10 June 2008

Day 101

Malindi (KWS Campsite)

0km

SARAH: It was a good thing that Bruce put our makeshift awning up as it rained on and off all day. So much for getting a tan! After omelette we had a long walk along the beautiful beach to town. We are the only white tourists in town so got the usual hassle from the local beach boys to go snorkelling etc. The curio market for tourists had 700 shops and we were the only tourists in there. We 'looked for luck' in as many shops as we could and managed to get some beautiful bowls and Masai stick figures. Getting a tuk-tuk back to the campsite we chilled there for the evening enjoying our box wine and spaghetti bolognaise, whilst admiring our photos and doing some trip planning.

ITALLIAN HOSPITALITY IN KENYA

11 June 2008

Day 102

Malindi - Matwapa (Claudio's House)

149km

BRUCE:I had a frustrating morning trying to load an additional nights camping onto our KWS Smartcard as the KWS lady at the marine park was convinced that it was impossible. Even though we knew it was not as we had loaded it up in Voi we had to give up and went to have a quick catch up with Chalese and Ben who were in Malindi on holiday. After that it was on the road to Voi where we planned to overnight before heading into Tsavo West for 2 days.

We stopped at the Nakumatt just outside Mombassa to get some supplies and when we got back to the Landy we met Claudio who was giving Ubhejane the once over. Claudio is a overland enthusiast with an apartment block on the beach just a little way up the coast. He invited us to his place saying that we could camp in the garden and swap overland stories! Se and I politely declined as we had planned to head to Tsavo and we waved goodbye to Claudio who was still insisting that we come and stay!

We had made it through Mombassa and were on the road to Voi when, after much discussion, we decided that we had the time to spare and that we should take Claudio up on his offer! We turned Ubhejane around and headed for Matwapa! Claudio had given us a map to follow (in case we changed our minds) and we were lucky to catch up to him as he was arriving home, with his wife glancing back at us and no doubt giving him a hard time about inviting strangers back to their house!

Their hospitality was truly amazing and they treated us to a great dinner that Franchesca cooked up and we had a wonderful evening with their family. Claudio took us around a massive old German army ambulance truck that he was converting into a camper. He has built everything himself including what must be the worlds biggest roof top tent that can sleep 6 people!! He is a real ideas man, just like Darrell out of The Castle! It was a real treat to be invited into their home and we'll remember their hospitality for a long time.

BANANA JOE, THE GROCER AND THE MUTE MECHANIC

12 June 2008

Day 103

Matwapa - Voi (Red Elephant Lodge - Camping)

187Km

SARAH: Last night Bruce had told Claudio about the problem with the rear lights on the Landy and he had suggested that we take it to a guy who runs a green grocer but apparently knows about cars. If he couldn't help us we'd take it to an old man who does not talk but apparently is the best mechanic around. Both of these guys were better than Claudio's daughter's suggestion that we go to Banana Joe, a one arm mechanic with a potbelly. Saying our thanks to Claudio and Francesca, after a full English breakfast, Francesca took us to the green grocer who couldn't help us so it was off to the old mechanic. We parked outside his shanty house in the courtyard in the Mud as Youseff came out with his bag of tools. After about one and a half hours he'd found the problem and had re-earthed the rear lights and we were happily on our way again with lights working and it had only cost us 500 bob.

We loved the Red Elephant Camp so much we went back and saw some Ellys pass the watering hole as we had sundowners. We had another Boerie braai and asked Steven, the night watchman with the bow and arrows, to wake us if any game came through the night.

PUNCTURE WITH MAN EATING LIONS

13 June2008

Day 104

Voi - Chululu Campsite (Tsavo West National Park S2 54.204 E38 02.418)

181Km

Park Entrance Fee: 40$US pp

300Ksh car

10$US pp camping

BRUCE: True to his word Steven, the night watchman with the bow and arrow, woke us up at 6 to show us a massive herd of buffalo that had come to drink at an adjacent waterhole. After a nice hot shower and a coffee we packed up and were on the way to Tsavo West! We went to the Maktau gate and entered the park at about 11am.

This part of the park was really quiet and we only saw a few skittish hartebeest so we decided to stop under a big acacia tree for a snooze. We had just turned the car off when a huge leopard jumped out of the tree in front of the Landy! He disappeared into the bush and after about an hour of searching we had to give up and move on as we had a long way to go to get to the camp by dark.

