The Great Rift Valley

Nairobi is a crazy city to drive in. You find yourself competing for road space with donkey-carts, cyclists and lawless matatu (taxi) and bus drivers who have no qualms driving in the wrong lane meters away from on coming traffic. They play chicken with their lives on a daily basis. Campbell and I learnt to be pushy drivers in Nairobi otherwise you will sit in traffic for hours while your lane fills up from the front.

After driving around for hours trying to find Upper Hill Lodge & Campsite in our outdated travel guide we enlisted the help of a lovely fruit saleswoman who insisted on coming in our car right to the door of the campsite and then taxiing herself back to her market stall. We would never have found it without her – another example of how lovely and friendly the African people are.

While Kaspuur had her service we explored the area by bike (which is much scarier than cycling in London), enjoyed the comforts of an actual shopping mall, bartered for more artwork, booked our Mount Kenya climb, chilled out and met Michael the overland cyclist who made us look like pansies. Wow, what a feat! He has cycled all the way from Denmark, down the west coast of Africa and now down the east coast from Kenya to Cape Town.

The Great Rift Valley>>>

After stocking up in one of Africa’s major supermarket chains – Nakumatt – we pushed on to Lake Naivasha northwest of Nairobi. Our spur of the moment decision to go here really paid off as it turned out to be a gem. We got to cycle through Hell’s Gate National Park with zebras, buck, baboons and warthogs meters away from us without a car as a buffer. Lucky there weren’t any lions! Hell’s Gate Gorge was a definite tour not to be missed with its steaming hot springs, twists and turns, volcanic plugs and rock strata’s. Our Israeli friend Yuara joined us on a stunning hike of the extinct volcano Mount Longonot (2777m) and its massive crater.

The devil's in Hell's Gate Gorge>>>

Hell's Gate Gorge>>>

The Volcanic plug>>>

Can you see the zebras? >>>

Mount Longonot >>>

Fisherman’s Camp on the waters edge of Lake Naivasha brought the party to us. It turned out that a music festival had been scheduled during our stay. It was a weird situation to be in - to have traveled so far from the UK and yet have hundreds of British music lovers flock to our campsite in their wellies, tattooed arms, spare beers in their jean pockets and horny teenagers. It was like a mini Glastonbury Festival without the rain and loads of hippos bopping to the tunes on the other side of the electric fence. Wicked mate!

We promised ourselves we would slow down on bartering for artwork. That was until we drove out of Naivasha on our way to Nyahururu and passed the most stunning curio shop yet. Several hours later with our pockets burning and what looked suspiciously like a dead body on the back seat we pushed on ACROSS THE EQUATOR (WOOOOHOOO – northern hemisphere!!) to Nyahururu which boasts to be Kenya’s highest town at 2500m in altitude. Here is where we got our first taster of sleeping at altitude – Nyahururu you got nothing on Mount Kenya!Kitibikai - artwork that looks suspiciously like a dead body>>>