Nairobi to Nakuru

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We landed at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta Airport at about 5.50am; a journey of 4,250 miles completed safely, if a little cramped. After leaving the ‘plane we could already feel the heat as we made our way through the airport towards the immigration area. There were only a few officers on duty and we queued for 45 minutes before we reached the desk. Forms filled in and the 50 dollar fee paid and I had a nice visa in my passport. Not all the others were as lucky and we I had to wait another 45 minutes before we were all “through” and the baggage collected. A large sign in the airport said “Smile, You Are In Kenya”. Porters stood around waiting to take all the bags outside and our trolleys laden with the kit, equipment shirts and luggage were quite a challenge for them.

Our driver, Davis, was waiting for us and led us out towards the school bus that was to be our loyal transport for the next couple of weeks. We stopped on the way through to buy some Kenyan SIM cards and airtime - good value at 200/= for the card and 500/= for airtime [20 pence and 50 pence respectively].

The school bus was an old Nissan Urvan with the back seats taken out for luggage. We needed to put the kit bags and equipment onto the roof and secure them down under some heavy duty plastic. Inside there was not too much space but at least we could spread out and open the windows for some air. You can’t say ‘fresh’ as there was lots of dust around and a variety of unusual smells. Davis paid the car-park charge and we were on our way at about 8.30 am - two and a half hours after landing!

We were still within the airport grounds when we spotted our largest piece of ‘road kill’ - a zebra which had just been struck down by another van. The security gates were cleared and several giraffe and maribou storks were seen in the distance. The tarmac road was not the smoothest but we were to come across an interesting variety within the next hour! We entered Nairobi along Ohuru Street and Kenyatta Boulevard - two famous streets. It soon became clear that MOT tests are not compulsory and certainly not to the UK standards! Vehicles were driving around with a variety of parts missing, huge exhaust clouds of black smoke and attachments that looked positively dangerous. Overtaking was obviously permitted on both sides and the best way forward was to push yourself into the next available gap as close as possible to the other vehicle and hope that they stopped first. Entering the congested roundabouts was another interesting activity that had to be completed for any progress to be made. Police and soldiers stood at fairly regular intervals along the side of the roads and at the junctions. They carried sticks, batons and silver-topped canes and looked intent on enforcing law and order.

We were directed off the chosen main route, due to an accident or road resurfacing, and had to find our way through various ‘housing estates’ before rejoining the road a bit further on. After leaving Nairobi we continued on and were soon passing through numerous shanty town developments. The roads deteriorated into multi pot-holed thoroughfares which required careful negotiation. Muddy areas were to be found on both road edges with numerous people walking or standing or even sitting passing the time of day. Buildings were made of blocks of stone, bricks, timber, corrugated metal, plastic and even ‘thin air’. Some of them were brightly coloured and reflected the various advertisers who had sponsored their paint. The most common were the mobilephone networks of Zain (pink & yellow), Safaricom (light green) and Celtel (red and yellow). Names were very descriptive and had not taken too long to think up! For example, there were Fair Price Autos, Blue Spot Hotel, GT Welders, Management Cure for Infections and Disorders, Jurassic Green Plant Sales and Prime Pots. Flocks of goats and sheep struggled to find anything to eat whilst donkey-drawn carts seemed to be a common mode of transporting goods about. The road was climbing all the time as we made our way towards the west. Men and women were bent double as they toiled in the fields which were much greener than I had expected to see.

I had the front seat alongside Davis and soon got talking to him about “Kenyan Things”. The speedometer was not working but, I guess, we could not have been doing more than 45 miles per hour and severely less than that as we had to make our way around the potholes, negotiate ruts and railway lines and find a slow speed over the enormous ‘sleeping policemen’ that appeared without clear indication both in the towns and villages and out in the country. Police roadblocks were another hazard - huge spiked poles laid across the carriageway from both sides which required vehicles to slow right down to a crawl so as to enable the policemen and women to look into the vehicles and decide which ones to stop. Our van had green stripes which indicated that it was a school bus and, in addition, the mzungo (white man) passengers ensured that we continued unhindered. The white vans with yellow stripes were frequently overcrowded as they charged towards their destinations - more about these matatus later. The police were obviously open to bribery and outwardly courted the exchange of money in return to an early release despite having malfunctioning lights, excessive loads, or outdated taxdiscs.

Having climbed for hours we emerged at the edge of the Great Rift Valley which sported extensive views of the valley system below and extinct volcanoes dotted around. By now the ground did look more dry but the escarpment played host to another variety of roadside stalls - Good Hope Gift Shop, White Rhino Curio Shop, Volcanic Rock Shop and a host of Masaai drums, rugs and skins. The Matatus continued their endless journeys occasionally stopping to pick up or drop of passengers. Occasionally they had been forced for other ‘necessary unplanned convenience’ stops!

