Rwanda & Burundi

Burundi

Day 1 – 19/1/13

We obtained a transit visa at the border - $ 40 each for a maximum of 3 days. The border staff very helpful. The immigration chap walked us through the customs procedures and made sure we were not held up.

If it is possible, the scenery was even more spectacular than Rwanda, especially descending into the Rift valley to Lake Tanganyika. The road was tar and in good condition. Along the route there were lots of road side stalls and touts trying to sell a wide variety of fruit and veg. It all looked very healthy. We were waved through most road blocks along the way, but when we were stopped the police invariably asked us for water or money. After a bit of chat, they were OK to take no for an answer.

Along the way we drove through the fiercest ,densest ( if you can describe a rain storm as such) rain storm either of us has ever experienced -  lots of driving rain, big hail and winds.

Bujumbura was clean and still has the colonial style wide boulevards and streets. We were not hassled along the way at all. We drove straight to Kings Conference Center (a Point of Interest in T4A). The Center has superb staff. We had a nice dinner in the hotel as the staff did not recommend walking around after dark.

Avril  driving; 359 km; 6 hrs; S 03⁰ 24’ 35.2’’ E 029⁰ 20’ 53.1’’

Day 2 – 20/1/13

We woke up to a flat tyre on the vehicle. Seems that the BFGoodrich All terrain tread is too aggressive for the rough rock and we had a small leak puncture. We changed the tyre and plugged the leak.

After breakfast we drove along the lake to Livingstone/Stanley memorial. There are two places that claim to be the spot where Stanley uttered “Dr Livingstone I presume” - here and in Tanzania. The memorial is nothing special and we were mobbed by kids, so we did not stay that long.

We then drove along the lake north of Bujumbura to see the beaches, the only attraction mentioned in the guide book - (the guide book also says do not go to Burundi due to safety and if you do go, definitely do not go out of Bujumbura). The beaches were nice, but access is via clubs/restaurants and there was lots of activity on the beaches e.g. washing bikes etc so it was not peaceful. Checked out a couple of resorts thinking we may stay an extra day, but they were very expensive.

So, we drove back to the Burundi/Tanzania border. We managed to spend all of our Burundi money on fuel just before the border.

The Burundi exit formalities were completed in super quick time.

Burundi very quick summary

Again a clean country with good roads. The folks we chatted to seemed to be pleasant and the only begging we struck were the kids at the monument and the cops! It is expensive for overlanders.

Rwanda

Day 1 – 16/1/13

We had an easy entry into Rwanda. Although, they insisted on Avril being present for the formalities. Normally Ray does it all and Avril protects the vehicle – read chats to the local boys. We then again had to swap to the right hand side of the road.

The scenery continued to be impressive, with very lush vegetation, the Volcano’s National Park on our right and the route along very steep big hills/small mountains.

The road was in excellent condition, there were buildings/ built up for substantial sections  and there were lots of people using the verges as a footpath – though they were not interfering with traffic flow. We also noticed that there were lots of people just “hanging” around, not a lot to do. The level of boredom must be incredible, to say nothing of the waste of good manpower and labour.

We drove easily into Kigali and looked at the Serena hotel. But at $ 420/night it was a bit pricey.  We checked into the Umubano Hotel a more reasonable $ 165/night – but still expensive for the standard. We needed to stay in a hotel as Ray had a conference call that night.

After checking into the hotel Avril caught up with the Australian Open and Ray did some work.

Avril  driving; 215 km; 6 hrs; S 01⁰ 56’ 49.0’’ E 030⁰ 05’ 31.9’’

Day 2 – 17/1/13

After a very late night, we had a bit of a sleep in, then caught up with email, watched the Oz Open (Avril) etc. We went for a drive around the city in the afternoon. We decided against going to the Genocide Memorial – we are a bit too squeamish for that.

