Day 45: Sun 16th March: The Haven (Jinja, Uganda) to Naiberi River Camp (near Eldoret, Kenya).

Odo 11313km

Jinja is the second largest town in Uganda and has attracted quite a large Asian population. Brian needs to weld his suspension again so we find a back yard place (full of taxis and bustling like you can't believe) where the van is put up a ramp and a proper job (well nearly) is done. The girls find Flavours Coffee shop and we are back on the road in a couple of hours.

Just outside Jinja we stop at the Source of the White Nile (according to explorer Speke) - not so impressive actually and we have realized that there are many and varied sources of the various Niles! However, Ghandi has some of his ashes scattered here and there is a sort of monument (read Mazungu must pay to see this)!

The border crossing is a Malaba and without fuss and about 45 minutes we are through to Kenya! There is a 3km queue of trucks on the opposite side of the road coming from Kenya into Uganda - glad we're going north, some of them will be there for days. The Kenya officials are friendly and helpful.

First impressions of Kenya is we don't see as many children and the farming seems more organized than in Uganda. The houses are further from the main road, so it appears there are less people on the road, certainly less bicycles and motorbikes. People just seem better off.

The rain hits hard as we climb up the escarpment of the Great Africa Rift Valley once again and reach Naiberi River Camp which is a great find. It's cold up here so we all decide to take rooms and eat in the restaurant - I have a fine and blerry hot chicken curry. It's cold up here again (2400m) and we need all the covers on the bed to keep warm.

Day 46: Mon 17th March: Naiberi River Camp to Lake Bogoria Spa Resort.

It's only 160km between Naiberi and Lake Bogoria so we are here by 11:30. En route we even see people jogging and get pushed off the road by cops who tell us the First Lady is jogging - we see her!

There's a nice pool and bar and even a spa at the Bogoria Spa Resort (the spa doesn't look too good though), so we chill for a while then make lunch and decide we can camp. The pool is excellent and I swim twice today with the bar proving a useful respite from swimming (I also manage an hour on the bike).

The national park that surrounds Lake Bogoria is adjacent the resort and we decide to take a look at the lake and hot springs. Unfortunately, the lake has risen somewhat over the last year due to heavy rain and is maybe 2m higher than usual. The lake is a saline alkaline lake and has no natural outlet and is meromictic (stratified in layers) with the saline under layer giving rise to the bacteria flamingos feed on - usually there are thousands of flamingos here but due to the lack of salinity (due to heavy rains) there are precious few. The access road is now mainly underwater and the parks board has built a new one, but this is not a road, merely a car breaker. So US$110 out of pocket we turn around after an hour of car and body bashing and quit. Needless to say we don't see the hot geysers - but, hey it's ok, most of them are also submerged!

Day 47: Tues 18th March: Lake Bogoria to Bush Camp #2

We leave Bogoria Spa Resort and set off for Lake Boringo and then to see how far we could get on our way to Lake Turkana. We have been interested to hear how many people speak English and have a couple of instances where we teach them a word or two. At Bogoria Spa Resort we were shown the ablutions (newly renovated) for the campers and the painters are still painting the outside. The staff member tells us which one is 'Ladies" and tells the painter that if we use the ablutions he must get off his ladder and go away until we are finished (else he could see through the window). He is 'busy' all day but when he disappears I decide to go shower. I walk in and one of the staff is standing at the basin shaving. I fold my arms, give him 'the look' and he flees! I have my shower and all is good until later when one of the other ladies goes to shower. She is drying herself and the painter walks in on her. She is horrified and splutters "what are you doing.." and he just stands and stares. She then shouts "F@#K OFF!!" which he understands and flees. The next morning we have a 'comfort break' along the road we are travelling along and just as I squat a shepherd comes out of the bush after his goats and his eyeballs pop out! I wave my finger, give him 'the look' and tell him to keep going…. - he flees! The stories these guys must be telling their friends will be hysterical no doubt.

Beautiful scenery along the way but the most unbelievably rough roads which mean really slow progress. There had also been some rain so some areas were sodden and all the buses and taxis have created some interesting challenges. We have been travelling at a rather high altitude - around 2300m - and manage to make some progress down into the flatter plains of Kenya. We pass through many areas where predominantly Masai live so there are many goats, sheep and cattle around. We regularly see Masai herding their cattle and carrying AK47's and sms'ing on their cell-phones. Apparently they are fiercely protective of their cattle and it's not a good idea to argue with them. They also don't appreciate their photo being taken and have been known to attack the vehicle carrying the photographer so I don't have many photos of them.

