Monday 27^th July 1964 saw us at RAF Khormaksar Air Movements section waiting to board the Beverley aircraft that would be taking us to Kenya. The scout contingent consisted mainly of boys from the 1^st Khormaksar ‘B’ troop and a handful of us from the 1^st Khormaksar Senior Scouts.

Twenty minutes before take-off we boarded the RAF coach that took us to the aircraft. Lots of excited chatter could be heard as we were all looking forward to a break from Aden during the hot season and our aircraft took off spot on time at 7:00 a.m.

After climbing to 10,000 feet the aircraft set course for Djibuti and for the next four and a half hours we experienced life in the lower deck(cargo) area of the Beverley. It was an extremely cold and noisy experience as we were only dressed in our lightweight Aden uniforms and our warmer clothing was in our rucsacs which had been secured elsewhere in the aircraft. The noise came from the propeller driven engines of the aircraft which were situated close to the cargo area and we had to shout to each other to be heard.

An hour’s flying saw us crossing over Djibuti and 20 minutes later we were overhead Aisciarist in Ethiopia. At odd intervals we were allowed to sit in the observation dome which was situated in the nose of the aircraft. We had a commanding view from here and were fascinated by the desolate countryside beneath us. We seemed to be following a dirt road across a huge area of scrubland that had the odd mountain or two dotted about the very rich red soil. The road that we were following was the only one in existence and could be seen wending it’s way across the Ethiopian plains for miles and miles ahead of us.

We whiled away the journey by alternating between sitting in the observation dome and playing cards. Card playing was somewhat restricted though as our hands were so cold that we had difficulty holding the cards. Two and a quarter hours after taking off from Khormaksar we crossed the border between Ethiopia & Kenya and, after another hour and 45 minutes, we proudly crossed the Equator on the 39°55’ East meridian. Half an hour later we descended through the cloud on the final approach to RAF Eastleigh near Nairobi. The green grass and brick buildings beneath us brought back memories of England and, as we taxied to the dispersal area, the rear doors of the Beverley were opened and a wave of fresh cool air hit us. The similarity of the climate to the English one was completed when we noticed that it had just stopped raining at Eastleigh.

Sitting on the coach that took us to Customs clearance, Charlie Sims and I thought we were talking to each other but we were told afterwards that we were in fact shouting at each other. This was undoubtedly due to the fact that the noise of the aircraft’s engines being our constant companion for four and a half hours had temporarily deafened us.

Whilst waiting for the transport that would take us to the Rowallan Park scout camp, we spent some time looking at real green grass again and were fascinated by how it felt to walk on it once more. The transport consisted of two 3-ton lorries. One was assigned to the ‘B’ troop scouts and the Sea Scouts, the other was assigned to the Senior Scouts and the baggage. When we travelled to camp in Aden we were accustomed to riding in open topped 3-ton lorries. Consequently, we thought nothing of it when the Eastleigh lorries had an open front to their tops. The freezing cold breeze that ensued as we drove along soon reminded us of our recent flight though and once again, our hands became so cold that we couldn’t move them.

Unloading the baggage at Rowallan Park soon warmed us up and, after ‘B’ troop had been assigned to the tents that had already been pitched for them, we began setting up our own camp. By early evening we had finished so we spent an hour or so planning the activities that we would be carrying out during our stay. Wearily, we sank into our sleeping bags some 18 hours after our day had begun.

The next two days were spent improving our camp site and familiarising ourselves with the local area. The most enjoyable aspect of the familiarisation was embarking on an organised safari in the Nairobi National Game Park. It was a unique experience to see wild animals in their natural environment and we were suitably awed by it.

The third day in camp saw us setting off on what should have been a two day hike. The end result was that we completed an 18 mile circular route 7,000 feet up in the Mguga rain forest in the pouring rain.

We became dab hands at catching the "Dagaretti corner" bus into and out of Nairobi. The radiator was situated inside the bus next to the driver and on one occasion when the radiator overheated, the conductor decided to remove the cap to resolve the problem. The ensuing spout of hot hissing water terrified the locals who were on board, especially when droplets of the hot water landed on their skin. The bus rocked violently as the locals stampeded in an effort to evacuate the bus via the door and windows. With only one door available and all the windows barred over(just like the Aden buses) it’s a wonder that nobody was injured. Typically English, the scouts sat quietly while all this was going on and an elderly English gentleman on the back seat was calmly shouting "don’t panic, don’t panic".

