Narok - Part 1 "The River Runs Wild"
Narok...a blend of smog, people and utter chaos, and our destination for our large grocery run. A late departure from camp, a bad combination of kerosene/fuel in the pick-up, a 3 hour delay at the mechanic, as well as storm clouds on the horizon; in hindsight, I suppose these events were forshadowing things to come.
As the sun began to set, Douglas, Leonard and I found ourselves packing and repacking the truck for the return journey to camp. Barely managing to fit all the items onto the back of the truck, we eventually resorted to using our laps to carry the more "fragile" products (ie eggs). With everything safely stowed away, we bid Narok farewell and began our journey home.
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| Leonard |
Lightning stretched across the horizon as the heavens opened up with a torrential downpour causing already dangerous roads to become entrenched and slick. What was originally going to be a 3 hour trek became a 5 hour odyssey. I say odyssey because having only 1 CD in the truck meant that by the time we reached Oloolaimutia, well after midnight, we could sing along to all the tracks.
Unable to cross the now raging Sand River, we grabbed our torches and trekked through the darkened streets of Oloolaimutia in search of a safe place to stay the night. The local hotel aptly named Sweethearts proved to be both clean and dry and exactly what this ragged mzungu needed. Nothing could keep me from sleeps embrace!
By morning the roads had improved little. Tired but not beaten we headed to camp with fingers crossed. Six attempts at the first crossing did not deter us from what lay ahead after all the local Maasai did aid us by pushing our vehicle through the not quite knee deep mud. The Sand River however proved another matter. A second camp vehicle with most of the staff tagging along was already waiting for us on the other side of the river ready to lead our vehicle across. At this juncture I have to admit that I was slightly fearful of the churning waters. My instincts were telling me "no" while everyone else was saying "go". In the end, the staff waded through the water, tied a tow line to our truck and towed us to safety. The adrenaline coursing through my veins, I was now ready for another adventure but first things first, a cup of chai and a hot shower.
Nairobi - Part 2 "There and Back Again - A Mzungu's Travel Tale"
Stars dotted the night sky as I made my way to Oloolaimutia to catch the 3AM matatu to Narok and then ownward to Nairobi. This was to be my first attempt at the local mode of transportation. I was eager to hit the open road with these legendary drivers. Dodging pot holes, trash and mud trenches, our driver manoeuvred our vehicle to "designated" stops to pick-up his passengers. Desginated stops is a liberal term as in the pitch of night we would stop at some house or manyatta, honk the horn and wait for those inside to make their way to the matatu. How the driver knew where to stop will remain a mystery to this day. With 12 seats already full and only 2 places remaining, I could scarcely believe my eyes when we made additional stops. Where were those people going to sit? The more people were squeezed into our vehicle, the more impressed I became by my fellow passengers sheer determination. In the end, we managed to fit a whopping 23 people in our proverbial clown car. As it was cool and raining outside, I enjoyed the warmth within.
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| Angele & Douglas |
The return journey was to be another highlight of Kenyan life. Imagine a 26 passenger bus laden with people, goods and fowl. It took the driver and his men a whopping 4 hours to secure everything and everyone onto, atop and into the bus. This was going to be a whole new experience unlike the matatu. As I quietly sat in my designated seat, I watched the men haul 50kg sacks of sugar into the aisles followed by 20ltr vats of cooking oil. Under every seat they managed to stow away vegetables, pangas, boxes, bags, etc... As for the top of the bus, .furniture, drums of fuel next to bags of fresh charcoal were securely strapped for the return journey to the Mara. The most comical part to me was the loading of chickens. With legs tied together, they hung in rows on either side of the bus. Throughout the journey, beaks would peck at the glass and beady eyes would look at you accusingly as you sat in relative comfort as babies sat on strangers laps, passengers squeezed together onto seats and several extra people crammed the aisles. If only I had brought my camera.
Sekenani - Part 3 "The Last Crusade"
Everyone in camp used to tell me that if you went out to buy a sack of potatoes it could take you all day and there were no guarantees of your being successful. I was about to understand this concept.
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| Ernest |
Hot and dusty best described the roads, the air and ourselves. It was essential to travel to Sekenani as we were running low on cooking gas and with a shortage in Kenya, it only seemed right to head to a balloon company and await their delivery truck.
Being organized as I am, I stayed in constant contact with the delivery driver. With an estimated arrival time of noon, James, Ernest and I headed to Sekenani. Upon our arrival however, we were informed that the driver was nowhere near where previously mentioned. We therefore decided to walk through the town, do a little shopping and find a place to quench our thirst and satisfy our hunger. Most establishments were either too dirty or too hot but in the end we settled on the "Star Hotel" as it most importantly offered cold sodas. With ice cold bottles pressed against our foreheads, we dined on local goat and rice.
Now we had to kill time...first we parked the truck under the only tree we could find and listened to James' tunes. Secondly, as their was no breeze in town, we decided to create our own by driving down the washboard road. Finally, we walked around town approximately 5-6 times, as the town only had 3 streets, stopping at the same establishments as when we first arrived as we may have missed seeing something new.
Our delivery driver finally pulled into Sekenani well after 6pm...a good 6 hours off schedule. Regulations state that the canisters cannot be filled until the air within has cooled. As the park gates were closing at 6:30pm, we decided it best to leave the empty canisters and return in the morning. Armed with the best "sweet talker" in camp, we managed to make our way through both park gates and arrive in camp by 8pm. For once, I actually looked forward to a cold shower.
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| Muthaiga Staff |
Angele/Naserian/Malaika
