FUN IN THE SUN

Err… the only thing missing was the sun, because it rained.

It started out as a warm sunshiny day. A big group of people in teal coloured t-shirts were gathered at one of the pergolas waiting in excited anticipation for the event of the year (the proof lies in the fact that for the past two weeks at least, if you met someone else and intended to have some small talk, the obvious fodder for conversation would include: A) who you are bringing along for the event; B) what do you plan to wear (obviously the teal coloured t-shirt is compulsory, but what goes with it is entirely up to you which gave some people the notion that maybe you didn’t have to wear anything with it!) C) Memories from two years ago)

After a rather hurried officiating, a commonplace breakfast and a hilarious conversation with a child, we were gathered again to watch some games that were organized including a particularly funny one that went by the name lay an egg. It seemed as though everything was rushed through, compared to the program that was provided to us, and lunch and the grand lucky draw was unceremoniously brought forward. I was hanging out with a fellow PE and some of the purchasing staff who was wondering which poor unfortunate soul was going to get the hydroponic set.

A conversation that would most likely happen on Monday.

A: So man, what did you get that day?

B: Sigh… the hydroponic set. I don’t even have time to take care of my children. My daughter will soon start calling me uncle (a colleague of mine once actually said this, but it had nothing to do with hydroponics), and now they want me to plant vegetables!

A: rolls on the floor with laughter

The clouds gathered quickly as the official event was reaching the end, and as soon as it was declared over, the rain just poured down in torrents leaving the big crowd of teal coloured t-shirt clad people looking in aghast at each other and the sky.

The rain sort of ended, tubes were rented, stuff chucked into the locker, and we dived straight into the Zambesi. Now, even though I’m terrified of water, I still love it. The key is the feet must touch solid ground! On and off, we got in, came out, went to the pool which simulates the sea (where I got pushed off my tube and almost died in another theme park two years ago) But the simulated sea was a bit too much for me, because the waves just push you and if it gets too deep, then you’re quite doomed!

Later on I checked out some water slide thing, where you hold onto a water mat for dear life as you shoot at high speeds along a slide with a few curves that send your head in a frenzy, stops your heart for practically a few seconds which feels like minutes anyway, and pumps a crazy amount of adrenaline into your blood system that could leave you reckless for the next few days!

At about 3 something (the rain had stopped by now, but the day was cloudy, so it was really very nice weather) we decided to give the water games a rest rather reluctantly, as the dry park beckoned us. After hitting the showers and changing into a fresh set of thankfully dry clothes, we proceeded to check the dry park out. The suspension bridge was closed no thanks to the rain that poured earlier but we took the escalator up. Here we met Sheeba, a pitifully bored tiger that moves in her cage and shows her rear to the public. I felt very sorry for her. She belongs in the wild, moving swiftly through the dense rainforests and not get ogled at by the general public.

Moving on, there was a rock exhibition. It looked like a cave, only that we know it may be fake. The thing is I feel as though this whole thing is for those who seek adventure, but don’t really want to travel too far away from civilization at the same time!

We got on the roller coaster at buffalo bill’s, which was quite nerve wrecking actually, especially the sharp corners although we think that it’s actually for kids judging from the large number of children versus adults lining up for the ride. And finally we got on this other ride where you get suspended upside down for a few seconds with nothing except a bar across your body that supposedly holds you in place. By then my blood stream was probably filled with way too much adrenaline that I started giggling (though this could have been contributed by endorphines) and yelling “oh my god” and “oh shit” all the way up, down, forwards and backwards. Oh, and the heart stopped beating for a few seconds again!

Sadly, that was the end of the so called urban adventure. Or fun in the non-available sun as the title suggests :)