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| 16/04/2009 |
Travelling into Ethiopia there is no official border post on either side. For that reason we had our passports stamped in Nairobi, 4-days earlier. When you cross to Ethiopia there is a little shack and the guy that stumbled out of it at 08h30 in the morning does not inspire confidence in the safety of the borders. But he is a police official, without a uniform or a badge, but with a police radio that works at 10h00 in the morning and we had to wait there until he could inform his supervisors at Omarate that there was new arrivals.
Normally you also have to take an escort with you to Omarate because they are afraid you will bypass the immigration offices in town and head straight to Addis. After an hour waiting at the border we got fed up and told him we were leaving. He insisted we stay but we had enough of the heat and the onlookers so we left for Omarate.
Once again the tracks on the gps and the tracks on the ground did not match. You have to make your own road through the bush and cattle paths and if you only relied on a map it might be difficult to find Omarate.
The immigration officials in Omarate were friendly and helpful and did not even enquire about the missing escort. We managed to get in without a carnet.
In Omarate we visited our first Ethiopian “tourist hotel” and found flies, dirt, more flies and hundreds of onlookers, but fortunately also some cold beers. At one stage 3 bare breasted women walked right up to us, hunched down and just stared at us. Poor Ivan. He does not know where to look with all these naked breasts in his face all day. I told him to make the most of it because it might get scarcer as he gets older.
We did not need to fill up and I’m not sure whether you can get fuel in Omarate. Probably, but it will be expensive.
We continued to Turmi and slept at the Tourist Campsite. In Turmi there are various camping facilities to choose from. This one was right on the banks of the river although it was dry. The campsite is covered in big avocado and mango trees and depending on when you are there it is there for the picking. The facilities were basic but good. You can buy fresh bread and beer in Turmi and you should be able to get some fuel. We also bought some tej – a local beer made with honey. It tastes a bit like ginger beer.
The evening we celebrated our safe arrival in Ethiopia with an original South African barbeque including toasted sandwiches, lamb chops and sausage from South Africa, corn on the cob and cold beers.
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| 15/04/2009 |
At 06h00 we are at the gate again with our student cards and pay our $20 dollar entrance fee. They did not have change so we had to wait 40 minutes while somebody drove from the main camp to the gate with change.
Nobody knows what the entrance fee is for, because we saw no animals during our drive through the park. What we did get was poorly maintained roads and numerous, mostly dry river beds. Some of them were not that dry because of the recent rain but we managed fine through most of them. In the one river bed we got stuck four times but successfully dug ourselves out every time. For the first time the sand tracks was also used and despite getting stuck we only wasted about 1.5 hours on the one river crossing.
About 7 km’s before Ileret we got to another river with really steep banks going into it and a truck already stuck in the river bed. We offered assistance but I was disappointed when they actually managed to break my high-lift jack getting their truck out. Unfortunately we did not realise it immediately but only at the next occasion we needed it for ourselves.
After spending about an hour waiting for the truckers to clear the river bed we could pass through with only one dig and we reached the police station at Ileret with no further incident. This is the last stop before crossing the border into Ethiopia and the only place to stay over is at the police station, unless you can arrange something with the Catholic mission.
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| 14/04/2009 |
At 06h00 we are on the road towards Sibiloi National Park. The driving is through sand and volcanic rock. Every day we are looking out for rain because if you attempt these roads in rainy season you better be well prepared and preferably not travel on your own.
For 2 days we received a little rain but at this stage the roads are still passable but it can become very tricky, very quickly.
Often during this section of the trip the gps points to non-existent tracks and you have to make your own way through sand and bush to pick up the track again. We are thankful we have a gps because you cannot rely only on maps as the tracks depend on which sections are passable during the rainy season.
We cross numerous dry river beds and at some of them the banks are steep and in case of rain it will be difficult to cross. At least it looks as if we missed the rainy season. Considering that the rain usually starts in April and lasts to the end of May we are lucky.
There are apparently 2 routes from Gus village to Ileret. The one route goes through the Sibiloi National Park, for which you have to pay $20 per person to enter, and the other route circles the park. On the map we have the circle route is indicated but on the gps only the route through the park.
From Gus Village we followed the gps route but for long sections there were no tracks to follow and you had to find your own way. We could not pick up any tracks going round the park and I think if you want to take this route you have to drive to North Horr and start from there. Coming from North to South it might be easier to follow this route because the road from ileret to North Horr is sign posted as you exit Illeret.
Arriving at the park gates we could not enter as it was already 18h00 so we slept at the gates. Not quite at the gates because then you have to pay a parking fee so we just moved about 100 meters and made camp for the night.
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| 13/04/2009 |
The next leg of this section see us up at 06h00 and after paying our 100 Shilling for the night we are off to Loiyangalani, a distance of 131km. We are definitely planning on doing shorter sections if it will help to keep the car from breaking down.
The section today is a mix between rock face, gravel and volcanic rock. We pass a few small villages, amongst them South Horr which is quite big and where you can buy some fresh bread and fruit. We just asked a shopkeeper for bread and although she did not have, it was not 2 minutes before another woman turn up at our side with the freshest bread rolls imaginable. Together with the small tasty bananas from this area we had a delightful breakfast.
