So last night it was decided that given our schedule we won’t stay on here at this camp, but as a compromise for those who did we’d only leave at 10:00. Annelie slept ok, so did I. We’ll see how a quarter Xanor goes today. We hop through the shower, cold shower. Someone left a whole bag of “Outdoor Essentials” in the shower (the overlander left at 07:30 this morning already). Guess we’ll hang on to it :)
After chatting to Raj (did I mention he looks more like a Navaho Indian than, well, an Indian Indian?? Must be the Mohawk). Anyways, Raj. He spoke to his cuzzies down South and they reckon they migration only started last week, so if you really want to catch it in full swing, including some big cat kills and so on you should go there in three weeks. We say we don’t have 3 weeks. He says that’s unfortunate. In an effort to make the best of it, we’ve decided not to head to the Mara today (we were gonna camp just outside the park) we’ll turn the program on its head and head the other way, to Mount Kenya first, then down to Karen again to crash at Pat’s. That buys us about a week or so. Raj recommends two camp sites we can go see on route as well as a most excellent dairy factory in town. Turns out Raj not only owns and runs (and lives ON) this marvellous camp site, but he owns a huge textile factory in town. I recognise the logo from his business card from the signs I’ve seen on the way in. They make blankets etc, called “Ken-Knit”. Overall Raj is overly hospitable and very friendly, and his insight into the Mara helped us out a lot, on spots to see while you’re in the park and so forth.
Off we go just after 10 to go try some cheese! We follow his directions, get lost, try again and find the place: tucked behind a graveyard for old trucks and tankers, next to a carwash and you pretty much need a 4x4 to reach it! But find it we do. And... well... I think they had a power interruption or something. The window where you get to sample the cheeses is right next to this massive generator, that’s running like a bat out of hell, blowing heat and fumes right into you. And it’s LOOOOOUD. So Marieke just goes up to the window, he smiles, writes something on a piece of paper (“cheddar”) and places some cheese on it before handing it to her. She retreats to where we are standing and we all sample some “cheddar”. Dirk rates the cheeses according to his tastes on a separate piece of paper. She then goes back and the smiling gentlemen hands her the next piece of paper (“gouda”) and so it goes. We end up tasting about 7 different cheeses this way before deciding on our order, which we jot down on a piece of paper and hand it back to him (all while this generator is churning away). He then scrambles to make up the order, while handing you another piece of paper which you take to the window on the opposite side for payment. You then take the invoice back to him and he hands you the goods.
It’s all very hilarious! I ordered 2 “choc sticks” which he pointed to and gestured “no”. He tried to ask me something over the noise, I just gave him a thumbs up and decided to leave it at that. Turns out I now ordered a small ice cream tub. He looks at me (there are about 10 other people crowding the window at this stage, and he left a bit earlier to find help. So there’s a bustle of activity both this and the other side of the window), bites his lip and scribbles something on my invoice before handing it to me. I grab it between the other bodies filling the space and study it. I retrieve my decoder ring and finally decipher it as: vanilla, strawberry, pine apple or chocolate. I circle “pine apple” (because I don’t think I’ve had pineapple ice-cream before) an hand it back. He looks at it (after wrapping some cheese, packing some cheese and scribbling some other persons invoice, all at the same time) nods and proceeds with my order.
All in all, we walked away with a few kilo’s of really great tasting cheese and the pineapple ice cream was awesome!!
Back in the cars and away from the madness, dodging people, trucks, bikes etc as we go. Refuel stop is next, Annelie is crashing pretty hard. So lots of love and attention. Shame. On the way I request we stop at a bakery, and my words aren’t even cold when Fanie spots one and pulls over. The friendly lady at the little store sells us a whole bag of scones (about 24 little ones!) for “wholesale” as well as a fresh bread, for a mere 110 KSH (not even a quid). And they were HOT, fresh baked. I devour about 7 (3 “tasters” she brought out, and 4 from my newly acquired stash) before I even get back to the car. That sorts lunch out! I fetch the butter and jam, cheese from the back and Annelie gets busy with prepping more.
The rest of the drive is a stunning one! We climb for many meters, up to about 2500 at one point. The Bullet takes it in its stride. We stop off at “Kerio View” which offers a magnificent vista of the rift valley (I think we’re on the other side of it now, remember, we passed it a few weeks ago when we bought those funky hats?). Very beautiful, a great big scar in the earth, but it’s a bit hazy (Fanie reckons it’s always hazy) so visibility isn’t as good as it can be. About 3 kids around, so we give them each a scone.
Anecdote: we often see black men walking hand in hand. I asked a while back, when we were in Arusha what this means. It’s a sign of friendship, “One Love”, peace and so forth. Given the hectic political turmoil of all the African countries, this is how people show unity. So they’re not gay or anything, it’s just a sign of brotherhood. It still seems weird to me, but hey...
Up and down we go over the mountain pass, stopping at a few viewpoints for pics. Dirk comments that a particular stretch of cliffs reminds him of the Amphitheatre of the Drakensberg. Wow, just, wow. So stunning. More climbing and climbing and climbing (ears popping) we arrive at a town right at the very top of the pass, called Kabernet. It’s quite an advanced town, very green, lots of nice looking buildings and schools / collages. And down we go again on the other side.
