{"id":608,"date":"2018-06-15T08:54:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-15T15:54:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2021-06-13T09:19:37","modified_gmt":"2021-06-13T16:19:37","slug":"live-sort-of-from-the-masai-mara-d16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/live-sort-of-from-the-masai-mara-d16\/","title":{"rendered":"Live (almost) from the Masai Mara"},"content":{"rendered":"

I write from the Masai Mara Conservancy<\/a>.\u00a0 It is incredible here.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a while since we\u2019ve been in a park, and after quite a number of days seeing other sites in Africa, driving many kilometers and hanging out with people it\u2019s now a real pleasure to be back in the wild.<\/p>\n

Just this morning we saw the \u201cbig 5\u201d, (black) rhino, leopard, lion, buffalo and elephant; not to mention giraffe, zebra, topi, Thompson\u2019s gazelle, hippo, warthog, impala, waterbuck, giraffe, and no doubt some stuff I forgot on top of that.\u00a0 This combined with the truly stunning vistas of the Masai Mara and we are really almost speechless.<\/p>\n

\"Masai<\/p>\n

But before I get too far into the wild I\u2019ll catch you up with getting here.<\/p>\n

We left Kacheliba on Monday morning and headed back up to the highlands towards Eldoret.\u00a0 Our next big destination was the Masai Mara Conservancy, and now here we are.\u00a0 We considered taking the route Richard had recommended through the Cherengani Hills to Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria.\u00a0 Reportedly you can make it through to Baringo in a day, but we tend to travel slow, and as we needed to provision and fuel we came to our senses, for once, and decided not to bite off too much.<\/p>\n

It is with regret that we didn\u2019t have time for more of Kenya, it\u2019s an embarrassment that we can\u2019t spend more time here.\u00a0 Next time.\u00a0 For now we went up the escarpment and took a right on the A1, heading south to Kitale.\u00a0 Provisioning at Kitale was easy, there are two large supermarkets across from each other down town, Transmatt and Khetia\u2019s, both well stocked, with the odd exception of eggs.\u00a0 Eggs are obtainable in flats of 36, too much for us, or in a paper sack of 5.\u00a0 I probably don\u2019t have to tell you that a paper sack is not the ideal way to transport eggs, even if you aren\u2019t off roading.\u00a0 We found this elsewhere too, sort of hilarious.\u00a0 We searched around and found a sort of plastic egg carton thing which hopefully will work.<\/p>\n

Kitale had really grown up since I worked in the area in 2008.\u00a0 Then we used to run to Kitale to go to the bank and hardware store and so forth so I felt I sort of knew town a bit, but visiting now it\u2019s clear that things, whether just in the region or maybe Kenya in general, are booming.\u00a0 Where there was before only two filling stations that would often run out of fuel, there are now what seems a dozen.\u00a0 Traffic is thick and before it was calm, the open market has expanded exponentially and hotels are restaurants are many instead of few.\u00a0 North of town on the A1 there was a garish brand new multi story hotel complete with bell hops, a pool and all kinds of bling, but strangely no sign.\u00a0 It seemed open and operational and I wonder who their market is?<\/p>\n

After provisioning we turned onto the B2 and made our way towards Eldoret.\u00a0 Eldoret is larger than Kitale and also has been booming.\u00a0 It seems there is an oil pipeline distribution hub here, petroleum trucks line the road on the way into town for kilometers.\u00a0 After my second failed attempt at getting a sim card for my phone we headed about 20 kilometers out of town to Naiberi River Overland Camp.<\/p>\n

Naiberi is geared towards the overland truck business, large trucks plying multi week trips throughout various regions of Africa, with low budget backpacker style travel.\u00a0 Overland trucks have a bad rap in the self drive overland world as they often crowd camps and can be a bit too loud partying.\u00a0 There was an overland truck with 12 passengers here today, but they were completely pleasant, no complaints.<\/p>\n

The camp is on a hill, with four large covered open \u201ckitchens\u201d (a generous term) with a sink, power outlet, lighting and braii\/fire area and an almost flat parking space.\u00a0 There is a lower campsite on a large lawn with no facilities that they said they don\u2019t open up unless the upper sights are full.\u00a0 It looked nice down there, but with the recent heavy rain the ground was saturated, and they also said it\u2019s quite cold down by the river.\u00a0 It was already pretty cold at our site, with the elevation being something like 2300 meters.<\/p>\n

Ablutions are clean and pretty nice, with hot showers, flush toilets and decent lighting.\u00a0 Between the upper camp and the lower camp there is a huge restaurant\/bar\/hangout zone with great atmosphere, if anything maybe a bit overdone, but someone has clearly put a lot of thought and effort into it.\u00a0 Also in the bar area is a large fire pit and they stoked up a big fire in the evening, great for warming up.\u00a0 Outside they had a pool and deck along with small covered areas around for hanging out in the afternoon.<\/p>\n

