The penultimate day in Kenya

Sunday, 10.11.2013

We wake up and all gather in the hallway of the same floor to make breakfast on the concrete railing. Today for breakfast we have muesli with or without yogurt for each taste. Shortly after having breakfast we start to pack to wait for the driver and move on, but soon we learn that the driver will be delayed due to arisen car problems. After a while the driver is here and were are able leave the most terrible hostel so far. We all rummaged the car to try to find my disappeared mobile phone. It still was not found. I was left for the first time without a phone, probably it fell out at some stopping place. I last used it in a shop. It’s a shame for the pictures that were on the phone. We start to pack everything in the car and soon are ready to leave Voi to go to Amboseli National Park at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro.

The road is well paved and we can move quickly, so we can make it in a good time to Amboseli National Park. Soon comes the time for lunch and it was agreed with the driver to stop where there are no people around. Soon we turned to a less important road, drove a bit forward and found a good place for lunch. We take out the gas stoves and start to cook lunch. We boil water for tea, coffee and instant soup and for dessert we have a pineapple. No matter how desolate terrain it may seem to you, always some person will appear if you stay for a longer time. Two kids appeared. Me and Agnese went to give them pencils and a little later Anders treated them with some pineapple. We wash the dishes and pack things. Ilgonis meanwhile has found some stone. We get in the car and the next stop is Amboseli National Park.

The road was not paved to the gate and, as usual, was like a washing board, wet, and as normally the driver is looking for a better place to drive, and soon he slid into a ditch, and once again we tilted even though on the whole we have experienced sliding into a ditch in around 45-degree angle for several times. Every time it seemed that now it will be on the side as well. Fortunately the Safari version of Toyota Land Cruiser is not so easy to turn over. At least how it proved to us :D With us being in the car, the driver is trying to get out of the ditch and soon became stuck, and we decided to get out and push the car out. The locals walked past and also hurried to help. The car drove to and fro pretty much in the same place along the ditch, until it began to reverse and we pushed, then finally it began to move smoothly and went well; it drove in the reverse for some time, trying to get out, and where it was smoother there it finally turned out on the road. He drove to us, and we got in and continued way to the gate, which was already quite close.

We drove up to the gate, and there, as usually, merchants surround the car and want you to buy a souvenir from them. While some went to the cashier to pay for the ticket, vendors are trying to sell the goods with all their effort. They did not quite care that you have already shopped, but that you should buy from them. They called from high to lower prices, but when somebody is showing interest, then calling again higher prices.

Finally we have sorted out the ticket issue, then we were let inside the park where the annoying vendors did not go. We raised the roof and were able to begin to look around the last park. We have little time to darkness, and also the park is being closed, but we can also continue to look around tomorrow. Part of the road from Kilimanjaro mountain only the bottom could be seen, because the top was surrounded by clouds, and when we arrived in the park, then finally it was possible to see also the white peak among the white clouds that looked almost merged. While we drove around and looked at the animals, the clouds gradually depart from the mountain, and it was more and more visible, till it could be seen completely. Meanwhile, everyone admired the animals that could be seen around. A lot of zebras, when one arrives, they show their bums, that is, moving further away from us. Lots of elephant families. In short, the park is very versatile thanks to Mount Kilimanjaro, which regularly provides the necessary climate to the park . This park is worth paying a lot for and, more important, seeing :)

In the meantime I more admired the Kilimanjaro mountain. Me and Anders were wondering long ago about which mountain to climb – Mount Kilimanjaro or Mount Kenya. Choice fell on Mount Kenya as it came cheaper, although in reality did not work out much cheaper, but very shortly we were able to stay as one needs to pay for each day (that refers to both the mountains). There are certain days for which one needs to pay, then for each following day they are collecting much more and then wondering why many don’t get at all to the top, because there is such a thing as altitude sickness, to which one needs to devote one’s time, which in the Himalayas one can calmly and without hurry do. Yes, Africa’s highest mountains cost a lot.. Those we went to conquer two together before the arrival of the other members, because we wanted to be in Kenya for longer, but unfortunately, many could not afford to devote so much time/money.

