Jambo from Kenya

Slow ferry from Dar
Packed up from Sunrise Beach and didn't recognise Tom Cruiser because he was so clean after the service. Looked as good as new. Ferry took ages so we all busied ourselves: Rebecca and I with our own Sodukos and Kaz with a magazine. Traffic northwards through the city was horrendous. As we noticed coming into Nairobi too, roads in big cities are a mess and generally gridlocked. Finally got on the Bagamoyo road and breathed a huge sigh of relief to put Dar behind us. Destination for the day was Peponi Resort just north of Pangani (different spelling and far nicer). About 10km from the campsite and after having a coffee/lunch stop rolled into one, we were stopped by a team of workmen digging a trench across the road, in fact the trench ran from one village to the next so there was no around and nothing for it but to switch off and wait for them to finish the trench, lay their water pipe and fill it in again. So we watched two guys do all the work and the others doing nothing. Luckily the foreman had asked for a lift to the Tanga road so he had a vested interest in getting it done chop-chop. Got to Peponi to find Matt and Sue there, as well as Glen Green and family. We had wondered when we'd bump into them. They had a son, Galen, about Rebecca's age and the two of them really hit it off so they played and played and played, with Tiva his younger sister in tow. Needless to say we didn't see a lot of the kids for the next couple of days. Glen, Tandi and kids left to head up to Mombasa and the same day we booked a dhow cruise to go snorkelling. It was just us and it was nice for Rebecca to snorkel and at least see some colourful reef fish. Water was a bit cold so she just went into the "deep end" once. We were also lucky to see some dolphins on the way out to the reef.

Peponi is really organised and a place I would recommend to anyone travelling to northern Tanzania. It was then time to say goodbye to Matt and Sue who were heading north-eastwards to Arusha while we were going north towards Mombasa. Not sure when our paths will cross again as we will go from Kenya to Uganda and Rwanda while they cover those countries on their way back from Ethiopia.

Kenya; the bushKats are Koming
Got stung for a Tanzanian Road Tax as we were leaving the country for non-existent roads by an overly officious customs officer looking for a receipt. Things got worse as we were then hit for a Foreign Vehicle Permit going into Kenya. Good business, this government lark. At least our Comesa insurance still seems to be valid.

Made our way to Twiga Lodge where we were glad to see that Glen and crew were still there. Rebecca nearly jumped out the window and off they went. We had had fairly low expectations of the place given what we'd read but it just shows you can't believe what you read. It was amazing; camping right on the beach. Secure, and very comfortable. So just when you think things can't get better than the Tanzanian beaches, they can.

There was pretty good snorkelling off the beach between the tides and you could do your shopping from your chair but more of that later, I'm getting ahead of myself. We needed to visit Kenya Wildlife Society to get a smartcard to visit Tsavo East/West and Amboseli and as it was Friday we decided to hit Mombasa on Saturday rather than Sunday. This meant backtracking to Diani to draw some Kenyan currency before heading off to Mombasa. Lucky that we did, because as Mombasa is an island, access from the south is by ferry (yep again!!). Luckily it was better organised, and the craft a bit younger vintage than the Tanzanian ferry. My only gripe was that all Landrovers only paid Ksh 60 and pick-ups were Ksh 110!!!! Once in the city, found KWS and sorted out the smartcard very easily and then off to park at Fort Jesus to explore the old town which is quite similar but on a smaller scale than Zanzibar, even down to the narrow alley ways and carved doors. Found someone cooking potato crisps on the side of the road, delicious. Traffic was manic as the town was full of these little tuk-tuk taxis, normal taxis and minibuses.

Walked through the Old Town and then to the city centre where I bought 2 new pairs of flip flops. I've already worn out 2 pairs. Drew money at Stanbic and treated ourselves to coffee at the Castle Royal Hotel. Then we caught a tuk-tuk back to the car park. Rebecca thought this was magic and especially liked the way they push their way through the traffic. It was then on to the Mombasa Club to use the loo!! Very posh. Then back to the campsite.

