Lake Turkana
For our final push north, we travelled up the Rift Valley near Nyahururu (which used to be Thompson Falls and offers a splendid view down the rift valley) and onto Maralal, via Rumuruti. Rumuruti denotes the start of the barren northern Kenya and also the start of the gravel road. Our original intention was to cross into Ethiopia via Banya Fort (on the eastern side of Lake Turkana), but local advice suggested this would not be too clever due to current situation in the Sudan. This was a shame as Sibiloi NP in the area of Banya Fort is where Richard Leakey found a wealth of archaeological evidence of man's existence in the area dating back 3.4 thousand years ago.
The road north from Rumuruti was dusty but in good condition, and we arrived at Maralal from Nairobi (Yare Safari Campsite) just before dark. The area is well known for camel safaris and the annual camel race, although sadly no sponsor could be found for 2002. We were told the campsite and bar was a lively place, but not so on this occasion - the only thing missing in Maralal was the tumble weed rolling down the street. Still, the following day we refuelled and headed north for Loyangalani, on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana. Shortly before Baragoi, the scenery changed as we dropped off a pine clad mountainous ridge down to a lunar landscape of solidified lava rocks on the desert floor. Although Loyangalani is not a long way, the track is poor, very rocky and demands care in areas. Even so we dislodged the rear brake disk guard on Daph - not serious in a functional manner, but removal essential as the high pitched squeal of grinding metal on the wheel rim was too much to bear.
South Horr is a thriving Samburu community, where the warriors continue proudly wearing their traditional dress. South Horr represents the theoretical dividing line between Samburu and Turkana grazing areas - theoretical as even today there are physical tribal disputes over land. We also saw numerous camel herds, a number of dik diks and the gerenuk, which had for us up to now been a mythical creature in safari guidebooks. The gerenuk is an ungulate, with a distinctive long neck and pointy ears (the Spock of the 'grazer' world!) that has a greater grazing reach than a Giraffe! Grevy's zebra are also supposed to be found here, but their numbers are declining due to competition over grazing land with domestic animals and we failed to see any.
Lake Turkana (the Jade Sea) is quite impressive, but the light and shimmer prevented a quality photograph for us. Loyangalani is another semi-forgotten town. The Turkana build low oval rondavals, which lent the village an air of a shanty town. Again our vehicle was mobbed by the people, but this time demanding to know the location of the supply ship? What supply ship (and from where?). There are 2 camps at Loyangalani, the posh Oasis Lodge and El Molo camping, which used to be a lodge, but had long fallen into disrepair. However, the camping rate was very reasonable and a hot shower was possible. Also staying were some researchers from the Nairobi Museum, travelling to North Horr the following day (in a another Land Rover) to study the local diet and identify nutritional rates and disease. For us, the chance to follow someone who knew the way was too good to miss - in deed the driver came from Maralal and was one of Wilfred Thesiger's drivers whilst he lived at Maralal (Thesiger's Kenyan home).
We were glad of a guide to North Horr, for the route was less than obvious and our map coverage on northern Kenya was poor (practically ineffective) and the only waypoint we held was for an eco-lodge at Kalacha, our destination after North Horr. They guided us to the Catholic Mission (and Father Graham from Germany) in North Horr. The church was rather incongruous - it was a massive stone building with a plastic sail-like fascia over its steeple. Father Graham was very hospitable and took in the lost sheep, gave us water and allowed us to make a sketch map of his excellent wall map. He suggested that the crossing of the Chalbi Desert was the better route to Kalacha in preference to the stony track on the map and recommended the desert route onto Marsabit, from where we would have to tackle the dreaded corrugations of the infamous Marsabit-Moyale road the following day, if we wanted to go to Ethiopia.
His advice was spot-on and we loved the Chalbi. The sand crust was firm and the track clearly defined. The heat haze and camels in the distance leant an air of space and enormity. We found Kalacha oasis and village easily, but despite possessing the GPS coords for the eco-lodge, it was so well hidden, not sign-posted and the locals were oblivious to its existence - so much for eco-tourism! Once found, it was a haven amid the harsh surroundings. Our original booking was for almost a week prior to our actual arrival, so when we turned up and said who we were, the face of the local staff lit up - they were obviously relieved to know we were not lost in the desert!
We spoke to a couple just leaving the lodge and travelling around northern Kenya on a motorcycle and despite looking like something from Mad Max, they were charming and very helpful. Having the place to ourselves was so peaceful and relaxing for the few hours, before a young male and female walked out from the edge of the oasis and requested rooms. In fact, there were 3 post-graduate researchers travelling back to Ethiopia, avoiding the Marsabit-Moyale road by travelling across from Loyangalani, NE to Moyale via the Huri mountains, which only left the last 70 km of the main road to complete the journey.
Such an option was too good to pass up, so we invited ourselves along. Stuart, who was running an NGO project on the Ethiopian Wolf in the Bale Mountains, had travelled the route before and had GPS coords for the trip. Alistair had examined competition between grazing domestic and wildlife in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia, and was equally familiar with the environment. Thus we had a very pleasant and steady trip through the twisting tracks of the Huri Mountains and desert scrub and opted to bush camp just short of the main road. This saved us a day's travel and the worst part of the bad road. We arrived at the Ethiopian border at 1030 hrs the following morning (having avoided the military escort from Marsabit). It is true the road is unpleasant, but the final stretch was not really a problem, it was good graded gravel road, dry for us and the corrugations were not that severe. However we were glad to reach the mills of Moyale.