Wherever you stop there will be a congregation of old and young that stare at you. You get a bit tired of it but there is not much you can do. We stop close to a sports field in South Horr and are soon surrounded by about 20 youngsters. I ask them to go and play but they would rather stare at us. Eventually I throw a tennis ball towards the soccer field and for the next few minutes it is our turn to watch them fight it out for possession of the ball. Eventually a winner is declared and they immediately surround us again.
By now we are finished and we say our goodbyes. Zante swops a pen for a necklace and somewhere in the mayhem someone stole our water cap.
We continue towards Loiyangalani and pass 3 cars for the day. The scenery is spectacular when you get an opportunity to look. For the rest of the time it takes concentration on the road because one mishap can result in damage to the car and a possible day or two wait for help. Driving is nerve racking and tiresome but we are all amazed by the performance of the car. We are in low range 4x4 all the way and the car handles every single obstacle with ease. It seems as if the car is ideally suited to rough riding but not suitable to corrugated roads.
By about 15h00 we get our first glimpse of Lake Turkana and it is magnificent. The colour is turquoise and looks more like the Mediterranean than an inland lake. There are even islands in the lake. There are hardly any people on this section of the road and the area is dessert or semi-dessert. Occasionally there are one or two huts but for most parts of the day we see no people or vehicles.
The road is through volcanic rock sections which are very tough on the car tyres.
We stopped next to the lake and although the water was warm and slightly salty nobody wanted to take a swim because we are all too scared of crocodiles.
Driving into Loiyangalani you feel like Caesar after a campaign, having survived another day. There are numerous overnight options to choose from but we decide on El Molo. About 1 km from the campsite we are already greeted by a youngster who want to take us there and although we tell him we can find our own way he insists on running in front of the car. It is a mad race because as he speeds up we speed up to overtake him. What makes the situation even more funny is that he is running with 2 left footed sandals, the one pink and the other blue. Eventually at the speed we are driving we run him right out of his sandles.
After arriving in El Molo we find a site next to a tap and underneath a tree. When we park it is like a well oiled machine because within minutes the chairs are out, the washing line erected, the beers open and the windows/skylight opened. Now our running guide acts as translator to the manager who does not speak a word of English. The price, 450 Shilling each, the children must pay too, plus on top of that, 350 Shilling for each person who wants to use the hot-spring water swimming pool. Yes, unbelievably there is a swimming pool and it is full of water and it is clean.
But the price is excessive. We start negotiating. The manager is prepared to drop to 450
Shilling for the adults and 1/2 price for the children plus the same arrangement for the swimming fee. We won’t budge. We don’t want to pay for swimming, although we want to swim, and we don’t want to pay for the children for camping. The manager refuses to budge. We know there are 3 more camping options in town so we slowly start packing away the chairs, close the windows and roll up the washing line.
The manager agrees to 450 Shilling each for the adults and 700 Shilling for all of us swimming. After the drive we are on an adrenaline high and enjoying the negotiations. Now for the starting car technique which involves making your final offer, starting the car and reversing in quick succession. It works and we settle in for 900 Shilling including swimming for the four of us. It was beautiful.
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| 12/04/2009 |
Today is the start of the 850 km trip to the next filling station in Ethiopia. A sense of nervous anticipation prevails and I have to use the bathroom a few times before we can get going. We meet up with Goldie and Neta at the Cheers Hotel in town. It turns out to be his birthday as well so Zelda prepares 2 cupcakes and candles for the occasion. The breakfast is passable but we are chomping at the bit to get going.
On the way to the car we meet Pastor Richard who wants a lift to Baragoi, the next town. We politely decline, although in my heart of hearts I know we need any divine assistance for this leg of the journey.
We bid farewell to our friends and leave Maralal. The first 500 meters out of town is a steep rock slope and from then on the road just get progressively worse. Within 10km everybody has shed some tears and if it was not for our earlier visits to the bathroom we would have empty our bowels as well.
We have never experienced a road like this and to think we have complained about any section of road up to now is embarrassing.
The road is actually a track through rock face. At any stage you are either climbing up or down this rock face and with our height it makes for some interesting angles. At one stage we could see the lighter side of it all and started joking that there is no way we can fall over because we are too low.
For the day we travelled 86km and it took us 10 hours. We saw about 3 other vehicles on the road but we survived it. From one of the vehicles that passed us we saw a familiar face waving. It was Pastor Richard and when we entered Baragoi he was waiting at the road side to point us to an overnight site.
The site was a small compound that you will hardly recognise as an overnight site but there are some rooms and they were filled. Very soon we had all the guests around the car including Pastor David from Mt Kenya as well as Pastor Richard. We spend some time chatting to everybody and it turned out to be a very pleasant evening. I think the realisation that you are still alive after the trip, and that if you can survive the first day you can hopefully survive the second, fills you with exhilaration.
After inspecting the car, a warm shower and fettucini alfredo we are in bed.
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