Heathrow Nairobi Mau Plateau

---

On 30/10/2008 at 2pm I flew from Dublin to Heathrow with Aer lingus. When I arrived at 3pm I took the tube to King's Cross from which my hotel was only 5 minutes walk. The King's Hotel was a dump but cheap. I met my brother David (who works in London) at 7.30pm at the Windmill Pub on Cricklewood Broadway. We had some drinks & then went for an Indian curry at the Bilash Restuarant. After the meal we returned to the Windmill for more drinks & we were talking with David's Serbian & Montenegran friends there for the rest of the night.

Next day I went to Heathrow 5pm for my flight to Nairobi with Virgin Air. We departed at a little late at 8pm. It was Hallow'een Night & as the jet gained altitude I saw all the fireworks exploding in the London night sky. The flight was 8 hours, I got no sleep, so when I arrived in Nairobi I was tired. The 2 hour queue to process my visa did not help much. Then I took a taxi to Millimani backpackers & had a 3 hour nap despite the best efforts of a workgang shovelling several tons of gravel onto a new parking area directly outside my window. When I awoke I had a burger in the hostel & then ventured into the city. I explored the parks & downtown etc. It was late, the Foreign Exchange places were closed so I converted 100 euros to kenyan shillings at the casino opposite the Stanley Hotel.
I walked back to the hostel for dinner & I got talking to a 78 yr old English ex-pat called Phil. He related how he contracted from a blood transfusion at Nairobi general Hospital last year.

Early next moring I got some bugspray & supplies before taking my backpack to the Heron Court Hotel (this place was used in the film the Constan gardener), which was the starting point of the Absolute Africa tour.
Sarah, who was Austrailian, was the only other person starting with me. We were picked up by car by a driver & Lucky who our cook (fancy) & who came exclusively with our section of the tour. We were heading to meet the rest of the group, who were about to arrive at Kembu Camp 40 miles from Lake Nakuru on the Mau Plateau. En route we were stopped by the police for about 10 minutes until the driver paid a bribe. We stopped for a photo shot of the rift valley, Sarah was feeling very ill at this point, possibly a reaction to her anti-malerial medication.

We reached Kembu (chameleon) camp before the others & I bought a Tuscar beer Lucky & myself, he had after all shared his bbq goat lunch with me at a roadside stall on the way. Then massive yellow truck called pemba (swahili for warthog) pulled into the camp, it was quite a sight. The truck came to stop & out popped 17 Antipodeans & 1 Swiss, I was a bit intimiddated by the monolithic ethnicity of the group but soon we were drinking beer & chewing a pound of Mirrah they had bought legally earlier, to break the ice. It was my first time to take this narcotic which has similar effects to amphetamines. My lips began to tingle & I talked incessantly, that is, twice as much as Irish people normally do. This drug is also called Chat & is widely abused in large parts of Africa & Arabia, it is the drug of choice for Somalian militias, warlords etc. The night continued with more drinking at the camp ground's bar & playing pool. This was a camping tour & I was allocated Dave as my tentmate. That night I woke about 3am to relieve my bladder of some of the copious pints of beer that I had imbibed earlier. I gave the drop toilet a miss because of the stink & as I urinated alfresco against a bush I marvelled at the countless stars that arched overhead, I had never seen them so clearly.
I recognised Orion & a few other constellations & watched for a while until I noticed how cold I was & climbed bak into my sleeping bag.

---

Photos

Crater
In the Rift Valley altitude
30,000 feet. I got to snap this crater on the ground as we drove past it a couple of days
later.

Crater
As seen from ground level

Kembu pitching the tents
Then we chewed Miraa & drtank all night.

Comments

[Chris]

Bad Experience
I would like to warn people about Milimani Backpackers. As a hostel it is fine enough but I had a really negative experience with them. They have an area in the back corner next to the wall where people can camp. One evening I was lying down in my tent when a big thunderstorm came. The thunder was really close so I got out and went inside the hostel. Less than five minutes later I came back to check if water was getting in and I found my tent was covered in bricks. The wall had fallen on it. If I had been inside I would have died or been very seriously hurt. My tent was destroyed and when I checked my new video camera I found the screen had been cracked. I found out later this was the 3rd time the wall had fallen and once before it had hit a tent but they still let people camp there. I assumed Patricia, the owner, would replace or fix my tent and camera without any problem, just happy I was alive. But to my surprise she refused to pay a cent. After a heated argument they finally agreed to look for estimates. That was the beginning of a long fight to get some compensation. The played all kinds of games with me. They lied, they didn’t return my calls/messages/emails and they stalled me hoping I would give up. For awhile I stayed at the backpacker waiting for them and they refused to let me stay for free. In the end I finally got some cash four months later but only because I was so persistent. As for my tent they reluctantly gave me the cheapest old tent they had. It was useless against rain. For this I would have to say do not stay at Milimani Backpackers. I would recommend to stay at… New Kenya Lodge (River Rd and Latema Rd) -right in the center (close to cheap internet, Milimani charges 4X the price) -lots of travellers -cheaper -actual hot showers (Milimani’s are hardly warm) -offer cheaper safaris than Milimani and just as good If you aren’t comfortable staying in the center then I would recommend Upper Hill Backpackers (a bit far from town but very nice) or the Hostelling International Backpacker (near to Milimani)