Cairo to Cape 2010 Blog
Blog 7 – Kenya
The northern Kenyan roads lived up to every expectation... Dusty, very dusty ...rough...very rough...Slow going...very slow.
This road is appropriately named "the road to hell"; every guide book says it. But you don’t really believe it until you drive it. The first 250kms are slow going – maximum speed 25km p/hr over sharp rocks that shred tyres with ease blended with deep holes and ruts from the previous seasons rains. No words can describe the roughness and the toll this road takes on the driver. Shock absorbers overheat, tyres blow...all to be expected Steve tells us. Aware of the road conditions everyone takes it easy however even driving this road slowly one vehicle still blows 2 tyres on one side – a sharp rock is to blame. A couple of vehicles blow shocks but considering there are 10 vehicles in total the damage was minimal - so we are told.
We slowly bounce our way to the little town called Marsabit. A dusty service town in the middle of nowhere. We spend the night just outside Marsabit at a little campsite called Henry’s Place. The campsite is on a running farm owned by a Swiss guy called Henry. Henry came to Kenya over 25 years ago as a missionary. He fell in love with the place and decided to call it home. On his farm he makes his own cheese and bread which was a pleasant surprise for the group to be served fresh warm muffins for breakfast.
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We continued on the bumpy road toward Archers Post and the gateway to Samburu NP. The dirt road ended after 100kms thanks to the Chinese who are tar sealing the road. The relief on everyone’s faces was evident as we bounced our way onto a brand new tar seal road. It was not long before we reached Archers Post – hot and dusty; the showers were a welcome relief.
We spent the following day exploring Samburu NP. Our first real taste of African wildlife. The park is small in size but big on wildlife. Herds of elephants made their way to the river for an afternoon drink, zebras and antelopes grazed on the long savannah grass and lions kept cool under the shade of acacia trees. This is Africa and this is what we had driven 5,000kms to experience. The group feeling a little tired after the tiresome northern Kenyan roads spirits lifted immediately.
That evening we sat around the fire while local Samburu tribesmen and women danced traditional dancing for us. We enjoyed a (warm) beer and listened to everyone’s stories about their adventures in the park.
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Christmas Day – we packed up camp early in the morning and made our way toward Nairobi, the Capital of Kenya. The drive took us from the hot plains of Samburu up into the highlands. We passed Mt Kenya on the way, which was kind enough to be in full view on this clear morning. A brief stop at the equator to celebrate entering the Southern Hemisphere and experience the water test! We made our final run into Nairobi knowing we all had a few days to rest while the vehicles were undergoing a major service.
We arrived into Karen Camp in Nairobi. Debs and Thiemo were there, the owners of the Company, and had ready a Christmas spread of smoked salmon, prawns, quiche, cheese platter, BBQ chicken, salads, nuts, fresh baguettes and Christmas cake all under the shade of colourfully decorated Christmas tree. We settled into our rooms, showered and got the dust out from behind our ears just in time to hear the champagne bottles popping.
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We had 5 nights in Nairobi, a well deserved rest to recover from our 5000km drive. Most of the group took some time to visit the Giraffe Centre and hand feed Rothschild giraffes, David Sheldrick Elephant orphanage to see baby orphaned elephants play in pools of mud and take in some history at the Karen Blixen Museum. We all took advantage of the western supermarkets to stock up on essential supplies, enjoy coffee at Java Coffee house and take advantage of their free wireless internet and take some time to head to the movies. Some of the group dined at Carnivores Restaurant, once famous for their selection of game meat and various other world class restaurants in Nairobi.
Nairobi is certainly a cosmopolitan city boasting pretty much all the creature comforts of the Western world. However, like we have discovered so many times before there are still underlying issues with infrastructure with water and electricity shortages.
After a well deserved rest it was time to hit the road once again. Our first stop after Nairobi was Naivasha – a short 2 hour drive from Nairobi. We enjoyed a rather civilised high tea at Elsamere the home of Joy and George Adamson who are better known for the Born Free books and movies. An early morning walking safari through Green Crater lake and camping only metres from grazing hippos reminded us we really were in Safari country.
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Our next stop was a short drive away to Lake Nakuru NP. We entered the park and were blessed with animals everywhere. Lake Nakuru is famous for Rhino and we were lucky to see quite a few. We spent the afternoon exploring the park, stopping to look at giraffe, zebra, antelope, warthog, and thousands of pink flamingos. What an amazing park! We camped in the park by some waterfalls, throughout the night various curious animals wandered through the campsite. We spent a few hours in the morning driving around the park, the guide books are right; this is a wonderful park offering wildlife around every corner. Some of us were lucky enough to see lions in the park adding the icing to the cake.
With a change of pace we spent a couple of hours in Nakuru town at the local souvenir markets – we learnt that bargaining hard was in order of the day with prices dropping rapidly from the start asking price. A short drive to our haven for the night on a local Kenyan farm – Kembu. An amazing piece of earth with a working farm, diary and women’s knitting project.
Photos from Anna and Phoebe
Click here for more information
Click here for dates and prices
Click here to book this safari
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