The rain was a major feature of this camp. Tropical downpours were commonplace and after we had been in camp for a week, one particularly heavy downpour caused havoc. We were returning to the camp at the time and within minutes the ground turned rapidly from red mud, to a red quagmire and then to a series of red gushing streams. In our desert boots and Aden uniforms, we were hopelessly incapable of dealing with the elements. The ferocity of the downpour made it impossible to see and the high grasses only added to our problems. We fell over constantly and soon became disorientated. It took a long time for us to eventually find our way again and, on arriving back at the camp, we found torrents of water pouring through the tents. We spent that night sleeping on a pile of wet groundsheets and although we had hung our uniforms up to dry in the tent, they were still wet and freezing cold at 4:00 a.m. the next morning when we had to don them for another safari trip.

To offset the discomfort, we put a layer of warm dry clothing on underneath the uniform first. Not the best option but it was a good compromise. I guess it was seen by the leader as a test of how resourceful we were but things are very different in the Scout Movement these days and events like this would not be allowed to happen now.

We journeyed that day to Amboseli Game Park and enjoyed our last opportunity to view the various species of animals. The sheer size of the plains, the wake of red dust that billowed out behind the transport and the splendour of travelling through mountainous scrubland on our return journey to the camp site all added to the memories of that camp that remain in my mind to this day.

Our leader returned to Aden 48 hours ahead of us so that he could organise our flights back. That same day the ‘B’ troop scouts were billeted in a nearby barracks as their site had been completely washed out by the recent storms. The Senior Scouts remained on site and in the afternoon, we had to deal with an invasion of soldier ants. The immediate priority was to rescue all of our kit from the tent. It was a painful experience. Pulling the ants off your legs was easy. What we hadn’t bargained on though was the fact that when you pulled the ants off, you only pulled their bodies off. Their heads remained stuck into your flesh and continued to bite and chomp their way in. Removing the dead heads later was also painful as they had to be dug out with a sharp implement and they’d begun to fester. It was during this rescue mission that we discovered why the ants had invaded us in the first place. The storms of the previous two days had forced a "herd" of caterpillars into the tent for warmth and shelter. The ants couldn’t believe their luck as caterpillars are one of their luxury diets. Consequently we were invaded, but a sea of caterpillars writhing in agony as they were being devoured wasn't a pretty sight.

We spent that night in another tent and the next day it was difficult to comprehend that eight hours earlier we were under siege. No sign of an ant, no sign of a caterpillar(they’d all been eaten!) and any personal items that hadn’t been removed were completely intact and undisturbed.

Our last day in Kenya saw us visiting the cinema and we were impressed when every single person in the cinema stood at attention when the Kenyan national flag was flown prior to the film starting. On return to the camp we set about dismantling the various camp gadgets that we had constructed during our stay. The site warden inherited a goodly amount of equipment that was no longer required and early the next day we were in the barracks where the ‘B’ troop scouts had been billeted. A good wash was followed by a decent meal and we listened enviously to stories of being able to sleep on soft beds, watching television and enjoying sumptuous meals.

An Argosy aircraft had been sent from Aden to pick up some freight at RAF Eastleigh. This aircraft had enough space to accommodate our party and, on receiving the order to board, the younger scouts literally ran to the aircraft. It seemed ironic that Aden was more popular than Kenya. We took off in the early part of the afternoon along a mud runway and two and a half hours later we were 236 miles west of Giggiga in Ethiopia at 13,000 feet. We experienced some turbulent weather over Djibuti and this turned out to be the edge of a large storm that was also affecting Aden. The pilot decided to press on to Aden rather than land at Djibuti though but it took four attempts before we finally touched down at RAF Khormaksar in a sandstorm.

In retrospect, the 11 day camp in Kenya was a good experience for us. We had lived in the company of Baboons that raided our store tent, been bitten by an army of soldier ants, survived numerous tropical downpours, got lost several times in the local forest only to find our way out each time, experienced the African way of life and learnt a great deal about tolerance of others. We had enhanced our ability to adapt and to be flexible. We had also become very proficient at using our initiative and being resourceful. All of these qualities will have undoubtedly stood us in good stead in later life and, rather than view it is an experience in it’s own right, I view it as an extension to the experiences that we all had whilst out in Aden. Would I go to Kenya again? Strangely enough I did, but that’s another story!