28th May. Lake Naivasha, Kenya

The electric fence is turned on at 6.30pm. It’s only 750mm high but we hope it works. Its purpose is to keep the hippos off the camping ground. You will have heard hippos are one of the most dangerous animals in Africa and that fence seems a little low for our liking. Hope they don’t have any power cuts.
We’re camped on the edge of Lake Naivasha, one of the Rift Valley lakes. After 4 days in Nairobi it’s good to get out into the country again. Yet our time at the Jungle Junction was most rewarding. It’s the place for the overlanders to congregate, do any work that needs to be done on their vehicle and catch up on the latest road and weather reports. Our Norwegian friends arrived yesterday; we actually waited for them to arrive before we took off as it could be the last time we meet in Africa. I hope they make it to AU.
This area is where the fighting and killings happened earlier in the year. We passed a displaced persons camp on the way to our camp ground. Welli, a worker at this camp ground, comes from the Lake Victoria area. He was saying he feared for his life while the violence occurred and spent 2 months in the camp. He said how terrible it was and how the visitors have stayed away since. We feel for these people. We have had nothing but help and openness from whoever we have spoken to in Kenya, it was a tragedy to know how it all went awry all because of politics.
Something that amused us was the buses in Nairobi. We had to go into the city centre to get a couple of things and had been advised to take the bus as parking was diabolical. No. 46 went past the end of the road. We waited with a group of locals, the first No 46 pulled in, something was called out by the conductor, one person hopped on but nobody else moved so we thought they must be waiting for another bus route and moved yo get on. No, we were stopped at the door and weren’t allowed to get in yet there were plenty of places to stand. When the next one came along something else was called out and everyone moved forward. When we were on we realized they only allow the number of people for the number of seats. The conductor took his job very seriously as did the inspector checking the tickets after we had received them. Later we heard the top of the range city buses even have TV screens in the back of the seats like the planes. This in a suburb to city bus! The Lonely Planet says the traffic in Kenya is bad; they haven’t been to Cairo or India. It’s been pretty good overall.
29th May. Lake Nakuru National Park
We visited this park 33 years ago. There seemed to be more animals this time. The park is famed for its flamingos that feed off the soda rich nutrients. There aren’t that many here at the moment but the pelicans are in vast numbers and most have a pink tinge from the same source that colours the flamingos. We counted 18 various animals on or drive around this afternoon ranging from white rhinos and African buffaloes to rock hyraxes and the smallest antelope, the dik dik.
We witnessed the law of the jungle on or way home when a silver backed jackal was attacking the rear quarters of a live Grant ’s gazelle. The gazelle must have been injured and was putting up a bit of a fight but I feel it will be dead by the morning. You feel like putting a bullet through the head of the gazelle to end its suffering but that interferes with the natural way of the bush.
Richard Dawkins would have his work cut out here. The missionaries started it way back but Kenya is now a country of churches and religions. Not just the usual ones we know but all these way out evangelical ones have thrown their hat into the ring. Every second sign along the road is advertising a religious school, church or church-run orphanage. It is quite mind boggling.
30th Morning.
Up early and out to see more animals. What a fantastic time: hyenas stalking an African buffalo, 2 Rothschilds giraffes, a family of ostriches, elands, it was really great;.
Will post this here at Nakuru.