Kenya

Ethiopia - Kenyan Border

So we drove down a small bush track just wide enough for our car and on sand so we kept moving and then we where across the border and into Kenya with no border post and no sign. We knew we where in Kenya by a grey line across our Sat Nav showing a border. We then drove down towards Turkana lake shore and decided to camp on the beach and wow how amazing it was just us and the large crocodile populated Lake Turkana. However we were to experience the Northern Kenyans strong winds that it is famous for that night (100km/h winds which means a very noisy tent and no sleep).

Lake Turkana

The next day we set off to start our journey south, down the Lakeside with some awesome off road driving. We had a mix between lava rocks, sand, dry river beds and big boulders and so it was extremely slow going maybe 12 miles per hour max. We decided to drive rounds the outside of Sibiloi National park and save ourselves the park fees. After 10 hours of driving we pulled off and down next to a stumpy tree to bushcamp for the night. We had not seen a single person for hours and then a man appeared on foot. It turned out he was from the Turkana tribe and was with his sheep and goats. We communicated in sign language for about 10 minutes and then he said "chocolate". We did not have any and where on rations of food anyway as we had a long way to go before we got to a town where we could buy food. However we had 2 chocolate biscuits which Jonny gave him and we have not seen someone so appreciative for 2 small biscuits it was great and off he went.

We loved our time travelling down Lake Turkana had some beautiful lunch spots looking at the lake or in a dry river bed and we even spent the night bushcamping in a dry river bed.

Once we left the Lake and headed for the town of Maralal the road called the c77 was awful it was rocky and corrugated so we spent 10 hours shaking the guts out of us and the car. Our car has done us proud though and didn't think it was a good sign when we arrived in Maralal and there were many signs for tire puncture repair and car greasing. The Kenyans laugh at us when we tell them the roads are awful, they say we are used to these roads and apparently the motion of rocking around the car on the roads is a form of African dancing.

Maralal

We stopped at a lovely camp spot called Camel Camp and ordered some food as we had eaten all ours and the last day we had no breakfast or lunch. The food however took 3 hours to come I recon they where trying to catch the chicken. It was chicken and Ugali (which is a type or maize cake) but the chicken was so tough it took some tough neck action to rip a piece off. I had a massive choclate craving (it had been a long time since I was able to buy any probably not since Egypt) so we drive 3km back into town down a horrible road to find supplies and after some searching found a block of diary milk which was like heaven. Maralal was the first town where we could buy food supplies since Jinka in Ethiopia so we did some shopping. Shopping was interesting as you can never get all you want in one shop you need to go to many and most shops have all there stuff behind bars so you have to ask for what you want and then pay, then they pass it through.

Lake Baringo

We camped right on the shore of the lake and at 1am Jonny woke me up to the sound of hippos munching on the grass round the car. We were so greatful of our roof tent and lay up there watching a mother and baby hippo munching just behind the back of the car such a special moment. The next day walking around the local village we decided that we may buy some meat. This was a big choice as we had not eaten meat for some time as most meat you buy in Sudan and Ethiopia is just hung in the sun on the side of the road. We thought oh well its all part of the experience and purchased 1kg of goat that was hung on the side of the street it only cost us £1 and we got the nice part of the thigh. I soaked it in coka cola for an hour and then marinated it but have never cooked goat before. The goat turned out really well and lovely and tasty and we had no bad repercussions the next day. We had some Scotish Rock from Jonnys mom with us which we gave a small piece to 3 street children and they loved it (something different).

Nakuru

Being a tourist in Kenya is very expensive and all things cool to do and see cost a lot of dollars so we made the decision to see two of the many Kenyan National Parks. One of which was Lake Nakuru (it was a close call with Amboseli NP which has many elephant and the view of Mount Killimanjaro). Lake Nakuru was $80 each and 300 Kenyan shillings for the car (£2) and you get 24 hours in the park. The Lake was extreamly high so many of the roads which ran past the lake and the millions of flamingoes where to flooded to drive on or inside the lake itself. Still Nakuru was a great park as we got up close and personal with 3 white rhinos and we saw: buffalo, giraffe, zebra, flamingoes and many many others birds, warthog, foxes, baboons ect ect. We made the decision to camp inside the park to get the most of the park but this was $25 extra but a stunning spot. We camped next to the Makalia falls and we were the only people there and 2 buffalo grazing round the car all night which was very cool. The next day we exited the park but I thought it would be nice to see the town of Nakuru as it was our first large town for some weeks. Found a nice campspot just outside the gate and headed into town for some lunch with the locals. Lets just say local Kenyan food is not much to brag about, it is normally Ugali (a type of maize meal) and meat of some variety (what ever you do don't order the chicken it is tougher then a shoe goat is generally the best bet).

Lake Navaisha

We found somewhere to camp right on the lake shore and not far from Hells gate national park and Crater Lake National Park so a chance to see animals around (Fishermans camp). One of the days we hired 2 bikes and cycles to Crater Lake 14km there and only half on tar mac. After an hour and a half of a beautiful cycle round the edge of the lake we arrived with only one flat tire which I suppose for an African bike not bad going. At Crater lake you can walk freely round the park and get right up close to all the animals so we spent 4 hours walking round and saw many animals including Giraffes, Zebras, Warthogs, Buffalos, Elands and then sat and had lunch by the lake watching the flamingoes.

Lake Naivaisha - Masai Mara short cut

From Naivaisha we wanted to head to The Mara but instead of sticking to the main roads the B4 and then the B3 we decided to try a short cut which was on our map. However it was all off road and before long I was not sure we where even on a road any more but by now we had travelled some distance into the unknown countryside. It was an absolutely stunning route through many farms and local villages (some of which had never seen a Muzungo before which means white man in Swahilli). Atone point we past 10 large looking buda shaped men with all there cows and goats around them and they pointed us in the right direction. At some points we where driving across cornfields and others down washed out dirt tracks barely wide enough for the car. After 3 hours we finally saw another car and they spoke enough English to tell us e where heading towards a main road. We past a Masai woman who was walking with her cows and goats and we stopped so I could give her one of our 10 liter water carriers which we had for crossing the border between Ethiopia and Turkana (no where to buy supplies for ten days). She was ever so greatful and could not stop smiling which felt good. I am sure when I bought that water carrier from Cotswolds it id not think it would live out its days in Kenya with a Masai family.

Masai Mara and more of Kenya to come