We woke up in the filling station to find the two Masaii guards were going off duty, so we gave them something for their trouble and had breakfast. Overnight we had decided on a change of plan - to head for Nairobi rather than return to Arusha.Looking at the map it wasn't too far, so after breakfast we headed off with Clive & Ann leading. We soon met the first of several police roadblocks - but soon learnt that in Kenya the police tend to give you a big smile rather than any trouble, so the stops soon became more of a pleasure than a pain. Half way to Nairobi we passed through a small town with a herd of camels on the outskirts - these are the first that we've seen so far - a sign of the northern deserts to come? We quickly came to the conclusion that there seems to be a subtle difference between Kenya and other African countries visited so far - there seems to be a "can-do" attitude here - with goods seemingly more available, buildings in better repair, and generally the place seems to function better.
We soon got to a turning that looked as if it would take us around the southern edge of Nairobi towards the Keren district without having to go into the city, I had spotted this road and suggested that we take it as Tracks for Africa indicated that it was tar (and therefore it must be better than going into the city?) - after a few kilometres it became good gravel., then poor gravel, then tar but with more potholes than tar.....oh well! We got to Keren and Jungle Junction quite quickly - Jungle Junction being a well known overlanders campsite/storage facility run by Chris. Almost as soon as we had arrived we met a South African couple Steve and Lesley who have sold up their home, bought a 4x4 and tent and are travelling to England to start a new life - aiming for Hitchin which is right next door to our home! While we chatted with them, Chris arrived and explained how he has improved security since the robbery last October. That set me thinking - hadn't Richard & Sophie mentioned something about JJ's on their blog? That night some searching was done on the internet - and there it was - they had been there on the night of the robbery (armed) and had been lucky enough to get away with it - unlike most of the others staying there. They hadn't posted it on their blog at the time to avoid upset to friends and family, so I hadn't seen the details, but their updated account was pretty harrowing. Having looked at the current security arrangements we decided to move on and quickly found Wildebeest Camp quite close by - with Askaris, cameras, electric fence and an owner (Alan) who lives on-site with his young family - much more reassuring.Clive and Ann plus Steve and Lesley joined us, we dined in their restaurant that evening and met another South African - Rod - who had emigrated to London, found a job in a tea company and been expatriated to Kericho in Western Kenya to work on one of their plantations- it was fascinating talking to Rod about his life in Kenya.
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October 2014
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