After a lot of days on the road we decided to stay a couple days and regroup a bit, get laundry done and relax.\u00a0 The first night we had dinner at the restaurant and I had a really great Indian dish, chicken meri-methti (spelling?) with chapati.\u00a0 Jenny had mutton nyama choma, a Kenyan national dish, and we were happy.<\/p>\n

The staff here were really great, checking in with us often to see if we needed anything.\u00a0 Organizing firewood, dinner, where to go in town to pick up a few things, laundry and even my much sought after sim card were all sorted out in short order.<\/p>\n

Like Barnley\u2019s Guest House, they mentioned that business was really slow.\u00a0 I\u2019d certainly recommend Naberi for a stop if you\u2019re in the area.\u00a0 Hopefully things pick up for them, it\u2019s good to see someone putting in such effort and building a nice facility.<\/p>\n

A couple nights at Naberi was great, but it was cold at night and we felt the call of the bush, so we pressed on to the Masai Mara.\u00a0 Right out the door we took a wrong turn and went 20 kilometers or so the wrong direction.\u00a0 We had to double back, much to the amusement of the police that had stopped us at a checkpoint earlier.\u00a0 On our brief diversion we saw dozens and dozens of runners along the road.<\/p>\n

Many residents of here do not have the time or need for such things as exercise, the daily lives of many rural Kenyans being very busy just getting by, and hauling all of your water or food or charcoal or whatever is plenty exercise enough.\u00a0 However Kenya and Eldoret in particular are unique in that this is the home of most of the elite Kenyan runners.\u00a0 Runners from Eldoret are famous the world over for long distance running, winning marathons and holding records in large numbers.\u00a0 It was nice seeing these runners training along the road to make a connection to what I had read about.\u00a0 I\u2019d recommend the Radiolab podcast on Kenyan runners<\/a> if you are interested.<\/p>\n

Back on track we got onto the main highway towards Nairobi.\u00a0 At this point I must take back all that I said about the Kenyan roads being hectic and stressful.\u00a0 We found the A104 to be in perfect condition, with ample lanes, passing lanes on the climbs to get around slow trucks and also wide shoulders.\u00a0 Pedestrians, boda bodas and matatus thinned out and we raced along with ease.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We passed the equator at 9100\u2019 of elevation.\u00a0 Kind of amazing to think how far we have driven.\u00a0 We have about 9000 kilometers on the clock for this trip.\u00a0 The equivalent from our home in California is a quick drive to Equador.\u00a0 And now we need to drive back!\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t seem so far to us, each day has been an exploration, and when you\u2019re not sure what each day will bring it\u2019s easy to not consider, too much, how far you have to go.<\/p>\n

A Logistical digression:<\/p>\n

We turned off the A104 to the road marked B1 and C23 on T4A, not sure why the two names.\u00a0 To further muddy the waters the very new looking road sign says the turnoff is for the A1.\u00a0 I think this is because it eventually links up with the A1.\u00a0 The sign is marked for Kericho.<\/p>\n

From the A104 turnoff to Kericho the road is beautiful and passes through many kilometers of fervent green tea plantations.\u00a0 After Kericho the road narrows but is in perfectly fine shape.<\/p>\n

T4A would prefer we turned off onto the B23, just before Sotik.\u00a0 However we did not, we took Stan\u2019s advice (of Slow Donkey fame, who\u2019s meticulous blog has helped many an overland traveler to follow in his footsteps.\u00a0 We considered calling our vehicle \u201cSlower Donkey\u201d but decided against it) and pressed on the next logical turn toward Kilgoris.\u00a0 This turn is simply marked \u201croad\u201d on T4A, but links up with the C17.<\/p>\n

After Kilgoris the road turns to gravel (is marram the correct term?), a little bumpy at first but improving quite a bit after about half way to the Oloololo gate.<\/p>\n

Digression over.<\/p>\n

Getting closer to the Masai Mara we were beginning to see more traditional dress, though mostly combined with western clothing.\u00a0 A baseball cap, jeans and a t-shirt, but a Masai blanket and hearding stick being the most common outfit.<\/p>\n

Masai Mara<\/h4>\n

We arrived at the Oloololo gate around 3:30 pm, and logically we should have saved our money and camped outside the gate.\u00a0 But the call of the wild was too strong and we plunked down our credit card so we could camp inside the park that night.\u00a0 Park fees cover 24 hrs from the time of purchase, so it wasn\u2019t totally ridiculous.<\/p>\n

At the gate we bought firewood, at the exorbitant price of 1000 ksh a wheelbarrow full, and after a lot of waiting around they brought us what was almost a tree.\u00a0 With the help of the rangers we wrestled it onto the roof rack, fearing a bit too much weight up top we agreed to have a big fire that night.<\/p>\n

Wanting to get in a bit of an evening drive before heading to Eulai camp we charged into the park, foolishly not asking about road conditions, or directions to our camp.\u00a0 In retrospect all of this would have been useful.<\/p>\n

As is our usual tendency, we headed for the river road.\u00a0 Normally water draws the wildlife, but since it has been such a huge rainy season this is not the case right now.\u00a0 Fortunately the Mara Triangle is teeming with wildlife, so that part proved not to be a problem.\u00a0 As a side note, the western part of the Masai Mara is operated by the Masai Mara Conservancy and is all the territory West of the Mara River.\u00a0 This area is referred to \u201cthe conservancy\u201d or \u201cthe triangle\u201d.\u00a0 Universally everyone will tell you that the Conservancy is better run, but what exactly that meant we were not sure.\u00a0 We will find out.<\/p>\n

Later we learned that this year the Mara has seen the most rain for 60 years.\u00a0 This meant that the roads are very wet and muddy in some places.\u00a0 Our river road turned into a two spoor track and from that it turned into the barest hint of a path, just two parallel lines of bent grass where vehicles had been before, but vague to say the least.\u00a0 Slowly we progressed, seeing elephants and topi and having a grand time, back in a park, alone on a wild track and just us and the animals.<\/p>\n

As we went along we started watching the clock with concern.\u00a0 With the vague track and muddy conditions we were making slow progress, and it looked like we were going to be late to camp.\u00a0 Sunset is 6:30 pm, and you are supposed to be in camp no later than seven o\u2019clock.<\/p>\n

\"Ah,<\/p>\n

We were getting close to where the track connected to the main road and we would be free and clear, but we came to a muddy ravine across the road, clearly impassable.\u00a0 We had to turn back, and with that there went our hope of being in camp on time.<\/p>\n

We made somewhat faster progress back tracking, but even then we were following the maze of tracks trying to find the shortest route to the main road without having to be turned back again.\u00a0 A couple times we rolled the dice when given the choice between right and left and luckily picked correctly.\u00a0 As we approached the main road we were treated to a pride of female lions with cubs, but we were so late and had so far to go we only stopped for a minute.<\/p>\n

Back on the main road we made good time towards camp, and that is when we realized we hadn\u2019t asked for any details about the camp site.\u00a0 When we had said we\u2019d like to camp at Eluai public campsite they simply said \u201cokay\u201d and that was it.<\/p>\n

So here we were, late and racing towards our camp while losing the meager light that was left, having no idea of really where we were going.\u00a0 The map that they gave us was very general, just a dot in between two roads.\u00a0 Tracks 4 Africa had it marked clearly, so we put our faith in the GPS, but when we made it to the supposed turn there was no road at all.\u00a0 Hmm.<\/p>\n

It was dark by now, so we doubled back, the GPS showing an alternative approach.\u00a0 Sure enough there was a muddy small track off the main road with no sign.\u00a0 We took it, and crept into the tall grass.\u00a0 A Rutted muddy track, and more and more it seemed we might be in the wrong spot.\u00a0 No sign, a little used road.\u00a0 We figured regardless where we found ourselves we would just camp and sort it out in the morning, but with grass a meter high all around camping would not be that great without at least a small clearing.<\/p>\n

I zoomed way in on the gps and we followed the merest suggestion of a track in the grass and watched the screen for guidance, creeping along.\u00a0 Finally we found a tiny clearing around an old termite mound and we called it good and made camp.\u00a0 This is fully wild, no other people, no lights, no fences, just us in the bush of the Mara.\u00a0 If it wasn\u2019t for our late arrival we would have been thrilled.\u00a0 Even so, after we got a fire going and after a much needed beer settled down a bit it was really nice to be out there all alone under the stars.\u00a0 We couldn\u2019t wait to wake up and see where we were in the morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I write from the Masai Mara Conservancy.\u00a0 It is incredible here.\u00a0 It\u2019s been a while since we\u2019ve been in a park, and after quite a number of days seeing other sites in Africa, driving many kilometers and hanging out with people it\u2019s now a real pleasure to be back in the wild. Just this morning…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[98,55],"tags":[64,63,24,23,84],"class_list":["post-608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kenya","category-travelogues","tag-kenya","tag-masai-mara","tag-national-park","tag-safari","tag-selfdrive"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Mara-77.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbRTYJ-9O","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=608"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2122,"href":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608\/revisions\/2122"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuckinlowgear.com\/staging\/1919\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}