly to introduce
rhino to its many acres. The lodge earns revenue from tourism, however
guests are currently denied access to some picturesque scenery and
abundant wildlife, which lies on the other side of a nearby river. The
local community also need a bridge in this area and so the lodge owner
agreed to pay the full price to have one constructed. The profit from
this bridge would go a long way towards the cost of another bridge desperately
needed some miles North. Add to that the fact that we were to enjoy
free accommodation here, then I would say Harmon struck a pretty good
deal.
After a very comfortable night’s rest and a conservative
breakfast we ambled some 600 metres down to the bridge site. This was
a recovery job. The fittings for the bridge had been poorly manufactured,
yet had already been set in foundations. Non of the eye holes on the
bridge posts lined up, neither did the anchor point bolt holes. In fact
the holes had been cut by a welding torch, which apart from making a
complete mess of a 5/8” diameter hole had also case hardened the
steel. Holes that don’t line up or are too small? this is bread
and butter stuff for us! Out came the files and angle grinders and in
no time at all the fittings were good. Stringing the cables proved difficult
though, because somehow the sightings and sums had got messed up too.
As a consequence we heaved and released the cables many times to pinch
a bit from one side to give to the other. It got done in the end, but
it really was a laborious and difficult heaving job.
It was an 8 mile trip by vehicle
to get to the other side of the bridge and although our team had
split to do work on either side, by the end of the day we were all assembled
on the lodge side. It came to light that the post saddle safety bolts
had not been fitted on the far side, but dusk was looming and it
was not viable to drive all that way to put things right. This was the
very time of day that the hippos emerge from the water to graze and
are at their most dangerous. We had work to do the next day with no room
for change, so this problem had to be resolved now. We stood in a semi
circle and I firmly plomped my palm on Rob South’s stout shoulder announcing “We
need someone brave, strong and adventurous to solve this one...don’t
we Rob?” Robert still has vivid memories of his initial officer
training, and so after only the slightest hesitance came a nervous: “I’m
up for it!” Rob was secured to one of the cables by a hitch and
strap, his body was taped with tools, a safety line attached to his harness
and he shimmied across. He fitted the nuts and bolts at breakneck speed
and this brave young Officer sat back and enjoyed the leisurely haul
to safety over treacherous waters. Once finished, we loaded up again
and headed for our next destination. |
