Tanzania to Kenya

In comparison to the rest of our trip this leg, on paper, doesn't seem to merit a blog unto itself; bar for the fact that it was Jac and mine first border crossing by ourselves and needing to fill in the many hours before we flew out of Nairobi Airport.

At Karatu the previous night we returned to camp and set about emptying the truck of a collection of items accumulated over 43 days and seven countries including: a locker full of clothes and backpack; shoes, thongs (flip flops) and crocs from the shoe locker, bags from our chair pockets and overhead storage. I decide the best plan of attack is to spread everything out over two ground mats and cull. Lost to the limits of bag space and clothes considered acceptable outside of the tour included: Ronald McDonald red coloured Aladdin style happy pants from Zanzibar, a Zanzibar t-shirt - think African version of Joseph and his technicoloured dream coat, half a bottle of questionable African vodka, one malting blanket from PEP and cheap gloves; reminders of cold Botswana some 35 days earlier.

We depart a day earlier in a bid to meet Vince in Cairo and start our next tour on time. Our final day on the tour started poorly with Jac's hiking shoes being stolen from outside of our tent - in some show of how desperate the Karatu population is for size 9 hiking shoes the thief leaves multiple bottles of spirits which were littering the campsite. Lucky enough Claire the generous Middlelands BRIT is returning home and the same size as Jac. We say some tearful (mostly from Simon and James) 'goodbyes' and 'see you soon' (all those in the northern hemisphere offer us a bed-couch-carpet if and when we pass by - not realising that this is in no way a token jester and that we will fully plan to roll up at some time) then have the compulsory group photo in front of the overland truck. We jump into a car Moses has arranged to get us to Arusha where a shuttle bus leaves twice a day heading north. 20kms towards Arusha we turn around to go collect forgotten Malawian wooden treasures left under our already claimed seat in the truck. Peter our driver takes in well and shows great patience again once we arrive in Arusha two hours later. We spend the greater part of an hour posting home presents that would certainly have pushed us over our luggage limits. We will most likely beat these presents back to Australia by the look the postal worker gave us when we choose the cheaper surface mail option.

We have a lunch of what can best be described as a McCains Pizza base (Margherita with no oregano, I found is a new pet hate) and use the last of our Tanzanian Shillings buying coke and chocolate for the 4 hour shuttle. Jac tells me that the road north to Kenya will be perfectly bitumened once opened in the new-year, you could see it from the potholed, tree dodging zig-zagging service road that we drove on next to it. Jac suggested that the trip ended up taking over 6 hours and I had slept for 5 hours of it - I have to take her word for it. Our first Kenyan public transport experience was better than expected; comfortable enough set seating and free water (to help wash down all the dust from the service road - some local ladies even sported face masks). I made the decision early in the trip to remove my hiking shoes knowing that the longer they were on the smellier they would be. Jac smelt my decision before she saw it. It is never a good thing in African when you're on public transport and you are the smelliest thing on board.

We cross the border to Kenya without needing our Yellow Fever Certificates and manage a US$15 transit visa rather than the US$50 suggested that we would need. At a toilet break further north we have time to contemplate that we have been in Africa long enough now as we fully appreciate a slightly warm coke-cola.

Moses as a parting gesture of his organisational capacity has arranged a driver to pick us up at the Kenyan shuttles depot, and as ever western in Nairobi does, go to Carnivore - the buffet game restaurant. We arrive late for our reservation making it through the security checks where our vehicles' undercarriage is mirrored for bombs. We eat meat that is carved from massive skewers seated in a 1960's style colonial safari setting to the sounds of Swahili songs of happy birthday and 'Jumbo- Wanna' - and we miss Fiona already.

We happily spend several hours eating as much as we can before we head out to the car park. We awaken our driver and he takes us out to the airport. We fill in the hours till 4am by sleeping, reading and make use of the luggage scales. I weigh in at 78kgs post Carnivore and only a kilo heavier since the bungee jump at Vic Falls. It's a short flight with Egypt Air to our next destination and rendezvous with Vince, sweltering Cairo.