Push on to Baringo and arrive there just after 14:20. We pay a small fee of 500 KSH per vehicle to enter (a steal!). The camp site looks good, and they have lodges so we ask about them. There is one house available, for a mere 13000 KSH per night. As in, a proper HOUSE, with rooms, a kitchen, 2 bathrooms and a huge stoep (porch) overlooking the lake. The manager also informs us that the lake is full of hippos and crocs, and given the proximity of the house to the water (I reckoned about 30m) we should that care at night. The hippos DO and WILL come out of the water once it gets dark. Also, early morning you can expect to find a bank full of crocodiles. We say “cooooool” :)
Everybody nominates a room and settles in, hook up the vehicles fridges to the house’s power and start chatting about dinner. The view from the stoep is incredible. Lake Baringo stretches out before you, little islands in the middle, and the light and clouds are playing on the water. Lots (LOTS) of little birds around. I almost stepped on one, they’re that tame. I noticed later that they all hive little metal tags around their right foot. The cleaning lady (yeah, the house comes with a cleaning lady, who also makes us coffee and tea!) mentioned later that there is a German researcher close by who is studying these birds. Lots of old or dead trees pepper the bank, with little bird nests in them. There is a pier off the left, and a couple of boats marooned close by. Lots of comfy chairs and couches for everyone to lounge on, kitchen right next to the porch. No sight of hippos or crocs and no hippo calls (you can hear them for km’s). The lake is a turquoise dirty green and very very calm.
I setup my mobile office in the lounge and get my charging station and memory card readers working for their keep. There is also a trampoline nearby which Annelie sweeps (it’s full of leaves, since it’s under this huge thorny tree). We lay on the trampoline and watch the birds flutter about, little nests hanging in the tree above. So peaceful. Annelie is feeling better again, but such are the lulls between taking the drugs. We chat a bit and spend some quality time together (don’t get a lot of that on this trip). I explore the bank a little, take pics and notice these interesting indents in the soil. Hippos! I call Annelie over and have her put her foot next to and into rather large footprint. Yikes! That’s a biiiiig boy. So the legend is true... Nab some very very cool sunset shots.
Dinner is a delicious meat pasta, courtesy of Marietta and I over eat again. Unfortunately, Mattie peppered the dish with a kilo of garlic (well, not a kilo. But a lot) and Annelie is kind of allergic to it. So after dinner we walk over the reception/bar/restaurant and order her some grilled chicken. It’s dark already, so we are accompanied by a guard with a stick. I later asked how useful the stick is, he reckons not much. Hippos fear light more than anything, so just shine a torch their way. If that fails, throw a rock. If that fails, you’re boned. RUN!
We settle in at a table on the grassy area outside the “Thirsty Goat”. It’s quite hot and humid, bats fluttering around everywhere. As usual, there’s the resident hungry kitty meowing away for attention. We spot a little bat as it flies in and hangs upside down on a skirting board on the bar. Cute! Dinner arrives and it looks very good. Annelie reckons it is. The next minute we hear a rolling thunder running towards us, off to the left! I shine my torch just in time to catch 2 very large hippos trampling bushes and kicking up dust just a few meters away, running towards the camp gate, 3 camp escorts branding flashlights in tow. Before long the same pair runs back towards the lake *THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP CRAAAASH!* into the trees and bushes. Gets back up *THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP thump thump thum...*. Guards arrive at the scene and scan the area, nothing. At this point Annelie is about ready to run, half a chicken sticking out of her mouth. I tell her to relax, what’s the worst that could happen? (she hates it when I say that). All the drama seems to have played out, and we settle back down. But man, it was the closest we’ve gotten to hippos yet, couldn’t have been more than 8 meters. And they were piiiiissed OFF! They make these hectic, weird growling sounds when they’re angry, and it’s quite loud.
Annelie finishes her meal, and I down my second Fanta (I’m going to have to go into rehab to recover from my addiction to the Orange Dragon. Anybody know a good Fanta and Savannah recovery clinic??) and we hail a taxi. Taxi arrives with torch and guides our way, but Annelie clings to my left arm, still in fight or flight mode. I have to admit, I was scanning every dark corner and bush with my own flashlight! The trick is NOT to shine a torch directly into their eyes, because it startles them and the storm. So you do this sweeping motion instead. The guard shows us the spot where one of the hippos tripped and fell (the crashing sound we heard... and felt).
We arrive back at the house and tell the others. They say “we know. Those two caught an awful bee in their bonnet and thumped their way past the porch earlier.” But not before crashing into a tree! They’re not very spatially aware, are they? They also mention that one hippo walked half way up the stairs to the porch before looking up, seeing lights and running off. Coooool :)
On the porch, I scan over the bank and water. Yellow eyes reflect back at me. Multiple, malice laden, hungry eyes sparkle back at me. I grab my binoculars and try my best to identify the owners. I count about 3 crocodiles and 2 hippos. We switch everything off and wait a while, since the hippos won’t come closer if we keep lighting them. A few minutes later we had a big fella grazing a few meters away from the porch. The crocodiles didn’t move. But I was willing to bet my bottom Shilling that there were many more of them tucked under the surf.
I’m setting my alarm for 05:00 tomorrow. I want to snap some pics of these guys coming out of the water. Or rather, returning to it.
Mosquito nets are pretty useless over the beds. And it’s so hot and humid! The nets just make it worse. There’s a fan in the room which I switch on, and it makes this high pitched squeaking sound as it pivots. Swell. Annelie and I are sleeping in separate beds (again). That’s just how we end up with our room assignments! Just as well, it’s too hot to have another body lying next to you.
Till tomorrow. Ima goin’ croc huntin’ (crickey!)
[G & A], out
Something there for me
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