The city for all intents looks and behaves like a western city. It has very well maintained parks and gardens, roads with proper kerbs and gutters, it is very clean, people obey the road rules e.g. both riders and passengers wear helmets on motor bike taxis, they obey the speed limits etc. We drove through what appeared to be some of the more ritzy suburbs with large houses and again all well maintained. The less salubrious suburbs were also well maintained with public gardens, clean roads etc.

The city seems to function very well – no electricity black outs while we were there etc. All very impressive, which shows that it can be done. The sceptics suggest that the economy is supported by huge amounts of aid. That may be so, but the aid in Sth Sudan (& the rest of Africa) did not stop the litter. Here, the streets are clean and well maintained.

Day 3 – 18/1/13

We travelled on good roads to Asagera NP. The final 27 km was on dirt and a fierce rain storm on the way in meant we were slipping across the road surface. The surface of the road was fine, powdery dirt which quickly transformed into a surface film of mud when wet.

The staff at the entrance were helpful. The current price for 24 hours with your own car and camping is $ 120. Still not cheap, especially when compared to southern Africa.

The guide books warn that there is not a lot of game and this is true. Still we managed to see bushbuck, waterbuck, warthog, impala, buffalo and tessebe/topi.

The park is renowned for its spectacular views across its lakes and we definitely had a multi- million $$ view from our camp site. The sites may have been recently renovated and there was a good rondavel and a toilet (long drop).

The biggest negative of the park are the large numbers of Tsetse flies - more than we have ever encountered before. For the 1^st time ever we looked for game though closed windows.

Avril  driving; 216 km; S 01⁰ 50’ 58.8’’ E 030⁰ 43’ 15.6’’

Day 4 – 19/1/13

In the morning we did another game drive. This time we went around the giraffe loop, but did not see any giraffe!!

We then drove to the border through a back way which involved a ~ 60 km drive on a dirt road. Even in this seemingly remote area (for a densely populated country like Rwanda) the road was lined with people.

The border crossing was excellent. The Burundi & Rwanda officials sit side by side in the same office and formalities were completed with a minimum of fuss.

Rwanda Quick Summary

The people we interacted with were very nice. The country seems to be very organised. The country was clean; almost the only place in Africa with curbs & gutters on the roads.

The negative is that it is very expensive.

The Bradt guide was OK – but quite large for such a small country. 6/10. The International Travel Map for Rwanda and Burundi is basically useless. 2/10

South Sudan & Uganda 2

Day 8 – 12/1/13

We crossed the border quickly into Uganda, again we always taken to the front of the queues. It seemed to be expected. This may not be a good example to set for the locals but given the huge queues, we welcomed this bit of positive discrimination!

The traffic at the border was chaotic. Each lorry and bus driver attempting to gain a few extra inches of distance and in doing so often completely blocking the road. Time for Traffic Cop Ray. A number of times Ray jumped out of our vehicle and got the  drivers to shift to the correct side of the road to get the traffic flowing.

Again, the journey on the dirt road back to Gulu took 3 hours. In Gulu we bought some “salt” i.e. not too sweet bread.

Then again we drove the killer pothole section.  The professional drivers again showed no courtesy and time and again used their mass to intimidate us and push our vehicle off the side of the asphalt into ditches, sharp edges etc.

There are usually police checks into and out of each town in this part of Uganda. Generally we were stopped, but usually only for a chat. Where are you from? Do you like Uganda/ etc? This is very nice, but after a time a bit tiring, particularly when we want to get to our night stop.

We camped at the Hotel Aribas in Masindi. Very nice staff.

Avril  driving; 496 km; 10 hrs; N 01⁰ 41’ 15.9’’ E 031⁰ 43’ 07.5’’

Day 9 – 13/1/13

This was a hard day’s drive. The road from Masindi to the Kampala – Fort Portal road is awful. Not Nth Kwnya awful, but still bad. It took 5.75 hours to cover this 202 km. The main road into Fort Portal is good, however the number of traffic humps is unbelievable. Even the smallest hamlet/dorp has at least 10 sets of humps. The road from Fort Portal to Lake Nyabikere was again awful.