But for us to conquer Mount Kenya also was not easy. I reached the tip of the easy-to-reach third highest mountain when we started to go at night, in time to see the sunrise, which was on the other side of the mountain, but unfortunately Anders’s state of health did not allow it and he really did not want to risk it. I with difficulty at that time got to the top by running behind a guide. This is an adventure, for which, looking at Kilimanjaro, I basked in the nostalgia, although it was almost 3-4 weeks ago. What for myself could have not end so well, but in collaboration with Anders, we jointly got back.
Looking at the Kilimanjaro mountain and thinking that it could be managed within 10 days is quite foolish, unless you are in a perfect health and can overcome the altitude sickness, or you have recently climbed as high a mountain, or eat pills, which is not the best option. For the joy, as a minimum, you pay $500. So taught settlers the locals about monetary system … But it does not deter me to conquer it in the future :)

While continuing to watch Kilimanjaro and wallowing in memories of mountain climbing, the sun begins to set and also the time is approaching six. Time to go to the exit and to find an accommodation. Leaving through the gate the planned accommodation is rather nearby in order to be able to continue viewing the park in the morning. While searching for the previously selected night accommodation we do not quite find any signs to it, but instead decide to find out how much actually costs the one close by. Talking to the guard, we found out the price and maybe also bargained a bit. We decided to stay here. He pointed us a parking space and showed what is located where. There are toilets, a shower – with hot water, which is heated with firewood, tents, tent houses, houses and a pool! Ināra and Vitolds went to find out how much a tent house actually costs and concluded that they will take it. Others decided to sleep in tents.

We pack out the car because bags already must be packed so that tomorrow we can go to the airport; and the driver will go to visit a friend. Camp arranging, raising a tent, cooking dinner, shower, everything that everybody wants to do, takes place. Of course we did not do without star and Moon watching, as the weather is favorable. Ilgonis used the field glass and a tripod and we looked at the Moon and the stars. Later Ilgonis with a camera and a tripod went around to take pictures of stars. At night Kilimanjaro mountain also looked majestic and perfectly cloudless.

While Ilgonis took pictures with a slow shutter speed, I remembered, how I with friends a long time ago wrote words with lights and mentioned that we need to make a caption. We decided that we will be making a group photo with caption and the camp in the background. Initially, we tested in all ways how long is required and how I succeed with mirror writing and light brightness. When this was ready, everyone came together and are having a rehearsal and looking how I do with the writing and the others – how with still standing. I decided to illuminate myself to be seen in the picture, and as a result I look like a ghost :D Errors happen with letters. Let’s make the last picture and I write Afika! Well let’s do the last one again and all is the way it should be :)

We can eat dinner, act in parallel and chatter. The driver also returns from visiting and we give him dinner as well. Later the majority went to Ināra and Vitolds to see how the tent house looks like. It was quite wide with two beds and with its own toilet and maybe also shower. Ilgonis already went to sleep because it was late. We ate chocolate, fruits at their place and chatted. Later we start to go to sleep ourselves or whatever everyone was doing. I chatted with Anders at the tent and we went to bed. The day was great.
Goodnight!

Aberdareday

Thursday, 7.11.2013, the other part of the group.

The trouble started when we were bringing our bags out to the car and Karioki asked me if we weren’t coming back in the evening. I said no, we are going to Nairobi after picking up the hikers from the mountain. “I cannot drive at night, it’s very tiring. Also it’s not allowed. I can drive 6 to 6.” We decided to pack the car and go. We weren’t able to reach the other group members by phone so we had to decide what to do later.

Pffffrrrt! Not a flat tyre again! The rear right one as usual. It took 1,5 hours at least to change and get a new tube in Nyeri. At the park gate I got in contact with Agnese and it was decided we would not leave for Narobi in the evening. Inside the park gate the going was slow. First some opposing traffic halted our progress then the road conditions went from bad to worse. It was raining and the tracks were muddy. We happened on a wild pig but it hid in the bushes and then ran away. We saw buffaloes, birds and baboons but not much else. The forest was beautiful though and I realized this is the kind of place where you need time. You won’t see many animals but when you do it’s more rewarding than on the open savanna where you can just drive from one animal to the next.

We had some difficulties on the slippery roads. In one steep ascent we got stuck and I honestly didn’t think it was possible to climb that hill. At another place the left side of the car plunged down into soft ground and I had to climb out the window to be able to help pushing. We all had red clay on our feet and legs at the end of the day. We came out of the park well late and without having seen any of the waterfalls in the park. We didn’t have time to go through the higher parts of the park either. It then turned out that we had to go back to the park headquarters and then to our gate of entry to try and sign out the safaricard. This led to us picking up the hikers at 7, two hours late. They were in a good mood though, just a bit tired.

