DAY 135. MON 18/06. Loiyangalani to Maralal. 238 kms. Total 27531 kms. YARE Camping. N1 03.524 E36 42.672

Stopped in the village of Loiyangalani on the way out to buy some chapattis in the absence of any bread for lunch later in the day. Road along the lake shore heading south was just as stony as before, if not any worse. Eventually left the lake and started heading more inland along a decent gravel track which becomes an OK earth road shortly before South Horr. Didn't fancy stopping and camping for the day in the Samburu village of South Horr so decided to push on to Maralal. Stopped just past the village to take some photos and discovered that our metal end cap on the left rear wheel that we had acquired in Libya had fallen off but decided to carry on without one until tomorrow. Road after South Horr climbs steeply up into the mountains and is very rough and rocky in places - quite horrendous to begin with but then all of a sudden quite a nice section of newly graded gravel road appears out of no where which lasts until shortly before Baragoi.

After Baragoi there was a wide but shallow flooded section of road where we almost became stuck on a submerged rock but luckily eventually managed to power out with half the village watching. Approaching Maralal the road climbs steeply up to around 2600/2700m with lots more mud, rocky bits and a few water crossings due to the rain in the area 2 days previously and it seemed to take forever to get closer to Maralal. Briefly considered bushcamping before dark but decided to push on after dark to reach Maralal.

Got stuck on a muddy stretch a few kms before arriving though. Approaching headlights made it very difficult to see the road so we slowly pulled over and stopped to allow the car to pass. The approaching car stopped too and eventually drove around the muddy section on a bit of a detour. When we tried to get going again we discovered we had pulled over into some deep ruts left by a previous truck and couldn't get going again due to lack of traction. Even when we climbed out of the Landy to have a look around it was difficult to walk without slipping as the mud was so slippery - like walking on ice. Decided it was too late and dark to try freeing ourselves with branches, sand ladders and digging etc. (also we didn't fancy getting all muddy at this time of night) and that if a another vehicle didn't come past we would just have to sleep on the side of the road. Luckily within a few minutes the vehicle that had originally caused us to stop came back and pulled us out quite easily using our tow road and shackle. (Bit embarrassing to be towed by a Toyota though but we weren't complaining!) Arrived quite late at YARE Club, 2km south of town, after almost 9hrs driving time. Long day. Quite cold and damp too in the camp and we had the long pants and closed shoes out for the 1st time in ages.

DAY 136. TUES 19/06. Maralal. 0 kms. Total 27531 kms. YARE Camping. N1 03.524 E36 42.672

Were in 2 minds as to whether or not to leave today. Were anxious to get to Nairobi as soon after the 20th as possible with the idea in mind of meeting up with Bronwyn and Andrew but as we had a few things to do on Cathey we couldn't leave until late morning. Had to 1st clean out the hub as without the end cap it had become caked in mud and oil and put on a new spare plastic one. Also rigged up a series of cable ties to try and prevent it from falling off. Then filled up the tank with the 2 full jerry cans we were still carrying which enabled us to go on further than Maralal (where fuel is quite expensive = 84 KSh/l) further south where it becomes a lot cheaper (73 KSh in Nyahururu and around 65 in Nakuru) With this done and our front left tire inflated (which had developed a slow leak around the outside of the valve) we decided to stay another night. Still quite wet and damp as there had been quite a bit of rain overnight so maybe not a bad decision to stay and allow the roads a chance to dry out. Didn't do too much, just a bit more blog writing and reading etc? Later in the evening we went into the bar for a couple of drinks - just like an English or colonial sports club bar, with "Pub Fare" menu and English bitter beer coasters above the wall. Didn't fancy the menu too much so just ate dinner back at the camp before going to bed - duvet, sleeping bag and all to keep warm.

