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11/04/2009

We left Archer’s point at 07h00 for the section to Maralal. This section is only 166km but it took us 9.5 hours to complete. Although the road is bad it is a very pleasant drive because of the scenery. The slow pace did not bother me at all. All along the road there are camels and there Samburu minders dressed in their traditional clothes.

Arriving at Maralal we overstay at the Yahe Camel and campsite. The Yahe Camel race is an annual event here held in August of every year so we are missing that. Yahe Camel has a bar and restaurant but poor shower and toilet facilities.

When we arrive there is a party tent going for some teenagers. The music is awfully loud and we only move in after the owner assures us that the music will stop by night fall. Come night fall we have a shower and a meal and get ready to watch a movie on the laptop. All of a sudden we are blasted with music from two directions. Now there is a live band in the bar and the children’s party is going along happily, although only the DJ is present at the last function.

So, we try and find the manager who is now missing but eventually somebody in authority assures us that the children’s party will stop but that the live band in the bar is in aid of an orphanage so obviously we cannot object to that.

All turn out well because the band does’nt sound half band, they play short sets and take long breaks. By 12 o’clock we have peace and quiet and a good night’s rest.

We receive a sms from Goldie and Netta informing us that they saw our car from the road coming in to town and we make arrangements to meet up again in the morning.

10/04/2009

Today we leave for our trip to Ethiopia. Goldie and Netta are also going in the direction of Lake Turkana so we offer them a lift to Nanyuki, close to Mt. Kenya.

With two extra people in the car it is a bit cramped but it is worth it for the good company. On the way out of Nairobi we witness an accident when a kamikaze driver tries to overtake a bus and end up in the ditch beside the road.

Just before Nanyuki there is a cheese factory, Silent Valley Cheese, and we make a slight detour to get there. They have quite a variety of cheeses that they deliver to clients as far away as Mombassa. All the cheeses are delicious and at the price it is worth a stop over.

In Nanyuki we cross the equator for the last time and we first stop to take pictures with Goldi and Netta and we say goodbye to them at the Sportmans Hotel which is a farely big complex serving reasonable meals. We had a good laugh because whilst enjoying our meals outside on the lawn the gardener came in with his lawnmower and with no regard to any of the patrons proceeded to mow the lawn with such enthusiasm that despite everyone’s protests about the dust and stones flying all over the place he did not notice anyone. A staff member had to grab him by the arm and point out to him the havoc he was causing.

After saying our goodbyes to Goldie and Netta we head of to a chimp sanctuary on the road to Isiolo that Zelda has read about. We were about half-way to Isiolo without seeing any sign of a sactuary so decided to change our route and travel to Maralal via Isiolo.

The road to Isiolo was not bad at all but from Isiolo it was reasonable gravel but there are signs of new roads being build.

Just before we Samburu National Park we miss a very small detour sign and instead of detouring to the right I follow a truck left towards Samburu National Park. The road was a bit bumpy and the first we noticed it was not the correct road was when we reached the gate to the park. After some verbal sparring with the guards they admit us to the park free of charge and explain how we must drive to join up with the main road again.

Well, after 6km’s on the park roads we turn around and head right out the park again. The state of the roads was terrible and in the hour we spend in the park we did not even see one animal. I don’t know why anybody will pay to go in there.

Eventually we are back on the road again but as it is getting late we are looking for a place to sleep. We head towards Archers Post and there find the Samburu Women Camp Site. What a pleasant place it turns out to be. We are the only people there but they have a restaurant and bar which we did not use. The campsite is situate right on the bank of the Ewaso Ngiro River and the setting is really fantastic. The river was not in flood while we are there but that did not detract from the natural beauty of the area.

Both Ivan and Zante are also impressed by the setting and Ivan especially spend the evening crocodile spotting. As the river banks are high and steep there are no danger of a visit from the crocodiles but you can easily spot them from the bank.

The Samburu women have their own village close to the camp site. It is only occupied by women and children, although, doing a head count of the number of children, it seems as if the women have not completely banished men from their lives. In any case, the women run the whole camp, and earn an income from the camp site, curios and charging a small fee to entertain visitors like ourselves with song and dance. The visit to the village is lead by Rose, and she does a very good job of telling the Samburu story and promoting the village.

