Back into Kenya

Monday 11th June

It was Garfield’s day to be serviced – new oil, sparkplugs, fuel filter etc. Dave also bought 2 new Pirelli tyres for the back wheels and when he stripped the R back wheel he found that the rear brake slave cylinder was leaking, so he also replaced that. Garfield is now as good as new!
We had a pleasant evening on Terry & Rita’s veranda chatting and just relaxing.

Tuesday 12th June

After breakfast we said our farewells and Dave and I headed down to Entebbe to see Entebbe itself, and the elusive shoebill at a wildlife sanctuary there. We saw 3 shoebills which was great and then we headed E back to Jinga where we were meeting everyone else at a campsite, called Eden Rock. This campsite was quieter than Nile River Explores, where we had stayed before and was owned by a local black man, David, who was very interesting to talk to. We did go over to NRE to check with Jon Dahl about the road conditions to Sipi Falls and he told us it was a newly surfaced road with no security problems as far as he knew.

Wednesday 13th June

Driving in these African countries is always interesting – today we saw a bicycle with about 6 chickens tied by their feet, hanging down from the front handle bars! The way they load these bicycles never ceases to amaze us! Everywhere we go, we are greeted with hand waves, great big smiles and shouts of ‘Mzungu’ which means ‘European’- at least they are not begging for sweets.
Just before Sipi Falls we came across a sign for Sisiyi Falls, 5kms off the road, so we went to have a look – they were beautiful falls in very well kept, park like gardens – well worth the stop and we had a picnic lunch there before moving on. All around Mount Elgon water pours out in falls and water run offs. We have really learnt that altitude plays a bigger part in temperature than latitude, as we are on or around the equator, and yet it is very cool because of our height. I am sure that once we reach the Kenyan coast we will become much more aware of being on the equator!
We reached Sipi Falls and set up camp at one of the many campsites on offer – just in time because the heavens opened and there was a heavy downpour for about an hour! Then it cleared and the sun came out from about 5pm till 7pm. The Kargs and the Hardmans were energetic and took a walk down to the bottom of Sipi Falls – I felt bad being lazy but when they returned covered in mud, I was glad I hadn’t gone as it was apparently very slippery, and I hate that. Sipi Falls rise on the upper slopes of Mount Elgon(which straddles the Ugandan/Kenyan border) and are made up of a series of 4 falls – we could see 3 of these falls from our campsite. The last fall is a drop of 99m and is the most spectacular.




Thursday 14th June

We left at 8am and continued traveling around Mount Elgon to get to the border post into Kenya. At first the road was tarred and good but it very soon became a dirt road with lots of very muddy sections. The going was slow but it was very scenic although we could not see the peak of Mount Elgon as it was swathed in cloud. We reached the border at Suam at about lunch time and went through with no problems except for a crazy local man who swiped the valve tops off of Brian and Wills tyres and wanted to be paid for their return. Eventually the border officials intervened and sorted him out. Officials in all the countries we have visited, have been nothing but courteous and polite with no corruption evident. After our bad experiences in Mozambique in 2001, Dave and I had been dreading interacting with officials – but we have been pleasantly surprised.
We arrived at Delta campsite near the Kenyan Mount Elgon National Park at about 2.30pm and set up camp.



Our costs in Rwanda for 3 days were
Food R259
Camping R140
Hotel R624
Petrol R820
Drinks R44
Carwash R30
Sightseeing R65
Purchases R247

And in Uganda for 25 days they were
Road Toll R514
Visas R630
Drinks R963
Camping/Accom R2240
Rafting R1330
Petrol R5372
Groceries R1489
Gas cylinder refill R214
Car repairs R3917
National Park Fees R2310
Chimp tracking R980
Gorilla tracking R5320
Sightseeing R635
Internet R43
Rafting DVD R84

We are going to have to try and economize here in Kenya!

Friday 15th June

The campsite is very pleasant and green with lots of resident birds and a troop of beautiful black & white colobus. We really had time to observe the colobus and admire their beauty. We have had a real clean out today with Dave and I reorganizing all the lug boxes and doing laundry-Sputnik(our washing machine) is back in action after Dave fixed her broken handle for me! Dave had been craving pancakes, so I had time to muster them up for him, and we had banana pancakes with cinnamon, lemon and sugar for lunch which was a real treat.

Saturday 16th June

Today we took a joy ride N up through the Cherangani Hills to a town called Signor, and then turned around to travel S down the other side of the Cherangani Hills. On the way down, the Great Rift Valley was on our left hand side and the scenery was spectacular. It was an action packed day with lots of mud and towing of stuck vehicles- our groups and a local bus which we helped get un stuck! The local people were very interesting, especially the women who wore very ornate jewelry.
We had planned to get all the way down to Lake Borgoria, but with all the muddy sections, going was slow, and once again at 5pm we were faced with looking for a bush camp. Will & Ingrid were in the lead today so they took a side road up onto the hills towards a church. At first there seemed to be nobody to ask permission from but then we saw 2 elderly ladies higher up the hill, and Lorraine went up to them, with her Swahili dictionary and her humble African approach, and secured their permission for us to camp here next to the church. Of course, within minutes we had a group of spectators, but they are not troublesome and they all disappear as soon as it gets dark. We will have leave at ‘sparrow’ tomorrow as it is Sunday and the worshippers will be here for church.




Sunday 17th June

We woke up at 6.15am to a colourful sunrise over the Rift Valley and were gone by before 7am! We stopped for breakfast along the way and then carried on S through the Kerio Valley until we hit the main road and we then turned E towards the town of Marigat and Lake Bogoria. Of course we were at the bottom of the Rift Valley and we had to climb out of this valley – it was a spectacular drive with 1000’s upon 1000’s of hills all around us. We reached Lake Bogoria at about lunch time and took the scenic drive down the lakeside. Lake Bogoria is a soda lake bordered on the E by the Siracho Escarpment, it is about 30kms long and only 9metres deep, and it is grass green in colour due to its high algae content. About half way down there was an area on the western shoreline with about 6 hot springs and geysers where we stopped for lunch. The water was almost boiling and in fact, Nev & Lorraine boiled 2 eggs in the water! We then carried on down to the southern tip, along a green, canopied road to Fig Tree Camp – a tranquil camp full of giant fig trees with a babbling stream running through it. We think it is glorious but so do a whole troop of baboons! So we have to watch our belongings. We had planned to talk to our children this evening, but unfortunately there is no cell signal, so we will have to wait until tomorrow evening- sorry my chickens!
We had a braai around a lovely camp fire – life is really good on this trip. We have never seen so many fire flies – the camp looked to be dotted with dancing fairy lights – it was too beautiful. Once we went to bed it poured with rain but luckily we were snug in our beds! During the night the hyena were howling right next to our camp – I think they were complaining that we were in their territory – my potty is very useful as there is no way I am coming down that ladder in the dark of night!
We woke up early Monday morning and walked down to the lake edge where there are more smaller steam jets and bubbling hot springs. We walked up to a vantage point and took lovely photos looking back to the western shore and the main geysers.
Yesterday Neville replaced his front prop shaft universal, a repair that Brian has also had to do in Dar es Salaam although his was the rear one. These vehicles certainly keep us busy!