DAY 137. WED 20/06. Maralal to Lake Bogario NP. 216 kms. Total 27747 kms. Fig Tree Camp. N0 11.553 E36 07.365

1st section of the road south from Maralal was typically muddy and slippery and pretty cut by the trucks due to the recent rains until the junction west towards Lake Baringo and Bogario NP at N0 42.594 E36 35.664 where the road improved noticeably due to less traffic. Earlier we had stopped in a small village for a few essentials and some meat from the butcher (I don't think Inga told Rob that it was goat until long after we had eaten it!) At this junction, N0 42.811 E36 01.892, before Marigat, we hit tar road again for the 1st time since leaving Arba Minch 9 days ago! Cathey was most pleased! However we still had one nasty surprise in store: a bridge had washed away leaving a nasty muddy detour to crossing through a fast flowing river. The mud was so slippery that 2 wheel drive vehicles were spinning around uncontrollably and even we slipped sideways when we had to stop to allow some army trucks past. On the other side of the river crossing was more mud with more army trucks - one of which managed to get stuck in front of us. There was a massive army operation under way in the area bringing troops up north and they were using this village just on the other side of the river as a base. We later found out they were trying to stabilize the situation in the north - near South Horr and further north up towards Lake Turkana where there had been inter tribal shootings brought about by alleged cattle left leaving some 40 people and cattle dead in revenge killings. All unbeknown to us at the time as we were passing through although we had seen families moving home in trains of donkeys and camels but at the time we thought this was normal nomadic behavior related to searching for knew grazing areas. We passed by Lake Baringo due to time constraints (stay at Robert's Camp if you visit) and arrived at the Lake Bogario NP Gate. Fees were a bit more than we had expected (no surprised there) but we were unable to pay in dollars meaning we had to use the last of our shillings we had changed at the border. (Fees were 2000 KSh pp and 500 KSh pp camping) leaving us with just 110 KSh to our name. There was also meant to be a vehicle entry fee (can't remember if it was 300, 500 or 800 KSh?) but as we had no more local money they let us in without paying. On entering the NP we saw loads of flamingoes along the lake shore, impalas, zebras and warthogs. Stopped near the hot springs for lunch before walking down to get a closer look at the springs, around 12 km from the gate. (N0 15.254 E36 05.038) Lots of steam, bubbling water and jets of water spraying up in the air - all with a backdrop of mountain flanked lake and pink flamingoes. Quite a sight. Continued on along the lake shore heading south seeing more flamingoes as well as a large herd of Kudu females and youngsters down on the shore of the lake amongst the steam from the hot springs. A bit further on we saw 2 or 3 Kudu Bulls as well running and jumping from the shore into the bush. Another 12 kays on we reached Fig Tree Camp down a narrow overgrown track, on the southern tip of the lake, set underneath Giant Wild Fig Trees with a small stream running through it and a tiny stone toilet block. We were the only ones there when we arrived chasing the baboons gathered in the clearing into the surrounding trees where they continued to make a noise all night. Beautiful view of sunset over the lake too - a bit like a bushcamp but in a National Park. Went for a quick stroll down to the lakeshore where we saw another smaller group of kudu drinking - again in amongst the mist from the springs. Lit a fire to keep the baboons in check and Inga cooked a mean goat stew which we enjoyed by the fire, Inga all the while nervous about the aggressive sounding baboons surrounding us but we were not bothered and had a great nights sleep, or at least one of us had a great night's sleep - I'll let you guess who that was!

DAY 138. THURS 21/06. Lake Bogario NP to Thomson's Falls (near Nyahururu). 203 kms. Total 27950 kms. Camping Thomson's Falls Lodge. N0 02.626 E36 22.249

