Thirty first birthday on the road, and how am I spending it? Picking up seven people from Nairobi and taking the back to Arusha to get on a truck and then going back to the workshop, to spend the night with my boss. If you think that sounds like a crappy birthday, believe me when I say, you have no idea.

I left the camp at 6:30am and got a hotel organized taxi to the Heron hotel to meet my small group. Even though the price was agreed upon with the camp, the cab driver still tried to rip me off…great start to the day.

I managed to find all my clients, but alas for me the café at the hotel was closed, so no breakfast for me. I put them all on the shuttle and then fell asleep, almost all the way to the border. I got them all off the shuttle, got them through two lots of immigration and then back on the shuttle.

We arrived at the Shoprite, which was the meeting point and I told the clients they had two hours to go get food and change money, because their truck was in the workshop having its brakes changed. I've always said this, the back of house running of a tour should never affect the passengers experience. It's the mark of a professional company, I already know these guys aren't professional in the slightest. The passengers all went into the nearest exchange place and Dave immediately pulled me to one side and had a go at me for letting them go in there when there is a better rate at the place around the corner. (Geez my physic powers and X-ray vision must be malfunctioning today)….by the way happy birthday Kristina.

I met up with Sydney again, Dave had informed she needed to pay $120 for a village tour at Kilimanjaro. She said, ok, but that they had only walked her around the village for two hours and said nothing to her. I thought maybe Dave had meant 120 000 Shillings and he said he would call and confirm. Leaving me waiting around the other truck for a few hours. In the end, I decided to give Wycliff, the other tour leader a hand with the shopping, at least then I couldn't be accused of doing nothing.

After the shopping was organized and the other truck had turned up, we transferred everything over to Makako, the truck I had been fixing up in Vic Falls and who should get off the truck, but Mugo. It was the best birthday present I could ever have gotten, a familiar face. I basically launched myself at him and gave him the biggest hug and had a chat with him, he wished me a happy birthday and told me I should come to Snake Park and have a drink. I said I would love to but that Dave probably wouldn't allow it. I don't think Mugo could ever comprehend how pleased I actually was to see him, after two weeks of bulls*** and hostility. Even seeing George's bike still attached to the back of the truck, brought out a welcome giggle, I can't even remember when I last had a good laugh.

When the truck was all packed up, I gave Mugo one final hug and jumped in the cab of the holding truck and went back to the workshop, without even asking Dave, who as usual had given me no instructions. I sent him a text telling him what I'd done.

I got home and Graham, Dave's friend from Zimbabwe was cooking an amazing chicken curry, wonderful birthday dinner for me. We opened a bottle of wine and put Red Dwarf on and ate our awesome curry. It was a good thing I didn't wait for Dave as he got home at about 10pm, with Natshja who had arrived by bus from Dar es Salaam. Graham and I stayed up looking at old trip photos until the early hours of the morning, hes about Dave's age and has spent his life overlanding so I find him very interesting, particularly his trip through Syria, he was especially fascinated with my Libya photos, as he has always wanted to go. I went to bed hoping for a better day tomorrow.