Sensible 7:30am breakfast of toast and omelette, then we were away by 8:15. Just as we were leaving, Andy asked Goodluck if he had his phone - he had forgotten it on the way up. He replied that indeed he had it. Of course this was irresistible so I too enquired about the phone. He smiled and confirmed that yes indeed he had the phone. Pete quickly picked up the thread and also asked him. This amused all and Goodluck took it in the spirit it was intended by enjoying the joke with us all. The descent was easy, sometimes in slight cloud. As we neared the low plain, our guide Goodluck wondered if we wanted to see the giraffe close up - of course! He took us on a small trail which emerged almost on top of a family of five who allowed us to get really close to them - awesome. We could also see groups of buffalo and wart hogs although we didn't venture too close.

Soon enough, we were back at the Ranger Station. The 'tip' ceremony was next on the list. This is where all the porters, cooks, table waiters and so on get their 'optional' tips. I don't mind the process because without them it would be impossible and for the most part we don't see them at all. I'm fairly happy to tip someone who has carried my bags up and down the mountain and someone who has cooked and looked after me and to be honest, I can't think of any other way to do it than each of us putting in a fixed amount and the leader dividing it up. Porters get $20, the senior staff slightly more. That done and the bus arrived which took the exact 28 minutes they said it would, we all piled in for the trip back to the hotel. Just as we got on, we were given our lunch packs so greedily scoffed those down, or as best we could on the bumpy road.

Passing through shanty towns was interesting with something going on wherever we looked, including, as we discovered later, millet tossing on huge sheets to dry it, which was then mixed with banana to make a kind of bread - sounded nice!

We soon arrived at the hotel and got our rooms. A young girl carried my bags up for me and I joked with the reception that I would need to be carried up as well. These people are so strong I wouldn't put it past them. The other thing that strikes me about the people here is that they are all so happy and everything is fun - we Brits miss out a lot there.

Of course, I soon made a mess of my room emptying everything out to rearrange and re-sort for the second part of the adventure. Clothes washing, battery charging, personal washing and more sorting, followed by a quick phone call home, then it was beer o'clock. The afternoon was spent reading, relaxing and watching the rain which came down in buckets. All in all, as Andy, our leader suggested, totally underachieving.

Eventually it was dinner time which was a slow affair. I had steak which seemed to cause some problems. Most others had burgers and had almost finished by the time mine arrived. It was nice though. I followed it by banana split which was a banana split in two with two scoops of ice cream - not very inventive it has to be said. After dinner I managed to connect to the hotel wi-fi so downloaded all my emails and other rubbish before retiring for the night about 10pm.