The southern area of the park was really disappointing as they do not stop the local Masai people from grazing their cattle in the park. I estimate that we saw nearly 1000 head of cattle in that part of the park. Keen to get to the Tsavo river we upped the pace a little but as we crossed a small ditch I heard an ominous hissing from the right rear wheel. A stick as thick as my thumb had penetrated the side wall and we had our first puncture!! Luckily we don't think that Tsavo has ever had any lions, let alone man eaters so I jumped out to change the wheel and put Se on the roof on lion watch….just in case! The wheel was changed with the speed and efficiency of a F1 team and we were back on the road in no time with a cold beer as a reward!

As we crossed the river we saw loads of game, all right near the road. We saw loads of buffalo, zebra, giraffe, hippo and a croc as well as abundant antelope. This part of the park is really beautiful with the bush set in among low rocky hills. We could also see the slopes of Kilimanjaro in the background but the top was obscured by clouds. We made it to a disappointing Chululu campsite at 7 and cooked a quick pasta meal before sitting in the roof tent with our legs dangling over the bonnet as we enjoyed a glass of red wine.

TSAVO WEST NATIONAL PARK

14 June 2008

Day 105

Chululu Camp - Kimboyo Camp (Tsavo West NP S2 45.536 E38 07.109)

Km

SARAH: Early bird Bruce woke me up at 5.30am so we were in the park by sunrise. We thought we'd see a lot more than we did in the early morning. The highlight of the day was seeing a pod of hippos out of the water lying in the grass. Later on we found a lone hippo with what looked like claw marks on his rump. Again he was out of the water and I'm sure he'd been in a scrap with lion. No matter how hard we looked we saw no cats and only found lots of paw prints. The best part of the park was it's beauty with rolling hills, plains and views of Kilimanjaro. Animal wise it was disappointing and the roads were shocking which limited our exploring.

Towards evening we headed north to Kimboyo Camp which was very quiet game wise but the setting was stunning. We had a great big fire in the evening to scar off any unwanted mammals and had bacon pasta for dinner. Kimboyo camp is right in the bush with no fencing so lets hope nothing comes to visit.

BACK IN NAIROBBERY

15 June 2008

Day 106

Kimboyo Camp - Nairobi (Jungle Junction)

288Km

BRUCE: The campsite was really quiet last night so we got a good nights sleep, but I had been hoping to hear at least a hyena! We headed out towards the Tsavo Gate and made a special effort to see a leopard or a lion. We picked up some tracks on the road that looked like leopard and they looked reasonably fresh. We soon lost them though and after scanning the area around where they had disappeared we had to move on empty handed!

We saw loads of kudu on the drive which was great but the road turned really bad and we decided to get to the gate early. The plan was to head for Amboseli National Park next but we were struggling to find a place to camp on the Voi - Nairobi road and knew that there was nothing down near Amboseli. So after some discussion we made the decision to go to Lake Nakuru National Park instead as we had money left on our smart card which we could not get back.

Feeling quite happy to be heading back to Nairobi and then on to Uganda, we left Tsavo West. The rear lights on Ubhejane had all gone hayware again and we had used the last of our gas and needed a new outside light so we had an ever growing list of jobs to do in Nairobi. We got back to Jungle Junction just as it was getting dark and found the place empty except for the Gunwiltruck which had arrived from Ethiopia. We had a nice braai for dinner and I got a call from Rob which was great.

16 June 2008

Day 107

Nairobi (Jungle Junction)

0km

SARAH: Today was a good admin day around Nairobi and we got most of our jobs ticked off: gas bottle refilled, found a new back door lock but it was too expensive, fixed puncture, bought Comesa car insurance, Kenyan insurance (a little late), and updated our blog. We got some more great boerie and had a braai at JJ which was still empty.

17 June 2008

Day 108

Nairobi (Jungle Junction)

0km

BRUCE: The most important job today was to get the lights fixed so I reearthed all the rear lights with proper connections and good earth points which took ages but they should be fixed for good now. Then it was the back door lock which we thought might need replacing but a good clean and a lube and it was locking like new. After all that we did another blog update and a shop ready for the Masai Mara and Uganda! When we got back to JJ another SA Landy had arrived and we had a great evening with Philip and Judy and found out loads about the route south. Later in the night a Dutch couple with 3 kids arrived in a Land Cruiser, so JJ is filling up again!