Left the park heading back north towards the gate without seeing anything new. There is a road south out of the park to Nakuru (60 odd kms) but the park staff at the gate advised us not to do it as we may get stuck. We thought briefly of doing it as we were low on fuel and going back the other way to Nakuru is around 100 kms, so quite a bit further, but decided against it. Tried to change money at Lake Bogario Hotel outside the park but they had no cash so we had no option but to try and make it to Nakuru to draw money and refuel. Crossed the equator on the way to Nakuru - small roadside stop with compulsory curio sellers and a few signs to take some photos. Finally we were now in the southern hemisphere - but no for too long! Driving on empty we made a quick "splash and dash" by filling up 1.7l by using our last 110KSh about 30 kms before Nakuru - definitely our least amount ever refueled by some way but at least we made it to Nakuru. Drew some money at the Barclays 24hr ATM (S0 17.157 E36 03.797) before putting in some cheaper fuel at Mobil (S0 17.136 E36 04.043) - all 73 l, which shows how empty we were. Also stopped to do our 1st internetting since Addis, where we learnt that Reto & Victoria had been 2 or 3 days behind us through the Omo Valley and that Bronwyn and Andrew's car had been delayed in the Middle East and was now only scheduled to arrive in Mombassa towards the end of the month so we needn't have to worry about rushing to Nairobi any more. Left a message for them and with that straightened out headed back north towards Nyahururu and Thomson's Falls, in the process crossing the equator again - this time back into the northern hemisphere! Drove steeply down into part of the Rift Valley and then equally as steeply back up again with some good view points along the way towards Nyahururu where we arrived at the Thomson's Falls view point. About 70 or 80 m high and named after the same dude as the Thomson 's Gazelle they are not spectacular but worth a quick stop if you are in the area. Of course the obligatory curio sellers are all there too so we went in to do some bargaining after meeting 2 friendly local ladies and bought some 2 small, skinny figurine carvings. Our purchase done for Kenya - 1000 KSh and one old woolen jumper later! The best thing about the stop was that our camp for the night - Thomson's Falls lodge - was right next door so we didn't have far to go afterwards. Camped on some lovely grass towards the back of the hotel with our own clean toilet block and lovely hot showers! 1st proper hot showers in Kenya! A hotel in the old Colonial style but still popular, busy and well maintained. Rooms quite expensive but camping affordable. We also treated ourselves to a slightly expensive but definitely worth it, sumptuous 3 course meal in the restaurant - Inga going for African Stew and Rob having pork for the 1st time on our trip so far! Great, cool nights sleep in the tent with added sleeping bag and more rain overnight.

DAY 139. FRI 22/06. Thomson's Falls to Nairobi. 237 kms. Total 28188 kms. Jungle Junction. S1 17.325 E36 45.635

Since Maralal we now have proper bread to make toast with for breakfast - with peanut butter and jam! (We had tried once before in Ethiopia but it was more like "cake" bread which didn't toast too well) Anyway, quite exciting for us - makes a change from our usual breakfasts of either oats or yoghurt when available. So once the toast was done and we had packed away our wet chairs we headed south on a good secondary tar road to Gigil, before joining the main road to Nairobi arriving around 1 o'clock. As it was so early we decided to try and get all the admin out of the way and headed into the centre of town. Found parking near the Immigration Office (S1 17.259 E36 49.122) but it was closed for lunch so we first went to sort out some more money as we had finally seen a place that would change traveler's cheques commission free - something we had not been able to do in Africa until now. Didn't get the best rate to the US$ travelers cheque, only around 61KSh to the $ (as opposed to about 68.5 for cash) but at least there were no charges. Went back to the immigration office and got our passports stamped in without any hassle. (Just had to fill in an arrivals card. When we were asked when we arrived we said the 16th even though we had actually arrived on the 14th as for some reason the Ethiopians had stamped us out on the 16th). We were stamped in on the 22nd and they just backdated the start of visa till the 16th. We then headed for Times Tower, (S1 17.410 E36 49.544) the HQ of the Kenyan Revenue Service, where we heard it may be possible to get the carnet stamped in by customs officials on the 9th floor - although we had heard we will probably get sent to Jomo Kenyatta Airport. We tried on the 9th and 10th floor without success, just wasting a lot of time and getting told off for crossing an "unofficial" border according to the customs officials, funny though that the immigration don't mind and it is not an "unofficial" border on the Ethiopian side???? In the end we were sent to the airport so we would advise in future just to go straight there and not bother at Times Tower. By now we were starving and decided to go for lunch at a busy local diner we had noted earlier near where we changed money. Unfortunately as it was quite late all they had left were snacks so Rob had sausages and chips and Inga had samoosas, kebab and chips - not very traditional but filled the gap! Even though it was quite late, around 4.30pm, we decided to try at customs at the airport. Arrived there just before 5.30pm - all that was open was the freight import building (double story grey building) but they didn't seem too interested in helping and told us to come back Monday morning, also after a bit of a telling off. None of them even knew where the border was that we had crossed! So we headed back into town towards Jungle Junction but got stuck in some terrible peak hour traffic and took 2 hours to get there, arriving just after dark. 1st met John and Jill from East London, RSA, heading over to say hi as soon as we saw there EC registered Isuzu, who had been heading up the coast from East London. Also noticed Rich and Sash's bike and tent a few moments before they arrived back from town. Caught up with them and in the meantime Klaas, whom we saw in Dahab and met in Luxor, arrived too so it was a bit of a reunion. Turns out Klaas had traveled with Reto and Victoria through the Omo into Kenya before leaving them to come directly to Nairobi. Jungle Junction is like a communal house for guests - camping outside on the lawn and rooms upstairs for rent. Downstairs is all communal area. Owned by Chris, who runs a BMW motorbike mechanics business from the garage as well as storing overland vehicles. So we helped ourselves to some drinks from the fridge, cooked some dinner in the kitchen and sat down at the dining room table for dinner with Rich and Sash - bit of a novelty - felt like being at home again!