The vegetation all the way was impressive. The manager of the CVK camp where we  stayed (he has a PhD in Forestry from ANU) said they get 2,000 mm of rain again and together with the sun, anything grows. South of Masindi there are extensive, industrial scale sugar farms. Near Fort Portal there are large tea plantations.

There was some very good scenery, mainly large hills, along the way. The vegetation is so thick and close to the road, good pictures were hard to get.

We did a spot of shopping at Fort Portal and then headed out to Lake Nyabikere, one of the many crater lakes in the area. It is a beautiful scene, very similar to the lakes on the Atherton Tablelands (so much so, that we decided to move on quickly rather than hang around).

Ben & Jen had driven through from Jinja and we shared an evening meal.

Avril  driving; 274 km; 7.5 hrs; N 00⁰ 30’ 00.0’’ E 030⁰ 19’ 49.7’’

Day 10 – 14/1/13

We started the day with a very pleasant drive along the Ruwenzori Mountains – Mountains of the Moon. We were lucky enough to see some of the high peaks in the distance before the mist covered them.

We drove along a good road to the Queen Elizabeth National Park, where we checked on the fees and confirmed the $ 150/day for the car + $35/person/day + camping costs. This was too much for us and almost all overlanders we have spoken to.

After the gate the road deteriorated badly, with potholes almost all the way. With massive number of speed bumps and pot holes and general poor road conditions in Uganda, the bracket holding the springs together on the rear driver side had vibrated loose and got stuck in between different leaves. So, we cautiously decided to take the dirt road to Ntungamo rather than stay with the potholed main road. We re-joined the main road after Ntungamo. From there until 20 km before Kabale there were constant road works. There were a very large number of work faces organised in a very haphazard manner and little system between the sections. The lack of any detour management plan meant it was very slow going. Avril amused herself by greeting as many road workers as possible. Ray sank into a state of severe depression – the lack of any project management proving too much!

What should have been a very pleasant drive turned into a long drawn out ordeal. We arrived at the Overlanders Camp site at Lake Bunyonyi at dusk. The camp site separates the bigger overland trucks from private overlanders. However one of the smaller trucks snuck into “our” area and inevitably made noise. It took some chat from Ray to get the silence necessary for sleep.

Avril  driving; 287 km; 8 hrs (driving) ; S 01⁰ 16’ 20.0’’ E 029⁰ 56’ 14.4’’

Day 11 – 15/1/13

We made friends with the Dutch family camping near us (Martin & Ilva and their daughter Rune) and decided an evening  BBQ was in order. The overland truck had some issues with their suspension and needed some spare parts. We were going into town to get our spring bracket seen to, so volunteered to get the spares.

The garage decided to weld the bracket to the springs and after some negotiation on price, performed the worst welding job Ray had seen. He reckoned he could have done a better job himself! We found the spares for the overland truck, bought some provisions and returned to camp for a lazy afternoon.

At dusk our friends Ian/Heather & Don/Gabby arrived (we had met in Addis, they towed us out of the bog in Nth Kenya and we had seen them in Jinja). They joined the BBQ and we had a pleasant evening gossiping and swapping information.

Day 12 – 16/1/13

Unsurprisingly (given our experience in Uganda) we had some overnight rain. After a slow breakfast we set off for Rwanda via Kisoro. The drive on a good road was wonderful with cultivated large hills/small mountains.

We crossed the border with a minimum of fuss.

Uganda Summary

From our experience, Uganda is indeed the pearl of Africa. It seems to be blessed with good soil, water, sun, people and (now) oil. We had little hassle in the country – we could stop at the side of the road for lunch and not draw a crowd. There were very few beggars. The scenery is wonderful.

The negatives were the very high costs to access a National Park. If they had have been reasonable we would have spent much longer in Uganda. The road conditions are also a challenge. The dirt roads are generally terrible and long sections of the asphalt roads potholed. To add to the road misery the absolutely huge number of speed bumps make driving a really tiring experience.

