-- Log 8 --

Across the Rift Valley again!

This time we headed for Eldoret, a quaint town, started by would you believe it Afrikaners in the 1800’s. There is still a great deal of order to the town and the houses are pretty good shape.

At the garage we met a most delightful gentlemen selling veggies and fruit. He saw we were from South Africa, so gave us a good price on his South African apples, which by the way were very good tasting. We will have to drop by there again on our way to Nairobi.

Also at the garage was a great place that sold fresh slap chips! The best we have had since leaving South Africa! Having stocked up, filled up, and eaten up, we went the 20 kms out of town to the campsite.

Naiberi River Campsite – Eldoret – GPS N00.26.972 E035.26.828 7 654 ft AMSL – Camping Ksh 200 pppn – 21/05/02

The campsite is well patronized by overland trucks, and their facilities cater for both the group over Lander and the individual. The grounds are grassed and well treed.
The site is along the Naiberi River, with a tree house over the river, and a couple of tree lookouts in which to enjoy the peace and solitude of the area.
The toilet facilities are good, but the shower facilities could do with a little more improvement. There was always hot water, which was appreciated. They also have a bath – quite a luxury for Ksh300 per hour. The bar, lounge and snooker area is unique; posters have been made by various overland groups which gives the area a special feel.

A fire is lit in the central fireplace in the main bar/lounge area in the evenings. We found spending time chatting to the folk passing through a most pleasant experience.
Ash and Roslyn are most informative about the area.

We did have an unfortunate experience with a cow, Mathilda, early one morning. She decided to investigate our goods and in the process managed to twist and bend one of the aluminium stays of the awning. We very seriously considered Texan steak for dinner!! Good old Henri in his quite way, came over to give us a hand to fix it. He was a star, and between Henri and Dennis they managed to repair most of the damage. There is concern that the section joining the awning roller has been weakened. We will have to be very careful.

Having sorted the problem out, Dennis went up to speak to Ash about the incident and to make enquiries about the cheese factory. He was away the better part of the afternoon. What with one thing and another it appears that Ash enjoyed his company and would not let him leave. Eventually I had to send Henri to rescue him.

. We met a delightful couple that had lived in Uganda; they gave us some very good information about the country. Makda is from Ethiopia and Mike is British. Mike is currently working in Khartoum. Makda was so bubbly, colourful and friendly we really enjoyed her company. They had visited RSA a couple of years ago and enjoyed the time they had spent there, especially Cape Town! Makda has given us contact names and numbers of people we can visit in Ethiopia, and we were invited to visit them in Khartoum!

Makga Woods

Mike and Makda with their Landcruiser

We decided to go into town and send our emails and to then move on to Lake Baringo – Roberts Camp, were we would wait for Henri and Jenny, as they wanted to say another night in Eldoret.

We the whole email thing turned out to be exceptionally time consuming and frustrating. Eventually the email with attachments went through, but it really made us very late. Dennis was not feeling well, so we gave the cheese factory a miss and started to look for the road to Lake Baringo. Well an hour later, many wasted litres of petrol and much question asking we eventually got onto the correct road! It sure would be great if these folk spent some time on street signs!

We arrived a small village called Iten, on the escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. They views are stunning! We had not realized that we would have to cross the rift valley to get to Lake Borgina. Just before we were about to make the 3 000 foot decent into the valley our brakes did not appear to be working properly! It took us a while to find out what exactly the problem was, and with the help of a delightful young man we managed to get a replacement bolt for the one that had gone missing from the brake callipers! The young man at Iten Central Garage was knowledgeable and quickly found a replacement. He actually said there was no charge for the repair – now that is a FIRST! By now it was pretty late, but we pressed on. The drive down the escarpment and up the other side was not the most pleasant, but we made it. We arrived at Roberts camp well after dark – tired, and irritable. The amazing thing about being in the wilds is that you cannot stay miserable for long, as there is always something to pick you up.

Roberts Camp – Ksh 300 pppn – 23/05/02

The bird life at Roberts Camp is amazing. They have such a variety that we were quite excited about what we saw. They also have a 30-year-old tortoise called Mzee.
She decided to spend the day with us, which was great. Also the starlings are jolly cheeky and they practically moved in! Unlike the other camps we have been to recently Roberts camp is in dry bush lands and the temperatures where in the upper 30’s. It took us a while to get used to the heat.

Henri and Jenny arrived late the following afternoon. It had been a pretty stressful drive for them and they were both very tired. Next day we decided that we did not want to go to Lake Bogoria, as it meant back tracking down to Nakuru. We wanted to start working our way to the Ugandan border. After much discussion Henri decided that they would come with us as well.

The trip back across the Rift Valley was much more pleasant than the crossing made two days ago, and we both enjoyed the scenery and waving to the village folk.

Udo Camp – Kenya Wildlife Services Forest Reserve – Kakemenga – GPS N00.21.181 E034.51.836 5 224 feet – Ksh 156 pppn – Good Value 25/05/02

Henri suggested that we go to the Busia border crossing, as it was not as busy as the other one. In order to do that we decided to stay at the Kakemenga Forest Station and they to go along either a secondary road or an untarred road. We arrived at the campsite just after 16.00 after a bit of a run around, as they kms on the map are incorrect. The site is basic, and is in the middle of the forest. We were enjoying the cool air and the bird life, so we stayed another night. Henri and Jenny were tired so they were quite happy with that. Also the extra night gave us a chance to go into town the next morning to exchange money for fuel as from what we can work out fuel costs in Uganda are very expensive.

We met a threesome who we last saw in Swaziland – it is amazing where people turn up. In Swaziland they were having heating problems with their Range Rover, and would you believe it they are still having the same problems. After talking to them we now understand why. Louise, Ben and Matt, it was great talking to you, and thanks for all the advise about West Africa. We will keep in touch, and hope to see you in Nairobi before you go back to Britain.

A new day, and a new country – next up Uganda.


Photos courtesy Henri and Jenny Botha - Africanadventure