Life at Jungle Junction was quite relaxing apart from the forays into the outside world. We had taken he camper off the truck so we could drive around without drawing attention to ourselves and left it at the campsite. The other people staying there were all European overlanders like ourselves 3 spaniards, 2 young Swiss backpackers, 5 young Austrians in a massive old firetruck, and older German couple in a Toyota 4x4, 1 24 year old German backpacker and Jo and Yan an English woman and Belgian guy cycling from Cairo to Cape Town on 2 small fold up bikes. On most days there was shooting and smoke from fires but the worst day for us was wen we went to the Jungle shipping precinct. We went into the supermarket which unlike the previous visit was quite well stocked and pretty quiet and then went for coffee at an outside cafe within the walled and fenced car park. A mob of men were running up and down the road outside throwing rocks and stones so the security company locked the gates immediately. We decided to stay for some lunch in a nice Italian restaurant until things quietened down. When we tried to get back to Jungle Junction there was no traffic on the roads, which were littered with rocks and stones and burning tyres to form road blocks. Local people were running this way and that trying not to run into angry mobs. One woman told us to turn around or we would be stoned by a mob and we gave her a lift in the back of the truck to safety. Trying a different route we were again advised to turn around this time by 2 young Kenyans who were cut and bleeding. They asked if we would help them to safety and so they also jumped in the truck. We eventually saw a pick-up full of riot police and asked for their help. We followed them right to our campsite and they were firing warning shots at youths right outside Jungle Junction. Our road had been blocked by rioters with boulders so locals helped us to clear them so we could get back into camp.

Jo and Yan the bikers had just got back and they too had a lucky escape as a mob had chased them running alongside them on their bikes and managed to push Jo as she cycled like mad to get away. Luckily she stayed on the bike and as they were travelling down hill managed to escape unhurt. Toby the German backpacker who had left with us in the morning did not return to camp until 6.30 p.m. and we had all become really worried. He too had been challenged by mobs who took money from him but luckily he approached a white guy in a car who turned out to be an American living in Nairobi. He took him to his home for the afternoon until it was safe for Toby to venture out again.

We decided after that to leave the next day and head for Tanzania even though we had planned to go to Uganda and Rwanda first. Jo and Yan were lso heading that way and we offered to take them safely out of Nairobi in the back of the camper with the bikes. We packed up ready for an early start, put the camper back on the truck but as Peter checked verything over he found that the bad roads had taken their toll and noticed a bolt hanging out of the rear leaf spring hanger. The nut must have vibrated loose and come off and the bolt started to come out. Luckily it had jammed but the bush was also badly damaged. Obviously this meant repairs had to be carried out before we could go anywhere. Disappointed we took the camper off again and instead of an escape the following day prepared for repair work.

As most shops and businesses had been closed for well over a week we didn't know if we would get the parts we needed. Peter stripped everything down and went with one the Spanish bikers to a spares shop and amazingly they had the requied bush. Chris from JJ did some welding and by the end of the day we were roadworthy again and just thankful that the bold hadn't come right out in the middle of nowhere along one of the bad roads.

Our forced extra days stay meant that the situation in the west of Kenya had calmed down somewhat and we decided we would follow our original plan and head for Uganda as long as they had fuel and food and we wouldn't run into any more violence.