| Kenyan leg |
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Peter's new hairstyle demonstrates the effects of magnetism; group posing at Elsemeer SCENES OF KENYA |
| We were on the road early on the route north past Mount Mehru. The border crossing at Namanga passed without incident, although we were besieged by a persistent bunch of curio vendors. They swarmed around the bus and refused to give up. We pressed on to Nairobi, where we were dropped off at about 13h00 and left to our own devices for a couple of hours. Claus, Marku, Nik and I wandered off into town, map in hand. Marku wanted to make a few long-distance telephone calls. We had a fish lunch at Café St.Helena and proceeded down Kenyatta Avenue to the Nation bookshop, subsequently renamed, adjacent to the Stanley Hotel. Though Nairobi reminded one of downtown Johannesburg, a park adorned with trees lent the city a more charming atmosphere than first met the eye. The purpose of all this was that we had collected money to buy Werner and Marcelle a gift each. We hurriedly settled on a beautifully illustrated Tanzanian book for Marcelle and a David Grisham novel for Werner, plus cards. Werner's card was appropriately entitled "Ode to a mad driver". Finding an equivalent card for Marcelle proved more difficult, as most of them were far below the belt and would therefore have been inappropriate. En route Nik and I were almost duped (we had been warned) by the shoe-shiners, who had the sheer audacity to demand 1000 shilling for their efforts! The exchange rate was 53 shilling for $1. |
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The "cool cats" of Crater Lake; Equator crossing; Elsemeer lounge. |
| Satisfied with our choice of books, we rushed back to our rendezvous point. Aviette had been nursed at the Meserani Snake Park by Marcelle after it had been formally confirmed upon our return from the Serengeti that she had malaria. To our amazement, Sosh, her softly-spoken friend, had an inkling that she may also have acquired the virus. So the next port of call in town was for them to be taken to Nairobi General Hospital. We waited outside in the car park, passing the time playing a bit of football. It turned out that Sosh's condition was ascribed purely to dehydration. Aviette would remain for further treatment. The itinerary indicated that we were due at Lake Naivasha but this was entirely out of the question, as circumstances had clearly forced us into finding more central accommodation. Thus we ended up at the Upper Hill campsite in one of Nairobi's suburbs, small but tidy. At least the facilities were good. At least there was hot water! The old house in the centre of the property served as the office, kitchen and accommodation (for backpackers), while the bar was located in the garage. The toilets and showers were at the rear of the property. We pitched the tents, showered and settled down to a few beers after supper. |
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Great Rift valley lookout; Upper Hill campsite,Nairobi; Crater Lake rim. |
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Crater Lake shore; Lake Naivasha Campsite; Elsemeer, Lake Naivasha SCENES OF KENYA |
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[WhichWay Adventures Tour - Intro] [Namibia] [Zimbabwe] [Zambia] [Malawi] [Tanzania] [Zanzibar] [Kenya] [Mt. Kilimanjaro] |
