Rift Valley

Rift Valley

Two hundred miles, 3 worlds and 7 hours

The alarm went off and up we got for a quick packing, billpaying and breakfast for a 7 A.M. departure. Mario wouldn’t let me drive because I didn’t have a valid license so I told him how to pack the suitcases. First, I’m giving him Swaheli lessons, then road directions and now packing directions. Bay just shakes her head with her tight lipped smile. Mario just smiles and says I’m a “cheese mon”, in other words, I’m crazy. We drove through the bush near where we saw the cheetahs yesterday and exited the park and onto the road under construction by the Chinese. Finally after about an hour, we reached pavement. But even on the pavement, it was pretty slow going because we had to avoid monstrous potholes, and as soon as we hit a rhythm, we would enter a city, town or village where there would be speed bumps, pedestrians everywhere, goats and cows on the very edge of the pavement, bicyclists, you name it. We drove south though Isiolo, a predominantly Moslem city of 2,000,000 and then started climbing into the wheat farm areas we had passed through before - it is spectacular countryside, Dances with Wolves-like, with bright tan fields of wheat on the slopes of these big hills with evergreen and deciduous trees on the tops of the hills. We took a “shortcut” of about 20 miles on a dirt, then gravel, then boulder road - I can’t even imagine going on that road in a motorcycle. Even a large truck taking the “shortcut” had a guy out ahead removing large boulders. And Mario plowed on without hesitation. After an hour or so, we again reached pavement and continued to climb even higher and higher up to 8,200 feet, where the trees were tall, the growth was lush, the streams ran, and the temperature was cool enough to close the window most of the way. We reached the top of the escarpment and then came around the corner - ahead of us was the Rift Valley, lying thousands of feet below us, a splendid sight of farms, villages, trees, bushes, flowers and just grand scenery. The road dropped quickly to the floor and we climbed up the escarpment on the other side, through Nakura (the 4th largest city in Kenya with about 2 million people) by means of another “shortcut”, arriving at our lodge (a tent lodge which is really nice) in the Rift Valley at Lake Nakura 7 hours after starting this morning, a trip of only 200 miles and we only made two stops, one lasting only 5 minutes, and the other about 20 minutes. So we went 200 miles in that time passing through the bush of the savannah at Samburu, into the farm country and then the highlands next to the Aberdare Mountains, and finally from the escarpment with its tea and coffee growing farms to the floor of the Rift Valley with its rich farmland and historical significance. As you may know, the Rift Valley runs from Jordan to Mozambique, about 6,000 miles and this area was ruled for centuries by the Masai until driven south by the British colonizers. It was a primary area of transportation for peoples for thousands of years. and has been called the most significant land feature in Africa.
The tea is grown on a bush which we saw is about 3 feet in height, with bright light green leaves of uniform height throughout the bush. On the other hand, the coffee bushes we saw had a darker green leaf, are taller by a foot or so, and is shaped more like a tree with the leaves on the limbs being at various heights.


Lake Nakura

After finishing lunch, we had 45 minutes or so before again boarding our van for a safari trip to Lake Nakura. We are very close to the lake which is very shallow, very salty, has no outlet and may be dieing. It is a national park. We cleared through the gate, and proceeded to the lakeside with its storks and pelicans on one side while buffalo, gazelles, warthogs, white rhinos, zebras and hyenas roamed, slept and grazed on the grassy plain on the other side of the road. We also climbed up to a scenic overlook, probably 500 feet above the lake for a few pictures, not only of the lake but also the baboons who were there to greet us. When Mario got trapped by the lady who never stops talking and everyone had had enough, I took the bull by the horns, got into the driver seat, told everyone to get in and started up the engine. That was the cure - Mario came over to rescue his van and after driving several feet and telling him I’d pick it up later, I stopped and turned it back to him. Good thing as the road back down from the scenic overlook was steep, bumpy and narrow.

Tenting

Our accommodation is a tent - but don’t feel bad for us. It is very nice with two twin beds, a full bathroom, and a porch.

It’s been a long day so I’ll cut this short. And no Internet so it could be an early night, and it should be because we have another day tomorrow like today. Off at 7 and a long trip ahead of us.

Bon soir, Love, Nat, Dad, DB, Matt, TM, Whip, etc.