Batu, Carmen, Willy, Jade, Jayla, Sofie, Sanne, Calvin and Kate rose up early on a cool, dark morning to find the equator. We left at 6 am in Steve's van with Kate, Calvin and Willy in the back row (the naughty ones).

Because it was way earlier than everyone's usual wake up time, most people slept for much of the journey north to Nanyuki, the equatorial town of Kenya. It took about 4 hours of driving through rolling hills, green farms, banana plantations and views of a shrouded Mt Kenya. Van seats aren't the most comfortable, especially the ones at the back which are more upright than the others.

At one point in the trip, Kate, who was seated in the middle between Calvin and Willy, was trying to catch some sleep when all of sudden, she felt a pinch on her bottom. Willy was fast asleep and accidentally pinched Kate in his sleep - it was so randomly funny! He somehow noticed and apologised half asleep before waking up and discovering what he accidentally did!

We arrived at the equator! A relatively small sign on the side of the road advised where the equator was and was surrounded by about 25 curio shops selling souvenirs. As soon as the van stopped, the men from the shops surrounded the van making us promise to visit their shop after visiting the equator. One of the men had a water jug and a bowl with a hole in it to demonstrate the different ways the water flowed down depending on which hemisphere we were in. Right on the equator, the water actually flowed straight down! Batu had always wanted to do this since he was a kid and saw a man on TV doing the same thing - dream achieved today.

There wasn't much to do in Nanyuki but we did stop for a bite to eat at Dormans, a nice western cafe - lots of mzungus around.

On the way back home, we tried to find some pineapples at what we thought was a pineapple farm. Unfortunately, it was just a shop front that sold canned pineapple and juice from pineapple concentrate. But we did find some roadside hawkers who sold us 3 large, ripe and delicious pineapples for $2!

The 5 hour bumpy, hot and traffic ridden drive home was very uncomfortable but we finally made it home and the amazing Willy cooked us rice and beans/lentils for dinner.

Carmen, Batu. Calvin and Willy played presidents and aresholes in the evening - Calvin made it to presidency before retiring for the night.