Kericho to Nakuru & Lake Nakuru National Park

---

---

Awake at about 6.20am and showered for the last time under the trickle of tepid water. I noted with horror that my towel was more dirty than ever before and was relieved to think back to the Rift Valley Sports Club with its laundry facilities and towels supplied. As normal I had to unpack the case fully before I could pack everything inside and the cases were then delivered to the Guest House door before the breakfast which consisted of brown, sweet porridge, a couple of mandazi and coffee with fruit. Emily was proudly wearing and displaying her Aids t-shirt and she thought that it was a wonderful message. She handed me a note from Faith in the hope that I could find her an English pen-friend. Alexander continued with my Kiswahili grammar lesson about the fifteen classes of nouns and how they change from singular form to plural form. I found this very complicated and thought that I would stick with just the basic vocabulary!

Andy and Simon interviewed some of the students whilst we loaded the van with our cases and most of the equipment. We did leave some kit there so that the students and lecturers have something to be playing with before the main amount is returned to them. The weather was dry with some light cloud and was warm and sunny - Hooray!

The Vice-Principal of Kericho Teacher Training College ended the proceedings and we were asked to complete and sign the Visitors’ Book in the meeting room before more photographs were taken. Back outside there were more handshakes, photographs and a “tearful farewell”. Mr Isena thanked us for his Triple XL shirt and said that we must have known that he was there! He was also quite good at handing out some nutritional and fitness advice! We were taken into Kericho town centre by Joseph at about 9.15am and went past the busy stalls and bustle of many moving people, men cleaning and shining shoes, matatus moving (or trying to), loading and unloading with yet more people standing and watching the day pass by.

There were many wonderful views over the tea plantations as we drove away from Kericho and made our way back towards Nakuru. Tea pluckers were busy in their plots and all looked very green and lush given the rain and warmth of the last few days. The journey today was more downhill but the first few miles were really quite bumpy before we found some decent quality tarmac. There were several police road checks of lights and indicators where large metal bars covered in long spikes were laid across the carriageway so that vehicles had to slow to a virtual standstill to pass. Several vehicles were openly passing money across to the police. We were lucky though, in that, with our load of mazungos we were, generally, waved through.

Today, being Thursday. The towns and villages were much more busy than on Sunday. Lots of stallholders and people moving around with their loads of tea, carrots and maize. Thankfully it was also drier! Martin Bentley phoned through to Andy and we arranged to meet him at the Rift Valley Sports Club. Martin was our “contact on the ground” and it was he who has arranged the various school visits for the next few days. Davis was being put through his paces with some miraculous gear changes - 5th to 2nd and trying to avoid the potholes and railway lines which we had to cross a number of times. The various groups of school children we passed all looked lovely, clean and smart in their uniforms of brown or blue. We passed a large Chipboard factory and there were several jokes passed towards one of our party! The mad matatu drivers were everywhere pipping their horns and trying to overtake at every available (and unavailable) opportunity. They are desperate to get to their destinations as quickly as possible as they are paid by the journey. It only costs the Kenyans £300/= (less than £3) to go from Nakuru to Nairobi! Later the light rain returned and we could see Lake Nakuru in the distance. Altogether there were seven roadblocks on the journey and each one manned by the police in blue with their sticks and canes.

Seen on the back of a coach - “Biblical Advisory - Jesus Saves”

We arrived back at Nakuru at about 11.30am and, entering from the west, we were definitely in a ‘nicer’ part of the town. We were met at RVSC by Rajab Ali, an ex-Kenyan international cricketer who now works for Martin at Greensteds School. We checked in and I share, once again, with Richard Lynn. We have a different room - still around the pool but at the end (number 24) and it is a ‘superior room’ - separate shower and bath! Andy showed signs of being unwell as he collapsed whilst we unloaded the van but, after a quick change, we all headed out along Kenyatta Avenue to the Merica Hotel. This was obviously an international standard establishment and we were soon in the company of several other Europeans. 700/= bought us an ‘eat as much as you like’ buffet of various dishes. The potato soup was particularly good and so I had two bowls of that and a White Cap.

On the way back to RVSC I tried to buy some Celtel top-up but was unlucky. We met Davis, who was now sporting his safari jacket, and made our way along the short (8kms) drive to Lake Nakuru National Park. The entrance fee was $40 but already, from the edge of the park, you could clearly see the pink edge to the lake, many birds and animals. The pink colour to the water is an amazing sight and made up of millions of flamingos. As we drove out onto the mud flaps we could see that there were both Lesser and Greater Flamingos. Perched on one leg, flapping their black edged wings there was a constant purring sound in the air. Wonderful. Pelicans, Maribou Storks. Numerous other waders and water buffalo too. It is little wonder that they say this is the second best safari park in Kenya.

Our rather old school van which was designed and built for normal road use then took us, for the next four hours round mud tracks with great holes and gulleys full of water, over boulder strewn tracks and grassy routes all the way around the lake. The fantastic close-up views of the flamingos were eclipsed though by the sight from the top of Baboon Cliff. High up on the top of this rocky outcrop, that was obviously formed at the same time as the Great Rift Valley itself, we looked down from hundreds of meters up onto the lake, grassland, trees and forested areas with the town of Nakuru in the background. Simon remarked that this was the best view in the world - it is certainly very high up there and I would have to think long and hard to find better. The large flocks of pink were all round the lake that was decreasing in size due to man’s interference with the natural forests. There were even eight or nine large groups out tin the middle of the lake. The lake is vast but the view has to be seen to be believed. The photographs are good but you just can’t get the vastness of it all. Excellent. From the Baboon Cliff it was back to the roads and tracks round the lake to spot as many other animals as we could before the darkness fell. We left the park along tracks through massive pillars of midges towering 15’ to 20’ into the air and about 6” in diameter. The pillars moved like wispy smoke rising up from the spikes of bushes or a tall piece of grass or even the roadside edge. Another unusual sight to recall for the future.
Martin Bentley met us in the RVSC bar for a drink and chat. Then it was over the road to Gilani’s - an Indian restaurant. They obviously served some great cuisine in a large restaurant all laid up with maroon cloth napkins and carpet! - Sheer luxury! The food was great and we resolved to go back later in the week. We were obviously the last diners of the evening and the arrival of the bill speeded our departure along the corridor and down the steps which afforded a great view into the supermarket below. There is no Simon Coomber Night Shift Manager here - too many empty shelves! We crossed the road and back to the rooms and bed. A soft and comfortable bed that is with pillows. Mosquito net in place it was not long before I was asleep.

The full list of animals seen in Lake Nakuru National Park included:
Black-backed Jackal
Eland
Giraffe
Grant’s Gazelle
Hyrax
Impala
Spotted Hyena
Thompson’s Gazelle
Warthog
Water Buffalo
White Rhinoceros
Zebra

Flamingos (Greater and Lesser)
Pelican
Maribou Stork
“Waders”
“Eagles”
“Small brightly coloured birds”

---