This blog’s a solo effort – Nik shares her experience of what was for her one of the toughest days she’s experienced.

In the last blog we’d arrived at the first campsite, at the end of the first day of trekking. Just three days since we’d left Blighty and, as predicted, despite the good hygiene practices and not sharing our snacks, a few of the team mates had been got by the dreaded travellers’ sickness bug. I, on the other hand, was feeling fighting fit and pleased to have started the walking part of the trip. I was feeling excited about the adventures ahead and ready to blitz my fears.

My two biggest fears about the trek were sleep deprivation and getting sick. But I was also a little apprehensive about the idea of camping out with all the exotic creepy crawlies. Especially after our unwanted visitation from scorpions and cockroaches at our comfy hotels! However, I was pleasantly distracted by the sight of what looked like mattresses piled up in the middle of the camp. And even more elated when we were  invited to take one each for our tents. Perhaps sleep deprivation will be off the cards completely 🙂

Once settled into camp, the lovely Kristine ran a yoga class for us. It was a fantastic way of stretching and chilling out and I felt fantastic afterwards. All was good in camp.

The apperitifs came out, the banter resumed and we all watched with interest at the bush fires far away on the mountainside – seeing them come to life, then the embers fade away.

I still really don’t understand what happened next, but I quickly went from being in a very relaxed state to getting a nagging feeling of nausea at the pit of my stomach. Birthday celebrations for one of our camp mates, Jade, were kicking off in the big tent with balloons, cakes and candles. I was gutted to miss it but thought it best to get in my pj’s, get some rest on my lovely mattress and hope I felt better the next day.

Moments later I dashed out the tent and ran towards the toilet area, a sudden burst of vomit violently exploding from the depth of my guts. Thinking that was all that was needed, I returned to the tent to get some shut eye. A short while later the erruptive feeling returned and I had to get myself out the tent ASAP. This time I only just made it through the (silent) zips and deposited on the tent door step!

After cleaning up I’m sure I felt much better, so back to bed to get some rest for the big ascent tomorrow. Sadly the rest of the night and morning was spent in and out of the tent, emptying from both ends. Our lovely leader, Helen, came out to check on me and gave me her tent mat so I could sit and recover away from the stinking toilet area, in between bursts, knowing that going back to the tent wasn’t an option.

It’s funny how at that point I really didn’t give a monkeys about any creepy crawlies deciding to join me on the mat. I just wanted this feeling of sickness to go away. I’m sure all my camp mates did too, as I must have disturbed their sleep with my incessant honking – which some of you know sounds just like a velociraptor on a loud speaker system!

I even got used to the squat toilet during my ordeal – well I certainly got plenty of practice!!!

I was surprised to find myself waking up at dawn, back in the tent. Finally the nauseous feeling had abated and I was so relieved, like I had a new lease of life.

As the rest of the camp awoke others were clearly suffering in the same way, so there was plenty of company at the toilets. There was breakfast but my appetite was completely shot and my mouth was so dry it was futile trying to eat anything.

The plan for the early morning was  a walk to see some waterfalls. I was feeling really weak but didn’t want to miss out. The walk was tough, the heat was ramping up and it was frustrating after all of my training that I wasn’t able to keep the pace, especially with the constant dashes into the bushes.

We visited the King and Queen waterfalls. The Queen was the only one actually falling as the King was currently dry. Apparently during the rainy season the King waterfall is majestic. The waters are regarded as sacred and locals believe swimming in the water will help infertile couples to conceive.

It was definitely worth the effort (to see the waterfall, obviously not to swim in the river!). On the way back Chris walked with me and provided cover for the many toilet stops, which meant we were last back into camp. It took every effort to just keep moving forward and that was just the start of the day.

The rest of the day was a long trek to the base camp for a Pic Boby. It was a scorchio day and a long, steep climb. I was feeling drained but determined to get through it. There were several other members of the group suffering with illness and so we stuck together at the back and the amazing guides helped by offering to carry my day bag.

The ascent was relentless and I was really struggling. As long as I took regular breaks though I was able to push through, Thankfully there were often stops as the guides would point out an amazing plant or animal. A real highlight was a close up and personal encounter with a chameleon, which put a big cheesy grin on my face.

Once we reached the plateau things were easier but I was still struggling. I told Chris to go on ahead as I had good support from the other poorly crew. We stopped for lunch at a small water spot. Chris and others went for a swim and a wash but I couldn’t risk going in, or eating much as everything was going straight through me.

The afternoon was a walk through amazing scenery as we worked our way to base camp. After a few hours we could see the camp ahead but that final trek was very tough for me. I had to pull on every reserve to keep going and it was so frustrating having to stop and get the energy and grit to keep going,

We eventually made it and I headed straight to the tent to crash out, too exhausted to even find the energy to get to the camp toilet.

The plan was to have a rest for a few hours before setting off at 2 am to climb to the top of Pic Boby to watch the sun rise. I was exhausted – even zebus need to sleep!

The trek had been amazing but I felt wiped and as I nodded off I thought that this was definitely the most difficult day of the trip.

Little was I to know what was to come.