We run out of daylight on these horrendous roads and agree that the sensible thing is to make a bush camp. I am not delighted, but there is no alternative and at least there don't seem to be any people around so we find a flat space and make our way into the bush and out of sight of the road. It was one of the quietest nights we have had as there is really no-one around.

Day 48: Wed 19th March: Bush Camp #2 - El Molo Campsite, Loiyangalani:

We wake refreshed and make our way out of our 'camp' and back onto the road. The road improves a little and we are stopped at our very first Kenyan police road-block. The police are happy with the Carnet which proves that road tax has been paid (what a cheek - for these roads!!) but warn us that people are 'raiding' one another's livestock and presumably that is why some Masai are carrying AK47's. Maybe the bush camp was not such a great idea? We pass through the most amazing Larva fields where volcanic rock is the dominant feature in the landscape. It is harsh and hot and dry and we are amazed that so many (mainly Masai) people live here. The trees survive in some places but the wind blows a lot and that just spreads the heat. The little round shelters that the Masai communities erect and move around with their livestock just look like the harshest lifestyle ever. We see their little settlements all the way down to Lake Turkana and they all have a number of children living with them although down there at least they have access to water which seems in very short supply higher up.

From the end of the larva field escarpment we look down to see the "Jade Sea" - Lake Turkana. It's massive and is apparently going to be a hub for oil - we don't see any evidence of this as yet.

Riding along the lake for another 20km or so (on larva flow) we get to Loiyangalani (spelt various ways and an excuse for a town) and look for a place to spend the night. The campground that Dave knows seems okay but we arrive just as they are slaughtering a goat in the garden so that's not a great recommendation for me! The camping is just a little space in the garden but the ablutions (4 showers and one 'squat over' toilet) are clean. However there is a marquee set up for a 'conference' later this afternoon / evening so Simon and I set off to see what else we can find. The Lodge is unfortunately full but we are accosted by a young man in the street who will 'show us a campsite'. He runs ahead of us and takes us all the way to an old campsite which has indeed seen better days. However, it has a swimming pool which is pretty clean (this is north Kenya, so "clean" is relative - Ed) and they have a few rooms in outbuildings behind the kitchen and dining area which are totally wrecked. The people are very friendly and hospitable and really try to make us welcome and the room we are shown is very basic but clean and has a clean (leaking) en-suite (again these words are used liberally - Ed) so we decide to stay here and our fellow travellers opt to stay at the first campground. We will compare notes tomorrow. Needless to say, our guide is preparing food for all us for tonight - there is no eating out around here.

Day 49: Thurs 20th March: El Molo Campsite, Loiyangelani to Bush Camp #3:

We find the Sibiloi National Park and are charged $90 entry per vehicle. The 'blurb' mentions lion, leopard and cheetah in the park and states categorically that 'no-one lives within the boundries of the national park'. The fact that they don't have the key to the gate to let us in once we have paid should give you a clue! There is no fence around the park - just a row of rocks to stop you driving around the one and only gate. The officials show us a path through the staff accommodation which takes us into the park and avoiding the locked gate and off we go. This park is well known for all the archeological studies that have been done and all the work that Richard Leakey did investigating 'the Cradle of Mankind'. We find the petrified forest which is apparently 7 million years old! We then head down to the campsite which is near Lake Turkana. We are told we can camp there ($60 per vehicle) and we can swim in the lake but to watch out for the crocodiles. "Just splash a lot and they get scared". Anyway there is a disagreement and we head off into the park to 'Bush Camp'#3. We find an old abandoned and derelict campsite on the GPS and then go down to the beach from there. By then we are so hot and dusty that we decide not only to swim but to bathe and wash our clothes in the lake and watch out crocodile! A couple of the local's arrive to watch us, but they are friendly and just want us to give them something so it is no hassle - just weird being watched all the time.

We have a cool and peaceful night on the beach and then begin the trip out of the national park and into Ethiopia. The road is rough and not well used, but with the help of the GPS we make only a few bad turns and then find the police station and they 'check us out' of Kenya. We follow the tracks and we drive into Ethiopia (according to the GPS). There is no fence or gate and the border is closely guarded by about 5000 goats and sheep (and of course lots of people who move around with them)! We don't really know where the actual border is - just what the GPS says - and there is certainly a free flow of people between the two countries.