Twiga and Miss Twiggy
The campsite was home to a little African hedgehog who popped out every evening and went about his foraging. He wasn't particularly bothered by us and you needed to check where you were walking to avoid stomping on him. The nocturnal animals far preferable to the cheeky vervets who came our during the day and didn't miss a trick.
Sunday we rested…and shopped. (Without moving away from our spot on the beach)

First up was the kanga seller who arrived on the beach and showed Kaz all the cloths she was selling. We bought some as presents. Then we had a visit from the fishmonger who sold us some prawns and went off to shell them for us.
"Mr. Mango", the greengrocer, turned up next pushing his bicycle. We bought some bananas and he gave Rebecca a custard apple to try. The Masai trinket seller, the carvings man, the basket and mat seller and the newspaper vendor all went away empty handed.
The location, laid back atmosphere and the lack of an influx over weekends made this one of our favourite spots. Glen, Tandi, Galen and Tiva left to get a move on towards Ethiopia and Galen and Rebecca waved and waved until they were out of sight.

Twiga to Tsavo
Said goodbye to the sea as we were heading to Tsavo East for a bush injection. Courtesy of an email from the Planetarium we had a great sighting of the crescent moon flanked by Saturn, Mars and Regulus all in a line in the West, while behind us Jupiter was showing in the East.

Last trip across the ferry and headed west out of Mombasa and yes, the traffic was worse. As Mombasa is a port the number of trucks parked on the mainland side was horrendous. But hey, eventually we were on a dual-carriageway, haven't seen one of these for a while. Kenyans, like Tanzanians, have a nasty habit of putting large humps on both sides of the road to slow traffic when the speed limit drops to 50 and these are mansize! Stopped at the first entrance gate to the park to have our coffee and then made our way to Voi gate. Stopped at Lion Hill Camp to confirm whether they still had camping and ended up sitting on their deck having lunch and watching elephants in Tsavo East, and ,no, they don't offer camping anymore. As it was too late to enter the park for us to mak the most of the daily fee, we stopped at Red Elephant Lodge which did. They gave us a room key for toilets and showers and we had the place to ourselves. Drinks in the bar were expensive, rather head up the hill and drink at Lion Hill camp.

Leisurely pack up, coffee at the Voi entrance gate and into the park. Topped up the smartcard to see us through 3 nights in Tsavo and 1 in Amboseli. The campsite was amongst some big trees, with a resident baboon troop, and the ablutions were inhabited by bats. Nice setting though!!

Saw a lot of game, especially in the Kanderi Swamp area. Given that this was one of the centres of the elephant poaching war, they have certainly recovered, there were hundreds all over the wetlands.
Tsavo has some signposts, which is more than Selous had, but no real picnic facilities. We visited Aruba Lodge, overlooking Aruba dam, only been open 4 months where we had a quick drink and a look at the dam. Driving around we saw some gerenuks eating trees standing on their hind legs. They look like impala with very long necks. The flocks of queleas were huge and made a whooshing noise as they flew past. We made our way to the Galana River in the northern section and then on to the Manyani Gate where we exited the park with about 45 minutes to spare. Stopped to have coffee and were joined by Winnie, the ranger who booked us out. She even had one of our last Hobnobs!

A couple of kays up the main road we turned off to the Tsavo River Gate to Tsavo West.
We were immediately struck by the difference in the terrain. While East was flattish, West was more mountainous and particularly volcanic. We made our way towards Mzima Springs, which provides Mombasa with its water supply, and found a viewpoint called Roaring Rocks on the way. Looking out over the valley we were treated with a view of Mt. Kilimanjaro peaking out. It dwarfs all the other hills around it and even the slopes of Kili rise above them.

