THE challenge of being in Africa meant a mixture of different environments for one Droitwich soldier.

Corporal Stefan Conroy thought the heavy rain experienced overnight could delay the return to the base at Nanyuki.

"We were scheduled to go tomorrow, but we might be staying here a bit longer," said the 26 year-old former Droitwich High School pupil.

"You've got to have a sense of humour. It doesn't matter where you go it rains, but here it's warm rain.

"If it was cold it would be horrible. It's been good - challenging because of the heat.

"It's a lot different from what we usually do in the UK, environment-wise.

"It was a shock to see how fast the main tracks all flooded. You wouldn't have thought we were all set for patrol in lead order, then all of a sudden it came down."

Cpl Conroy had trained in Cyprus with the Army before, so was prepared for Archers Post.

"We knew what kind of weather we'd have and what we'd have to do," he added.

"This has put us in good stead for Afghanistan. To be quite honest I want to go, but we'll just have to wait and see. We need a bit more training but it will be no problem."