South Sudan

Day 1 – 10/1/13

It was ~ 109 km from Gulu to the border.

At the border a “fixer” attached himself to us (interestingly at the end he preferred Uganda Shillings to US$. Apparently the US$ exchange rate is very poor and the black market does not offer too much better. With Uganda Sh they can buy goods on the Uganda side at a much lower cost than Sth Sudan). He took us straight to the front of the very long queue to purchase our South Sudan visa - $100/each. This was done very quickly and we were stamped into the country. The immigration officials were shocked we only had 2 children. They would all have as many as possible, 10 was a number mentioned. They asked Ray if he would like a couple of local women so he could continue to breed.

We then had to purchase car insurance S. Sud £ 200 ~ $ 50. Ray joked and complained about the high cost. The locals appreciated that it was a high cost (the excuse being that Sth Sudan is a new country), but that was the cost and we got receipts for everything. Then we went to customs where the carnet was signed, quickly and with no hassles. Soon we were on our way.

The road is high standard asphalt all the way to Juba – thanks to USAid. Along the way we passed a mine clearing camp and saw the cleared lanes along the road and paths to the villages marked with red and white tape. Along the road side there were a lot of crashes, including a couple that had clearly occurred very recently. There were as many crashed, burnt out vehicles here as there were in Angola.

The scenery was rolling hills with some small mountains in the distance. The ground was dry and the vegetation was basically small scrub. There were a number of bush fires in the area that created a smoke haze.

We had reserved accommodation at the Afex Camp. Apparently this is the most secure accommodation in town and right on the Nile River: $ 145/Dbl; B&B, internet & laundry. (when we went to pay the bill we discovered that an additional 15% tax and 10% service charge was added). We queried the Service charge, but got blah blah in response). This is where most of the NGOs and diplomatic staff stay. The management is well aware of the allowances given to expats and charges appropriately – market- bearable pricing at its most efficient. Apparently a small self contained unit is + $ 4,500/month. Our accommodation was in a construction style container , but it did have tv, a/c and a bathroom!

Our vehicle attracted a lot of interest from the local staff and expats.

Avril  driving; 299 km; 6 hrs; N 04⁰ 50’ 18.9’’ E 031⁰ 36’ 58.1’’

Day 2 – 11/1/13

We had considered driving back to Uganda via Torit and the Matong Mountains. We chatted to an expat chap in the camp who knew the local roads and whose organisation had an office in Torit. He called the office in Torit and they advised that the journey from Juba to Torit would be at least 5 hours and we would need to overnight there. Then it would be a long day’s drive from Torit to Kitgum in Uganda. Then a further drive to get to Gulu. Apparently the scenery, whilst nice, is not stunning. So, we decided not to do the trip and to go directly back to Gulu.

A stroll around Juba:

The Afex camp is pleasantly situated on the Nile and has good shade and is clean. When one leaves the camp, the road deteriorates into a dirt track with large ditches. Around the immediate area there are a number of camps for the less fortunate. Some look official with well sited and maintained tents. Others are really squatter camps/hovels made up of sticks, grass and others peoples waste. The main cemetery is nearby and is very overgrown and appears to be being used as an unofficial local rubbish dump. A few people were foraging in some the waste and other piles of rubbish were smouldering. In among this, people have erected basic shelters. Quite depressing.

The main road into town is paved; however the side roads are nearly all dirt. The volume of rubbish on the side roads is huge and seems to be mainly plastic bottles. The paved road has a pile of sand running along both sides (making sure our shoes got very dirty) and also has a line of rubbish. We noticed a couple of signs pleading to “Keep Juba Clean. These have been sponsored by the UN. Clearly the town council does not take a lot of civic pride in the city.

There are plenty of trees in most areas to provide shade and from a distance they give a reasonably pleasing view.