Had a walk around the springs where the water is so clear you can make out the hippos even when submerged. There is a underwater viewing tank but no hippo or crocodile graced us with a look-in, only the fish. We didn't see as much game in West as we had in East and not for lack of trying. Kirk's dik-dik were plentiful and we saw loads of them, I suppose the lions couldn't be bothered to catch them unless looking for a small snack. We also saw fringe-eared oryx, and a dead zebra. Seemed to have died of natural causes and the white-backed and lappet faced vultures were sitting in the tree waiting for someone to open it up. We went straight back to the spot the next morning and obviously someone had obliged as all the vultures were scrapping on the ground and there was no sign of the zebra at all! Campsite in West was pretty open, loos were grimy and we didn't really spend too much time there. Genets and dik diks in the camp made up for the ablutions.

On our last day in West, we presented ourselves at Chyulu Gate to pick up our armed escort to Amboseli. We tried to avoid it but "our security is paramount", so Simon, Kenyan military, popped into the front seat and we made space for Kaz in the back, much to Rebecca's delight. The road in most parts was ok and we made it in fairly good time. It was a good job we hadn't dodged the guard as we'd wanted to as there was a stop near the military outpost where "no guard, no go" and one would have to wait for the next convoy. Stopped for our compulsory coffee spot, much to Simon's bemusement, about 10 kms before the park.

Amboseli Amazing
Dropped Simon off at Ol Tukai lodge, had a quick drink, and then headed off for a drive and saw male and female lions lying in the open in the blazing hot sun surrounded by zebras. Amboseli was flat where Tsavo had been mountainous. It reminded us so much of Botswana, especially Makgadikgadi. All the animals kick up dust as they walk, and boy, did we see animals. Mostly elephants, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra and Thompson's Gazelle. It was nice to see impala, Tommies and Grant's all together. Kili was visible al ot the first day as it was so clear. We saw it briefly the next morning as well as a hot air balloon in the distance. It then clouded over and the picture postcard view was gone and not to return.

We liked Observation Hill which gave a bird's eye view over the swamps and the plains. The elephants and hippos were making trenches through the thick mud almost disappearing from view. Talk about a powerful 4X4 and mud pack all in one!
Bird list now includes a Swahili Sparrow.
Stayed at the Maasai Community campsite which overlooked the park and a very pleasant camp it was too.
We've been cooking on coals for the last while and by now our fresh fruit and veg stocks were almost depleted. Unfortunately time for a shop, in a city. Aaargh!

Bushcats are not citycats, especially not these cities.

Anyway, we plotted a course for Nairobi. The road took us out the north western Mashanani Gate which gave us a pleasant drive north of the very dry lake. It then joined up with the main Tanzania Kenya border road. The road out of the park was awfully corrugated and the main tar road was potholed in parts. About 20 kms from Nairobi, where the Namanga road joins the Mombasa road, there seems to be some work on the road with the result that a new road was being built, but the cars and trucks were using tracks on both sides of the new road. It was an absolute free for all. Kaz was driving at the time and had to get into the swing of the Evel Knievel antics in quick time. Were very glad to be guided to Jungle Junction which was to be our home while we did the visa and shopping bit. JJ is a bit like a backpackers and campsite rolled into one. In fact you just camp on the front lawn in front of the house and you have use of the kitchen and lounge facilities. Nice to chat to some of the longer term campers. An Ozzie couple waiting for a new shock for their motorbike who've been travelling for 3 years, and a SA couple based in London who came down the west coast and are making their way up the east. Noisy spot because of the traffic.

Nasty Nairobi
That's a bit harsh but I can't think of anything else to alliterate at the moment.
Nice shopping centre nearby, The Junction, which has a Nakumatt supermarket, very nice, Nairobi Java House, very nice too, a Mr Price, Nu Metro movies and a Wimpy.

I'm currently sitting in Dorman's, another coffee spot, doing my blog and accessing emails via wi-fi. Very, very nice and so 21^st century!
Kaz and Rebecca are shopping and they even take credit cards!!
Our visa applications are in at the Ethiopian Embassy ready to be collected this afternoon. Uganda don't do multiple entry visas so it looks like we are off to Maasai Mara tomorrow. Weather in Nairobi is wet and cold. Hope it's warmer where you are!!