Day 62 - Northern Frontier District

Point of departure : Isiolo

Point of arrival : Marsabit

Accommodation: rooftop tent @ Henry's Camp, Marsabit

Km travelled today: 258km Cum: 10 550km (gravel 210km cum 2 591km)

Countries so far: 6/16

Where to next? Moyale - Ethiopian border

Total number of photos taken: 72 (cum 2 948)

The first of two days in the Northern Frontier District with the attendant risk of shifta (bandits).This risk was brought home to us when we saw armed guides with road building teams and on buses.At one point we were offered a police escort but we did not have the space for the officer so we had to decline.We were lucky, as the rain from the previous nigh cleared and we had almost dry conditions all the way to Marsabit (the half way point to the border).

Driving through the Kaisut Desert, the "road" is variable, from bad to terrible.A few sections were fairly flat and sandy, with 80km speeds possible, but the bulk with varying degrees of rutted jeep tracks or heavy corrugated roadways - not conducive to someone with a susceptible back.And, this is the so called "East African Highway" where trucks and others have abandoned the road in favour of their own freewheeling tracks across adjacent sand sections.We used this wherever we could for a smoother ride.

We met two German bikers along the way, Christian and Christian and stopped for a chat and offered them an icy cold beer and coke.They gave us an update on their travels and the road conditions north and told us where they stayed in Marsabit - Henry's Camp owned by a Swiss national.We in turn, gave them updated information on the road south.

Marsabit is a bit of a tribal frontier town with a mixture of tribal peoples - Ethiopian and Somali immigrants and at times can be volatile.The main attraction here is the Marsabit National Park & Reserve but we decided to skip it - did not want to spend more time than we needed to here.

After filling up with diesel in Marsabit we arrived at Henry's Camp in pretty good time, set up camp and settled down to enjoy our solitary new year's evening and dinner under a full moon.Not the noisiest new year we have ever had but certainly a memorable one and although Henry's is basic, they were very accommodating and even organised a fire for us to brighten up our evening.