Up the swampy Mt Kenya (Naro Moru route)

Thursday, 7.11.2013

The weather for today didn’t look very optimistic last night. Later in the night heavy rain started, so I was almost sure we are not going up Mt Kenya today even though me, Ilva and Artis had agreed on leaving around 6:30am. Yet in the morning it turned out that Artis is up and ready for the hike whatever the weather and Ilva started to get ready as well. For a couple of minutes I thought it’s not too wise to do this, but since those two were going to go anyway – with or without me, I made up my mind and started to get ready as well. It actually looked promising – wasn’t raining and the sky wasn’t completely covered either.

The road for cars goes up to Meteorological Station which is 3000m high, around 10km past the park gates. Yesterday the driver had assured us that he’s driven there before and would be able to go up there even in these rainy conditions. We hoped that after we’ve been dropped off at met station, we could get to the nice panorama place at around 4000m high, but if we don’t manage that, at least should get above the tree/bush zone somewhere around 3400m.

Got to the gate, paid for ourselves and 1000Ksh for the car entrance. About 2km further along the road the car got stuck when going up the 2nd hill after the park gates and we decided to walk. It had taken some time to get up the first small hill already after getting stuck there as well, and it didn’t look too hopeful if we were going with such a speed and getting stuck on every uphill. The driver said he was going slowly and without run-ups because he didn’t want to end up with one wheel in the much deeper mud on the side of the road in these slippery conditions. But such a speed was not enough to bring us to the top of the hill. It was also almost the time when the driver was expected to collect the others for bringing them to Aberdare National park for animals and waterfalls.

And so we started to walk. It started drizzling not long after that and my rain-poncho turned out to have started to disintegrate. Luckily Ilva had a waterproof jacket and gave me hers. After walking for some half-an-hour or more we heard a truck coming. Some park staff people were going up to Met station and they took us kindly with them in the truck bed. Such a luck! :) We found places to sit (e.g. on the spare tyre) and were holding fast. Their driver was really good and was driving quite energetically to get up the hills. But even with this swift speed his vehicle needed some extra accelerating to be able to go up a couple of steeper places. I cannot imagine our car/driver being able to go there. Also I’m not sure I would be able to drive up there myself with one of the originally booked cars (Toyota Rav4), at least in these conditions, even though those cars would have been smaller and thus lighter.

The hike for the first 1km or so till the Signal station was not bad as the trail was paved yet steep. After that the so called vertical bog started. It wouldn’t have been too bad in dry conditions, but it was all wet, a small stream was coming down the trail and it kept on raining. If anyone of us didn’t have wet feet before we got our lucky ride, they definitely got completely wet here.

The higher we got, the worse the trail became. The stream was coming down in different sections and it was hard to tell which was the real path. It was probably not that important as we were basically trying to step on some patches of grass where it was less water underneath (most of time). Starting from our ride up all we could see was fog when trying to look further away. Up here, where the trees had got scarcer we could see a bit further, however, there was still nothing more than some different section of fog in the distance visible. We noticed here that the trail was actually marked with some high enough white posts. Seeing the next post from the current one in these foggy and rainy conditions was, however, not possible, so we tried to keep on the ridge where the trail was supposed to go. Anders had given us the mountain map and Rudolfs his GPS and I also had a GPS in my phone, but I didn’t want to soak the map by looking into it all the time and it was warmer if I kept the hands inside the rain-poncho anyway.

We were higher than the tree zone now. I realized that I won’t get any scenery at all, so was not determined to go further, but Artis and Ilva wanted to stretch themselves a little more. I gave them the GPS so that they wouldn’t need to wait on me. For a moment it became a little lighter and I continued hoping that something will clear up a bit, but no such luck. The drizzle kept on, it was also rather windy up here and cold therefore with all the moisture in my clothes, so I soon decided to turn back having reached 3600m. Going down was much faster, but it was also much easier to slip. Walking poles would have been useful.

Back at met station I changed some clothes to dry ones and waited for Ilva and Artis. They came soon having reached 3700m. It was still raining and we now had the 10km ahead of us since there was no way our car could pick us up from here. It was also rather early – 2pm – we had planned our time well. Anders sent a message that they’d like to spend 1h more in the park as they reached it very late, and thus pick us up at 6pm. The weather became better and about the half way to the gates sun started to shine and dried us up to some extent. Artis was picking mushrooms (lat. Lepiota) and me and Ilva helped him to spot them. Artis and Ilva went to explore a sound of water rumble, but the waterfall was not found.

At 5pm sharp we were at the gate. Anders had messaged me that they are having some problems getting out of their park and thus reaching us at 6pm, so after a short rest we started to walk the next 10km towards the hotel. There were many deer along the road, but they were not interested in someone trying to photograph them. Artis considered the buffaloes more friendly when they looked at him and his camera with interest from a short distance. I didn’t consider them as friendly as him and walked on.