07/04/2009

We are all suffering from Jungle Fever! According to the Travellers Lexicon that is a particular affliction that affects overlanders that stay at Jungle Junction. You can easily recognise it in any traveller by asking them the question ‘when are you leaving’ and if they repy ‘maybe tomorrow’ then you are talking to a sufferer. And watch out. It’s contagious.
We are preparing for our trip up north. The roads are apparently hell and we have heard of numerous travellers breaking down. Although you can never be prepared for everything I at least want to make sure that everything we have is working properly. At the moment we have a broken exhaust bracket which will definitely be a problem on the roads up north. We also want to return all surplus goods, including our curio purchases to South Africa to make the vehicle lighter. I have set a target of 100kg to be taken off the vehicle and everybody has embraced this task enthusiastically. Ivan brought along 11 shirts but have only worn 3 so he sacrifice 8 shirts to the cause.

Besides the car both Zelda and myself have a lot of work to do. The internet was off for the whole of yesterday so today has been a full working day. The children are writing tests and exams which we luckily don’t have to mark, but everything must be scanned and returned to the schools.

The evening we had supper at one of the best Italian restaurants I have been to. Look up La Salumeria in the Valley Arcade Shopping Center. You do not spot it easily but it is there.

04/04/2009

We leave Eldoret at 06h30 and drop off two pineapples with a note to Raj at his factory and off we go. The only good thing that can be said about the road from Eldoret to Nakuru, a distance of 145km, is that it is tarred but it might have been better as a gravel road. It is horrendous with frequent stops due to accidents, road works that have been started and not completed and diversions for reasons unknown.

By 13h00 we are in Nakuru. 6.5 hours drive on 145 km. We are starving and look for a place serving beef choma but do not find any. We decide to continue. About 5 km out of town there is waving from the car next to us. It is Raj and his girlfriend, on their way to Nairobi.

We follow them to a roadside oasis with petrol stations and various local restaurants. I did not keep the gps coordinates but from Nakuru to Nairobi it is about 29km’s on your right-hand side. You can eat at any of the restaurants and we shared a good meal of choma with Raj and Maggie. The meat in the butchery did not look half bad either so we purchase a rack of lamb ribs for a weekend braai.

From Nakuru to Nairobi the road is in good condition and progress is good. Nevertheless we only reach Nairobi at 15h30 and Zelda need to go to a supermarket. Whilst there she runs into Jan Engelbrecht and his wife. They follow us to Jungle Junction and there we establish that Jan and myself were in the same varsity hostel and the same time.

The evening is spent with Renee, Michael, Darryl and Jodie who go to the trouble of taking a taxi all the way out to us. This was the last time we are seeing them as they are flying back to France on Monday. We will try and see each other in Egypt as they intend flying out there from France. If not, we will visit them at home, hopefully in 2-3 months time.

03/04/2009

Hit the road to Nairobi. It is only 656km away but in Africa distance is relative. We leave at 10h00 in the morning and reach the border by 16h00 in the afternoon. Sometimes I don’t know why we complain about border crossings. 10 minutes to cross from Uganda to Kenya and less than 10 minutes to complete the formalities in Kenya. We decide to not even report to customs as we still have our paperwork for the car from the previous entry so we zoom through.

We reach Eldoret by 21h00 the evening. We only travelled 345km but the road was very busy and driving at night is not for the faint hearted. We had a couple of near misses with taxis that overtake at will. Originally we thought of driving through the night to Nairobi because our French friends, Renee and Michael made it there and are returning to France on Monday.

Although we would have like to stay at Naiberi Lodge again we did not feel like driving another 18km out of town so we decide to stay in the parking lot of the Sirikwa Hotel in Eldoret.

As a family we have started our own challenge to see who can buy the best, or most, of anything with $1. At this stage everybody is still playing a strategic game of waiting to see what the other guys are going to buy.

We have also met some really nice people from Europe that has said to come visit them once we reach Europe so we decided to extend our One Dollar Challenge to any person, group or company that feel like making a contribution to our trip.

It basically works like this. You offer us anything you want for $1. We decide whether we want to accept it and if we do then once we meet up we will give you $1 in exchange for whatever you offered.

Example: You offer to buy us a beer when we reach Paris. When we reach Paris and contact you we will exchange you our $1 for a beer.

Of course you can offer anything. Maybe a room for a night, a meal, a guided tour or whatever you are prepared to exchange for $1. Once we take you up on your offer we pay you $1.

If you have something to offer us please e-mail us on ericus@north-bound.co.za Keep in mind we are 2 adults and 2 children.

You can enter your own offer here. Just remember to send us your contact details as well.

We will display everything that anybody has offered us on this page and our heartfelt thanks to everybody that has taken the time and trouble to respond.

Play along. It can be fun.