13 May, Friday
Marsabit to Samburu National Park
We start our trip with trepidation. The overlanders in the camp came with the road we are venturing on and according them it is extremely bad. The one Kenyan guy broke 2 shocks in the process. So here we go again, but can it be worse…?
It starts out good. As Willie keeps on saying, “I am holding my breath, but if this is what bad is, then they do not know what bad is.”Unfortunately, they were right. It deteriorates over a short distance to something very familiar to us. What will we do to be on one of the Chinese built Ethiopian roads? The one good thing is that we have done more half of the distance.
At places the road is so bad that other vehicles have veered off what should be road to make their own in the softer sand beside the road, so that is what we do as well. Willie hands the wheel to Hugo and he drives for more than an hour – through dust, over rocks, through potholes and he did well for someone who has not been behind the wheel more than 4 times,
maybe.
We finally reach the tar road that we’ve heard of and it is bliss! We decide that we will go into Samburu National Park. We know it is very expensive, but it is our first national park and also Andrej’s very first time that he will experience Africa in the wild. We hide Sammie, because usually pets are not allowed in parks, although nothing about pets are posted on the General Park Rules at the gate.
Andrej and Hugo climb on the roof and our first animal is a zebra, but a different one – the Grevy or Imperial Zebra. They only occur in Kenya and Ethiopia and compared with other zebras, are tall, have large ears, and its stripes are narrower. It is more donkey-like in appearance as compared to other zebras, which are more horse-like.
On our way to our campsite we see Springbok, Red Buck, Giraffes, Kudu, Gemsbuck, the
Gerenuk antelope: a long-necked species of antelope (also called Giraffe-necked) found only in East Africa; elephants in the distance; many birds and baboons. Our campsite is right by the Brown River – home for many crocodiles. We have guards and wardens in the camp and trying to hide Sammie is quite nerve-wrecking for me; it results in high tension and we are not happy campers when we finally settle down around a fire. There are baboons everywhere and they are not afraid to jump on the car and stick their hands through the window, so we have to be vigilant all the time.
We take Sammie out after dark for a few minutes, but then stick him back in the car. He has no idea what is going on and all the strange smells and sounds make him nervous as well. I’m not sure I can do this again. Our first night in the real wild Africa is not a relaxed and enjoyable one. I hope tomorrow will be better. It was a long day with difficult driving conditions and all of us are weary and worn out.
See Gallery for photos: Marsabit to Samburu road; Samburu National Park
Marsabit to Samburu National Park
We start our trip with trepidation. The overlanders in the camp came with the road we are venturing on and according them it is extremely bad. The one Kenyan guy broke 2 shocks in the process. So here we go again, but can it be worse…?
It starts out good. As Willie keeps on saying, “I am holding my breath, but if this is what bad is, then they do not know what bad is.”Unfortunately, they were right. It deteriorates over a short distance to something very familiar to us. What will we do to be on one of the Chinese built Ethiopian roads? The one good thing is that we have done more half of the distance.
At places the road is so bad that other vehicles have veered off what should be road to make their own in the softer sand beside the road, so that is what we do as well. Willie hands the wheel to Hugo and he drives for more than an hour – through dust, over rocks, through potholes and he did well for someone who has not been behind the wheel more than 4 times,
maybe.
We finally reach the tar road that we’ve heard of and it is bliss! We decide that we will go into Samburu National Park. We know it is very expensive, but it is our first national park and also Andrej’s very first time that he will experience Africa in the wild. We hide Sammie, because usually pets are not allowed in parks, although nothing about pets are posted on the General Park Rules at the gate.
Andrej and Hugo climb on the roof and our first animal is a zebra, but a different one – the Grevy or Imperial Zebra. They only occur in Kenya and Ethiopia and compared with other zebras, are tall, have large ears, and its stripes are narrower. It is more donkey-like in appearance as compared to other zebras, which are more horse-like.
On our way to our campsite we see Springbok, Red Buck, Giraffes, Kudu, Gemsbuck, the
Gerenuk antelope: a long-necked species of antelope (also called Giraffe-necked) found only in East Africa; elephants in the distance; many birds and baboons. Our campsite is right by the Brown River – home for many crocodiles. We have guards and wardens in the camp and trying to hide Sammie is quite nerve-wrecking for me; it results in high tension and we are not happy campers when we finally settle down around a fire. There are baboons everywhere and they are not afraid to jump on the car and stick their hands through the window, so we have to be vigilant all the time.
We take Sammie out after dark for a few minutes, but then stick him back in the car. He has no idea what is going on and all the strange smells and sounds make him nervous as well. I’m not sure I can do this again. Our first night in the real wild Africa is not a relaxed and enjoyable one. I hope tomorrow will be better. It was a long day with difficult driving conditions and all of us are weary and worn out.
See Gallery for photos: Marsabit to Samburu road; Samburu National Park
RSS Feed