The main business activity on the way into the “CBD” appears to be charcoal. Given that there is no power grid and no LPG bottles, charcoal looks like the main cooking fuel. It is sold in large hessian bags or small plastic bags. On the drive from the border we had seen the charcoal makers with crude earth/pit ovens smouldering in the bush. Apart from reusable yellow water jerry cans for water, there is very little other retail along the way. The service industry was represented by beauty salons, phone companies and large numbers of motorbike taxis.

There was a large amount of traffic (read Landcruisers etc) on the road with the majority from GOSS (Government of South Sudan), UN (with their own special number plates. Most UN agencies seemed to be represented here) and NGOs. The NGOs have their own special number plates. Each NGO has a unique number and then a vehicle number; the highest number we saw was NGO 133, implying there are at least 133 NGOs in Sth Sudan.

There was a reasonable number of hotels on the main road. From the street they seemed to be OK – all had Toyota Landcruisers, Prados etc parked in the courtyards. The best business in Sth Sudan has to be the Toyota dealership – if there is one?

Along the way we passed a number of Government offices. The pavement outside these was generally crowded with people. Another sign of a Government enterprise is a bank of (private) photocopiers on the pavements. This must also be another good business in Sth Sudan. It seems that paper is the way business is done here and copies are essential. With the lack of power distribution, the copier merchants need to have a generator running. In the “old days” Sth Sudan was a large producer of oil and could import fuel at a low cost from the North. Now, with their decision to stop producing oil, as apparently North Sudan was charging extortionate amounts for pipeline transport, all the fuel must be trucked from Mombasa in Kenya, via Nairobi and Kampala to Juba.

Juba must be the lowest key capital we have seen. The tallest building we saw (churches to one side) was 3 stories. The CBD/“centre” is a few streets of non-descript pavement stalls and a few “proper” shops. The urban myth is that the Kenyans and Ugandans have money (as they have not been fighting for independence) and the shops and stalls are owned by them. The Sth Sudanese provide the labour and this leads to some resentment.

Along the pavement there are some drink stalls – generally run by women. They sell tea and cold (fruit ?) drinks. We did not see any food for sale.

We were both in shorts and this did not seem to worry the locals. Though, a lot of folks had a shy sideways glance at Avril as they passed. We were left to ourselves during our walk, no beggars.

There is not a lot of tourist stuff in Juba, really none. So after an extended walk we returned to the Afex camp, Air Conditioning and internet.

The government seems to make it difficult to establish a new, formal, business. In Kampala we had chatted to Pete from Africian Rivers, who is trying to establish a rafting site on the White Nile in Sth Sudan. The government, maybe short of funds due to the lack of oil exports, requires a $ 500,000 establishment fee and then some large ongoing payments. The cost is prohibitive for a small tourist enterprise.

Chatting to the expats at the camp, there is a large degree of scepticism regarding the government. There are reports of significant corruption. If that is true, it seems that Sth Sudan is following the path of other African countries as they gained independence. The former resistance leaders and freedom fighter commanders ensured they had a life of luxury and that their personal wealth came before building a new nation. If it is true, it is a real pity.

There are consistent reports of ongoing criminal activity (a lot of it violent) in the country. The suggestion is that the police and army, who have not been paid (oil exports issue again) are a big part of the problem.

Day 3 – 12/1/13

We were up before the sparrows and drove back the way we came 2 days before. The valleys were filled with smoke from the morning domestic fires, from charcoal making and from bushfires.

We cleared customs and immigration quickly. Again, we were taken to the front of each queue.

South Sudan Summary

The trip to Sth Sudan turned out to be a very expensive experiment. With visas (Sth Sudan and re-entry into Uganda), insurance, accommodation, food, additional fuel & accommodation to make the trek north etc, we were probably out of pocket > $ 1,000 for the 2 days. We were pretty appalled and annoyed at the costs and the blatant gouging.