DAY 140 & 141. SAT 23/06 & SUN 24/06. Nairobi. 0 kms. Total 28188 kms. Jungle Junction. S1 17.325 E36 45.635

John and Jill kindly invited us for breakfast in the morning as we had not had a chance to go shopping yet so we had our 1st bacon and egg of the trip. Later we went for a walk up the road to the Junction Shopping Centre where there is a massive Nakumat supermarket and even a NuMetro Cinema. Treated ourselves to lunch at the Java Coffee House where we had brilliant toasted sandwiches/baguettes with chips, macchiato and tea - our new aim for Nairobi being to gain back some of the weight we have lost so far. Spent quite a while browsing through the bookstore too and even bought a newspaper before spending hours in the Nakumat stocking up on all sorts of foods we hadn't been able to get regularly up until now like cheese and ingredients for a big combined fry-up for tomorrow. Even some strong bottled African strength (7.5%) Guinness for Rob. Returned to camp weighed down by plastic bags remarking on how similar some parts of Nairobi seem to Johannesburg with all the Malls and security complexes/apartments. Later that evening we hooked up with Rich and Sash and caught a cab out to the famous Carnivores Restaurant (S1 19.403 E36 48.150 - cab about 800KSh each way) A bit disappointed that because "bushmeat" is totally illegal now in Kenya, the most exotic meat on the menu was Ostrich meat balls, but otherwise still excellent meal/night out and worth it. 1800 KSh pp includes snacks, starter (onion soup), salad, bread and all the meat you can eat continually brought to your table on skewers and sliced onto your plate by waiters until you lower your flag in defeat, and desert/tea or coffee. Drinks are the only extra. Meat dishes included honeyed chicken wings, other chicken cuts, chicken livers, giblets, pork sausage, pork spare ribs, roast pork, roast lamb, lamb chops, roast beef, beef ribs, ostrich meat balls (and maybe one or 2 other skewers we can't remember) served with baked potatoes. One or 2 helpings of each of those and believe us you are well and truly stuffed, returning back to Jungle Junction very bloated for a nightcap and a bit of a chat in the lounge with Rich and Sash before bed. Next day, due to everyone still being so full from Carnivores the night before, we only had our combined fry up around 10.30am: eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, beans and mushrooms, etc? the works! Half way through cooking the gas ran out in the kitchen so we had to finish off outside with our gas stove. Spent the rest of the day doing some washing, blog and reading etc - typical lazy Sunday. Inga even had an afternoon nap. In the afternoon 3 families from PE turned up doing a mammoth 3 year around the world overland trip with their young children. (For more info see www.cape2cape.co.za) Turns out one family was even living in the same street in Linkside that Rob grew up in. Small world, hey? Spent some time chatting to them and sharing info about the route north. Also had heard from the Australian/Kiwi bike mechanic working at Jungle Junction that John and Irena had passed through a week or 2 ago. Quite relieved to hear they are OK as it is the 1st we have heard of them since splitting up in Sudan. Although they did seem to be having some problems with their canopy and roof racks/storage, probably due to all the weight they were carrying. Went to bed fairly early after cooking and eating in the house again.