Mombasa to London aboard the Braemar Castle

The Braemar Castle of the Union Castle Line. Just run the curser over the photos for more

After leaving Mwadui we stayed in Nairobi for a while then eventually caught the night train to Mombasa

where we stayed enjoying snorkeling the coral reefs off the white sand's of Nyali Beach until it was time to

board the Braemar Castle for the final part of our trip home. She looked a magnificent ship, and she was.

We spent our time playing deck quoites and many other activities en route from Mombasa to London

After just under three years living on the Equator we soon felt cold as we acclimatized cruising North

The fancy dress party onboard the Braemar Castle. That's my younger brother Peter dressed as a

Turk 2nd from the left. I am the Jack Tar smoking a pipe in the rollover photo. [run curser over to see]

The 17,000 ton S.S. Braemar Castle cruised at 17.5 knots Plying her trade

primarily as a mail ship between London and Cape Town from 1952 until 1966.

when air travel costs made it unviable.

We embarked aboard the Braemar Castle at Mombasa and shaped course for Aden which was an unforgettable experience. Then it was on to Suez and through the Canal to Port Said in the Mediterranean. From there we crossed the Mediterranean and up through the Straits of Messina between Italy & Sicily, where we could see the spectacular sight of Mount Etna erupting at night. Then it was on to a wet Genoa. From there we shaped course for the last stop at Gibraltar. Getting ashore and experiencing all these exotic locations was just great, memories for life. Then it was the final leg out into the Atlantic and across the Bay of Biscay and it's a cold Blighty that met us when we docked in London in heavy snow.

The flight to Mwadui was just as exciting. London Heathrow to Malta during a fierce Mediterranean thunderstorm where we stayed overnight. This was just the begining of a lifetime experience. Next stop was Khartoum and the desert with a floating hotel on the River Nile. Then it was on again to Nairobi where we stayed with relatives. The final leg was aboard Dr Williamson's de Haviland Dove with me in the co-pilot's seat to Mwadui. Boy what a ride the last three years have been, the sites, the smells, the sounds and the wildlife in the bush, never to be forgotten. I was not even ten years old yet.

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