A couple of hours later and more than a half way till our hotel we were finally picked up. Since it was decided to not go to Nairobi tonight as the driver didn’t want to drive in darkness, we stayed in the hotel and arranged to start driving at 6am tomorrow.

Conclusion1: Even though it was not wise to go up in these conditions, we enjoyed to spend some time outside the car for once.
Conclusion2: It is possible to go from Met station to Picnic stones (path crossroads at around 4000m) and come back in one day if the weather is fine.

Nairobi and the first changes in the plans

Tuesday, 29.10.2013
Getting up at 8am. Our hostess has prepared us a nice breakfast with the African tea which was a big favourite yesterday. After breakfast all of us except Rūdolfs leave for the city. Once we are out of the gate, a matatu (Kenyan minibus) is there. The conductor asks us to come, but it doesn’t look like there are enough spaces – I end up squeezed next to Ināra as the 4th person on the 3 seats in the back, Ilva is sitting on my lap and Ilgonis on hers. Thankfully soon enough other passengers leave and by the time we reach the city, we each have our own seat.

We exchange the money to Kenyan shillings in a place close to the matatu station and then start our excursion around the city. Or closest object worth seeing is Jamia mosque. Nice and white, but we cannot see it from inside since one of the several prayers in the day is about to happen. The manager asks us to come back after 2:30pm.

We continue to Uhuru park. I had read in some places that it is nothing exceptional at all, but it turns out to be a rather nice place for a walk. There are several trees, which give at least some shade from the hot sun. Some bushes and trees are blooming in yellow and purple. At a pond it is possible to rent out a rowing boat, but we walk further.

There’s a mausoleum of Jomo Kenyatta – the founding father of Kenya. It is behind a gate, guarded by 2 guards. We are not allowed to take any photos, but otherwise the guards are kind and give us some background of Mr. Kenyatta and the flag of Kenya. The black means the colour of the people, the green – the land and nature, the white – the peace and the red – the blood given for that peace.The coat of arms is in the center.

We pass the parliament where the guard asks us to not take any photos as well, the houses of president and deputies and arrive at Kenyatta international conference centre. It is one of the tallest buildings in Nairobi and we really enjoy the view from the helipad on the top. The entrance fee of 400 shillings is worth it.

Drop in the local pharmacy for a local mosquito repellent spray and then we finally can go to the mosque. Some long wait there since the main guy is still busy with other business and then some more wait till they find out what to do with us as the visitor hours are normally in the morning. There are many prayers happening every day and Fridays are the most important days. The people in the prayer hall surprise us – some pray, but most of them sleep or poke their mobile phones. Ladies in a separate hall have gathered in small groups and chat.

After a small lunch trying out the local ugali, samosas, kebab and soups we go for an equally quick shopping and buy the cheapest good sized pots and pans we can find and that is at least twice as cheap as our car rental company was going to charge us for renting them for 2 weeks. We also get a spare petrol can.

Matatu to home is a bit more expensive. They are asking for 70 shillings/person saying that’s because of the rush hour. Previous day’s rush hour for Anders and Rūdolfs were 60 (as opposite to this day’s morning’s 50), so I argue a bit and pay 60 in the end.

And then the most tiring part of the day starts. I had arranged our cars to be at the house around 7pm, but they don’t appear. When I want to check with the owner whose house we are living in as part of the car deal, he’s out in a meeting and appear only around 11 at which point we move the planned food shopping to the next morning. Then it turns out that Maasai Mara has had some rains and Kapenguri (a town on our route to Lodwar, north from Kitale) is a place where the danger starts and 2 phone calls are necessary to make sure it is fine to let us go up to Marich Pass. I had thought 4WD are enough to go on A-level roads anytime and also on existing roads within animal parks and there was nothing both on contract and terms&conditions saying the cars cannot go somewhere. After much consideration when observing all this I tell him that we are not only going to MarichPass, but all the way up to Lodwar at which point he says that the cars cannot go there. But instead we could get a very strong 9 seater car with a driver. There are many reasons why I don’t like the idea of only 1 car and having a driver with us, so he would try to arrange a car with no driver. Also he’d try to get us a car fridge since the company I was going to rent it from is only renting them out with their cars. After all the discussion which finishes at around 2am, the plan is set to go shopping for food at 7:30am, be back at 8:30am and leave for the trip at 9am.