PETERHOUSE
NOSTALGIA
PETERHOUSE
NOSTALGIA
A party of fifteen girls and two members of staff, Reg and Martha Querl, travelled to Kenya to undertake the December 1996 Hockey Tour. The Tour consisted of five matches over eight days followed by a couple of days at the coast.
Hillcrest
The flight went well and we were duly met by the Hillcrest matatu which took us to the school. We were met there by our respective hosts with whom we were to stay for the next five days. Some hit it off well; others not so well, but it is an integral part of touring - coping with and experiencing other people's way of life.
Sunday, Ist December, was spent with hosts - some at home and others off to the lake and polo.
Monday, 2nd December, the day of our first match against Imani School, was spent doing some shopping, experiencing Biashara Street and the market. Some excellent deals were struck and the girls seemed very pleased with their purchases. After a rather hasty meal at the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Nairobi, we set off to Imani School for our first match on a clay pitch. The school is in the heart of Pineapple Country. They had, in fact, broken up on the day of our match, but were keen to play us anyway. It was a fairly straight forward game with a lot of rolling substitution which enabled everyone to have a good run on the first day. The result was 8-0 with goals from Kim (2), Lisa, Kate, Eunice (2), Moreblessing and Charity. The Imani girls and staff were very hospitable and are very keen to undertake a tour to Zimbabwe in 1997.
Tuesday, 3rd December, saw us undertake a visit to a tea estate and factory both very interesting places with the history dating back to the early 1900's. We had a lovely lunch on the lawns of Mrs Mitchell's house (her father brought the first tea seeds to Kenya from India) before heading back for our match against Hillcrest. It was quite a tense game with the Peterhouse girls starting off rather poorly. It was an enormous field and not very even and so they struggled to settle. Hillcrest were very fired up and caught the girls napping at the beginning of the game. The Second half came together better and we eventually won the game 3-0. Goals from Moreblessing and Eunice (2). The game was followed by a braai at the school for the teams, hosted by parents and staff.
Wednesday, 4th December, was to be spent in and around Nairobi with our match against State House Girls in the morning. It was a nice change not to be having a longish journey in our matatu! The field was also on the large side but we soon got the feel of playing the ball wide with some good goals coming from Eunice (4), Kim (2) and Paula. The final score being 7-1 after being 2-1 up at half time. All credit to State House who put up a very creditable performance. After the game we spent an enjoyable time at the Giraffe Manor where we had a picnic lunch, a talk by the education officer and, of course, feeding and watching the giraffe.
Thursday, 5th December, we set off for our next stop at St Andrew's School in Turi - a five hour drive towards the N.W part of Kenya. It was a scenic drive - Lake Naivasha, Nakuru and others along the way as well as spectacular views of the Rift Valleys. St Andrew's High School has been in existence for nine years although their primary school has been going since the 1960's. It was quite picturesque with lovely gardens and view of the highlands. It was a good fast game - once again everyone got a good chance to play, especially our younger members as their team was young - the school only goes up to Form 4. We ran out 8-0 winners and our only real injury on the Tour - Bridget with a cut above the eye. Goals from Eunice (3), Charity (2), Kim (2) and Bridget.
Friday, 6th December, we left St Andrew's after breakfast and travelled to Elsamere - a conservation education centre on the shores of Lake Naivasha which is located on the property of the late Joy Adamson and was left to the Elsa Trust for the purposes of education and conservation.
Saturday, 7th December, we took a packed lunch and left the centre around mid morning after a browse through the very interesting Adamson museum, after which we visited the Crater Lake and we took a short drive through the nearby game park. We also visited a craft and weaving place in the area before taking a slow drive back to Nairobi, stopping at a lookout point on the edge of the Rift Valley. On arrival back at Hillcrest the girls were collected by their hosts for their last night in Nairobi.
Martha Querl
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