Having descended to the valley floor below the road surface improved dramatically; a level tarmac road with painted lines! Grassland and bushes with areas of trees extended off into the distance and were home to large herds of zebra and warthogs with grazing cows, goats and sheep being shepherded by children waving sticks and twigs to prevent them (hopefully) from suddenly turning into the road and the path of the approaching traffic. There were two or three large tented encampments which are the now ‘semi-permanent’ but intended ‘temporary’ homes for displace refugees following the terrible violence of earlier this year.

As we neared Naivasha we could see the lake in the distance and then, directed by yet another policeman, we were directed onto the “Naivasha Bypass”. This was a mud track that was deeply rutted and contained large areas of large stones and boulders which had to be negotiated with extreme care as many areas had been turned into mud by the spillages from lorries carrying tanks of the liquid from a to b. We came head on with a large articulated lorry on our side of the track and Davis did well to force it to back up to allow us to proceed! We made it back onto the road and were glad to see tarmac and holes again! We stopped at a petrol station which also had a restaurant and foodstore attached. This was a popular resting place and enabled us to get out and stretch our legs. Inside the shop we looked at the choice of vegetables and fruit, chocolate, biscuits, sweets and drinks. We used our Kenyan shillings to buy a few bits for the road and continued on our journey. 68 kilometres to go before we reached Nakuru!

The roadside farms became more frequent and were noticeable by the stalls which had stands of carrots, potatoes and yams for sale. Cabbages and various fruits were also there in abundance. Every so often, at one of the many sleeping policemen, youngsters would charge up to the windows of vehicles and try to sell their produce from large plastic bags.

As we approached Greensteds International School the numbers of police and soldiers increased dramatically and we were pulled off the road to wait on the muddy sidewalk. The President was due along the road shortly and it had to be cleared to give him a clear route! A few police outriders on their motorbikes, some cars and then the Presidential convoy charged past at a very fast speed with flags flying from the bonnets. A large convoy of security, officials, staff and press followed and then we could clamber back into the van and continue at a much more sedate pace towards our destination. We passed the President’s house shortly afterwards and then the field where several helicopters had landed before coming under a bridge and up to a very dusty and congested roundabout. We turned off the main Nairobi - Kissimu road into Nakuru and made our way through some busy shopping streets to the Rift Valley Sports Club.

The Rift Valley Sports Club retains much of its former colonial glory but, just like the airport buildings, has not received any attention for the last forty years. Nevertheless, it was to be our home and the small twin-bedded rooms around the swimming pool were clean enough, if not a little ‘basic’. I shared with Richard Lynn, a deputy headteacher from Birmingham. We ordered and ate lunch around the pool - steak with pepper sauce for 250/= (just over £2)!!

We left RVSC and headed out for a short walk around the city, the fourth largest in Kenya. Stalls, mainly selling electrical items and accessories, were everywhere in front of the shops which were dimly lit and not particularly inviting. The pavements were in the same condition as the roads - uneven and frequently missing paving slabs which gave way to large drops into the sewers below. There was a roundabout around which numerous matatus struggled to make any progress and hawkers and beggars were everywhere. Turning off this main road we soon found ourselves in a fairly squalid area with large areas of plastic sheeted stalls tightly crammed together and rubbish piling up under our feet. We were obviously unusual visitors and attracted quite a lot of stares and comments. We felt safe enough but were happy to come across Twisters Bar. This English style pub was showing English Premiership football live on a clear tv screen and so we sat and enjoyed a Tusker’s beer whilst watching Chelsea knock five goals in against Middlesbrough. We left Twisters to return a different way through a more leafy looking suburb but even that had a narrow lane with rubbish, decaying food and, strangely, hundreds of old broken eggshells.

Back at RVSC we investigated the mosquito net and decided to tie up our own before joining the others playing some basketball on the all-weather surface pitches. It was hot and we were tired - the bar in the pavilion called! Another Tusker and another live match - Liverpool 3 - Wigan Athletic 2 (Phillip will be happy!). Match ended and we decided to head out for something to eat. We had spotted a couple of places opposite the club so thought we would give them a try. We left the club, passed the security gates and headed towards Club Coco Savannah. We paid our 50/= entrance fee and entered its dark interior. We headed upstairs, away from the deserted dance floor and to the restaurant area. Here, in the dimly lit gallery we ordered some beef curry and ugali (maize meal) plus another Tusker! It was noisy, smelly and the toilets were certainly dirty! We didn’t stay long and were back across the road and in bed and asleep by 9.45pm! We later found a description of the club in the Lonely Planet Guidebook - “A cavernous place with pounding music, the odd pool shark and prostitutes”!

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