29 December 2010

Total Distance: 9380 km

Distance covered today: 280 km

Start: Robert's Camp, Lake Baringo, Kenya

Finish: Jungle Junction, Nairobi, Kenya

We left our usual early and heading straight south to the connecting road at Nakuru. The desert-style acacia vegetation slowly gave way to more lush pastures as we climbed from 1000m to over 2500m. One really has to be careful when driving on seemingly good roads in Africa because from nowhere one can come head to head with either a pothole or worse, a speed bump. Or as I call them African Space Programs because if you hit them at the right speed, you and the vehicle will go into orbit. We were doing a good 90km/h when one was in the shade of a tree and off course not painted and no warning signs about it, so when I saw it, I did not even have enough time to say what one is not suppose to say. Fortunately it was a gentler rise to the bump and we were lucky.

Just after Lake Nakuru, we stopped at a spot where they have a number of butcheries and open air barbeques. I have seen this place many times during my travels with the Australian company, but off course then we can't stop there. This time we did and huge pieces of goat is grilled on char coal pits and we had to choose a piece. The legs were all too big so we decided on a piece of ribs. They put it on a huge piece of wooden board with a heap of salt on either side and then cut the whole thing into small bite size pieces and all very civilised. And the taste was divine. It was juicy, tender and the guy was very surprised when he heard that we only want meat and no other extra dishes.

We also saw some great views from the top of the Rift Valley down to the bottom and here and there are smaller lakes and extinct volcanoes. So all in all a lovely landscape yet again. As said the higher region is a lot greener, but so is the population and thus the traffic. We made it to the camp in one piece and Jungle Junction was a jungle, not of trees but from the assortment of vehicles. There are trucks, cars, vans, motorhomes, bikes with and without sidecars and all squeezed in on the lawn. We had to rush off to get a few things organised and to get our letter from the SA Embassy for Ethiopia. Fortunately everyone in town is at the coast in Mombasa for the Christmas break and the traffic was not too bad.

30 December 2010

Staying at Jungle Junction, Nairobi, Kenya

This morning we took the vehicle for its 10 000km service and had to replace a few bushes and once again the rear diff seal on the half shaft is leaking. So out it comes again and in it goes again. Have given up on getting it completely dry so let us see if it can hold until it gets back to SA.

Talking to a number of other overlanders and they all talked about the adventure lying ahead for us because 99% of them are coming from north to south. Bad roads, millions of people all over, interesting tribes, awesome landscapes and much more. Hopefully our vehicle will be ready and tomorrow morning we are heading north to Samburu and then onto the unknown territories of northern Kenya and Ethiopia.

To everyone back home and across the globe, to all friends and family, may you have a blessed 2011 and may 2011 be filled with plenty happiness and prosperity. Thanks again to everyone who follows our blog and leave encouraging messages. We really appreciate it and always look forward to hear from you and with the blog we are trying for you to be part of our tour.