The Specialised Team prepared a feast that evening and everybody commented on the mouthwatering steak they served us. Janco and Steff selflessly drove back to Manchester FC Tavern for some beers. Great bunch of people and a memorable night around the fire.
Hardy briefed us about Steff at the start of this trip. Steff apparently has an aversion for big cats, snakes, elephants........and the list goes on. Hardy and Janco were hell bent on exploiting his phobias on this trip. They would put rubber snakes in his bed, make fake lion spoor in the sand and zip tie his tent zippers shut while playing while playing animal sounds over the car stereo. When we woke up the next morning and there was talk of Leopard spoor in the camp, I initially laughed it of as another of Hardy's pranks, designed to unnerve Steff.
Further investigation showed large leopard track around the camp from the previous night. I was genuinely unsettled by this as Dwerg and I (and the rest of the guys and girls) had been sleeping out in the open with no barrier to protect is from a possible attack. And then it dawned on us...... we all had Barry to thank for still being alive as I'm almost dead certain that his violent snoring deterred the bloodthirsty predator. I wanted to run up to Barry and hug him, but he had clearly distanced himself from me since I rode over him on Heartbreak Hill.
Worried faces?
eepwall:
