Our reunion with Ruco exceeded our expectations - we were so happy to see him! What a bonus that we could meet from all over the world here in Nairobi.
16 May, Monday Mountain Rock Lodge to camp Kemba We have slept well and are so enjoying the tranquil surroundings of our camp. We watch birds; Willie does some maintenance on the car; Hugo and Andrej sleep in a little. We have a late breakfast and start to pack up at noon. The plan is to drive to Nakura lake through the Rift Valley and it is a beautiful and scenic drive with lush green forests and grassland spread over rolling hills and mountains down into valleys. We cross the equator 3 times as the road zigzags across it. Nakuro is the third biggest city in Kenya and it is bustling with people, cars and activity. Driving in Kenya is much easier as the road is used mainly by wheels and less by people, animals and strange activities as in Ethiopia. Nakuro lake is beautiful and teems with bird life, but it is impossibly expensive: US $ 60/person and then more money to camp and for the car. Our unanimous vote is no – we cannot afford it. Now to find a place to sleep. We have several GPS co-ordinates, but accommodation is expensive as well. Andrej reads about Kembu campsite another 30 km away – it sounds as if it will be something we will like and it is exactly so. It is a campsite on a dairy farm and is often used by overland trucks. There are 2 different groups of over landers in the camp which is beautiful and clean. It also fits our budget better and we are happy about our camp-find! We find a secluded, private corner and I even have a table and extra work space to cook! How important certain little luxuries have become– things that I would not have thought of before: table top work space; a cage where we can store our food in; showers with water; clean toilet; running water from a tap. On the mega-luxury list: hot shower!; clean, flush toilet… What a noisy night? A beautiful sunrise wakes us and within half an hour we have our audience: the goat herder, his friend and the sister. Our every movement is carefully watched, but we should get used to it by this time. I do not think they've ever been close to white people other than seeing us drive by, because they are actually afraid of us. Any movement towards them causes them to back away. We are back on the road - the last stretch to the Kenyan border. It is Hugo who spots the prize bird of our trip this far: The Red and Yellow Barbet! "It's the one on the front of the book!" are Andrej's words when he looked through the binoculars and yes, it is - the bird chosen to sit on the front of the East Africa Bird Book! We arrive at Yabelo by noon and stop at the hotel for a last meal in Ethiopia. Andrej and Willie have omelets, Hugo: spaghetti bolognaise and I have my last Tegebino and 'enjera' and this time I remember to take a picture of the jumbo sour pancake. It is so big it reminds me of a handtowel...! Last stretch to Moyale the split border town between Ethiopia and Kenya. I feel how the level of my anxiety barometer slowly climbs the closer we get to the end. We have no idea what to expect, but it cannot be worse than Syria or Sudan. Money changers and fixers are on us like vultures when we stop. All 4 of us march across the street to the immigration office. The 3 guys look like tramps: tattered shorts, dirty t-shirts, facial hair...Saying farewell to them should not be too difficult, but welcoming them into the new country...? I'm not so sure. We sit a long time in the office, because the computer is down or something and our exit is carefully recorded in a large ledger book. Finally, 4 punches in our passports and we have to go to the customs office where it goes much faster to deregister the vehicle. The officer checks the engine and chassee number and we are in Kenya - just kind of glided over the border! A sign reminds us to: Please stay left - left-hand driving in Kenya - remnant of the English colonial era, as is English as one of the official languages which will make life infinintely easier. Hugo and I switch to our Namibian passports, because it is quite a bit cheaper to travel through Africa. Here we are in Kenya! There is immediately a different feel. It seems as if we are less of an attention drawer as we make our way through the main road until someone spots Sammie! We draw and change money( the currency in Kenya is shillings), stock up on supplies, and find our long-awaited Samoosas. We go for dinner to a small local restaurant and all of us want chicken...We eat the toughest chicken I've ever had! I cannot believe that something cooked can be so tough - it is impossible to remove the meat from the bone or just move the meat, period. Sammie receives generous chicken donations from all 4 of us. Hopefully his fierce looking jaws will be able to do something? We find a camping spot at the Nature Conservation Headquarters and go to bed early. Tomorrow we will tackle the ill-famous road from Moyale to Marsabit. I am immensely thankful that we made it safely all the way from Germany to here - no big disasters or illnesses, but for the here and there stomach upsets and Andrej who is not 100% yet. Fierce jaws loved the chicken! 1 May 2011 Sunday Motto to Addis
It rained a lot during the night and it is just as well that we did not bush camp. The first 3 hours of the road to Addis is bad and our kilometers drop slowly. We are hungry (again!) when we finally reach tar and Willie finds a German-Ethiopian restaurant on the GPS. The word German sweeps us away on a wonderful fantasy flight where we eat Bratwurst, Schnitzel, fresh salad, fries and have foaming German beer! The restaurant is cozy, the bathroom squeaky clean with running water, flushing toilets and toilet paper! Andrej pays a visit to Hiebers (a grocery store in the town we lived), buys fresh rolls and German Wieners and Hugo comes back with the best cheese. We travel through Germany’s green pastures, vineyards and forests on a fast autobahn…and more than ever do we realize that these are the things that you so easily can take for granted until you do not have it and we appreciate it from far away. We have cautioned expectations after Twilight when we drove through the gate of the German restaurant. It has a marvelous view from its position on the edge of the escarpment. The service is good, but no German schnitzel or Bratwurst. We are served the best Ethiopian food we had this far: Bayinet which is an assortment of spicy sauces, small pieces of meat, cabbage, spinach, ribs served on the traditional injera ‘pancake’ which is made from tef grown on the Ethiopian highlands. It is a grey-brown oversized-jumbo crepe style pancake with a distinct sour taste. You scoop the sauces or meat into the injera and eat with your hands – Ethiopian style. We’ve all grown to like it except for Willie – he has decided to stick to good old bread which is available when you ask. The food is really good and we are ready for the last 2 hours of fighting for road access to Addis. Addis Ababa – I know nothing of the city. It is a name stored in the recesses of my mind and I’m excited to finally see and experience it. This far Ethiopia has exceeded my wildest dreams and expectations. It is very different from any other African country I’ve visited; the people are attractive, very friendly with a unique culture steeped in centuries of history, traditions and religion. Our visit, this far, has been wonderful and I have a mind-store of memories that I will relish over and in for as long as I live. Addis lies in a valley and it is a sprawling, bustling, air-polluted city. We do not have a place to sleep yet, but Willie has several possibilities of places (budget hotels that allow camping usually in the parking lot) stored on his GPS. The sun is setting, it starts to rain and all of us are tired. The first hotel, Playbox, is a kindergarten school with a guard that is emphatic about no camping. The second does not allow camping although it did in the past. The 3rd and 4th are too expensive; promising Wim’s Holland camp looks as if it has dropped into a construction dig – we are disappointed, tired and irritation and impatience are creeping in. We find Baro hotel where we can camp in a small parking lot, but they are very full and a single room is available for Willie and me. The boys sleep in the rooftop tent and Willie and I usually stay in a room. Around the corner from Baro is Taitu hotel. They have rooms available, but it is more expensive than Baro. I have to make the final decision which I find difficult to do, tempers flare and now Willie and I are cross with one another. He decides Taitu (I am glad); I sit in the lounge to watch English TV and Willie sits in the car trying to download e-mails with a poor wireless signal – it is more less than wire! Andrej and Hugo have met travel friends of theirs and they have a wonderful evening hanging out with the guys. Willie and I go to bed early…tomorrow is another day in Addis Ababa. |
AuthorCaren "There is something about safari life that makes you forget all your sorrows and feel as if you had drunk half a bottle of champagne - bubbling over with heartfelt gratitude for being alive. One only feels really free when one can go in whatever direction one pleases over the plains, to get to the river at sundown and pitch one's camp, with the knowledge that one can fall asleep
beneath other trees, with another view before one, the next night." - Karen Blixen - Out of Africa, Kenya 'Of course as I am reading this, I know that you DO get your visas and the container DOES get released, but oh the internal struggle we face even though we should trust (as Hugo does) that God has His hands on all things and is constantly taking care of us.'
From a Friend: :) Crazy to think that we are ALL made of blood, bone and water yet we speak in so many tongues that getting along together becomes a massive task within itself. Archives
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"Julle sal dit maak! Opwindend, dis 'n geleentheid 1x in 'n leeftyd. Ons wens ons kon deel wees daarvan. Sterkte en ons bid vir 'n veilige reis!"
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