The costs are massively higher than anywhere else in the region. For example, the hotel 300 km south in Gulu (the 1^st major center south in Uganda and itself, expensive for Uganda) was only 25% of the cost of the camp in South Sudan - for the same program. And it was of a much higher standard.

It also shows how the Diplomatic Corps and NGOs spend taxes and donations. One of the NGOs was a malaria treatment organisation. We though of Dave & Julia in Drive Against Malaria. The cost to maintain an organisation in Juba could be used to great effect with a mirco, focused couple like Dave & Julia.

The government taxes the material bought into the country by NGOs, for example the chap we spoke to in Kampala was building a school in Sth Sudan and the government taxed all materials on import.

I am not sure taxing the generosity of others is a winning strategy.

The country itself does not have much to offer tourists and overlanders.

Listening to folks in the camp about the violence, lawlessness and corruption in Sth Sudan, even if 50% is true, this new country is in for a very hard time – unless you are one of the new elite.

 Somaliland, a non-state seemed to be much better organised and had a lot more civic pride. We would be surprised if the people of Sth Sudan, in general, were any better off in 20 years time.

Uganda 1

Day 1 – 4/1/13

Crossing into Uganda was easy, if time consuming. We got a visa on entry, which thankfully was only a stamp, not a whole passport page (we are running short of these), which they kindly put on an already used page. The carnet was stamped, but we needed to pay road tax.

We then drove to Tororo and an ATM (which would only let us draw ~ $ 70 – looking forward to seeing the charge for that!!) We also got a new SIM card.

The road from the border to Tororo was average and it degraded badly from there. It became one long series of bad potholes. About 20 km before Mbale it improved and was OK all the way to Sipi. The vegetation was ultra lush. It seemed that anything could grow here and the country side was a giant mass of green.

The drive up Mt Elgon provided some fantastic vistas across the plain below. Unfortunately it was quite hazy, so we could not get decent pics.

We ran into Ben and Jen (English overlanders) at the border and travelled with them to Sipi. We camped at the Twilight camp. Apparently this used to be run by a German chap, but (sadly) he is no longer there. They promised hot showers, which turned out to be jerry cans of hot and cold water and a bucket - the women doing all the water heating and carrying, whilst the blokes chatted.

Jen cooked us a nice dinner.

Avril  driving; 300 km; 6 hrs; N 01⁰ 20’ 05.0’’ E 034⁰ 22’ 13.2’’

Day 2 – 5/1/13

We had organised a drive & walk around the Sipi Falls. We thought it strange that the people at Twilight wanted to charge us National Park entrance, as the map showed us that it was outside the NP and the guide book made no mention of a fee being payable. They also wanted to charge $ 30 pp. Ray had copied the Uganda National Park fees and showed it was only $ 25 pp. Long story short, it seems that the folks at Twilight camp were running a scam. Very naughty. After debating the matter endlessly, reluctantly we paid 1 x $25. Later we called Ben & Jen and said we thought this was a scam. They had been to the camp ground next door and found that there was no National Park fee payable. The good news was they managed to get most of our money back.

A very bad introduction to a new country! Clearly we cannot recommend the Twilight Camp.

Sipi Falls are a series of 3 cascades, the 1^st and 3^rd being the most spectacular. We walked to the base of the 1^st falls, the top of the middle falls and to a vantage point in the Sipi valley to see the 3^rd fall. There were also stunning views from the heights over the plain below – seemed like you could see forever. We also managed to get a hazy view of Mt Elgon peak.

We then drove to Jinga on a very good standard tar road. We looked at the Nile High camp ground but there was no “roof top” camping area and there were already 2 big overland trucks there. So, we drove onto Nile Explorers which is much nicer for us 4WD overlanders.

As soon as we drove in we saw Heather (Ian, Don and Gabby were out white water rafting) the folks we had driven down from Loyangalani with.

We enjoyed catching up later at the bar. The bar has a great view over the Victoria/White Nile and we were treated to a wonderful sunset.

The night was a bit noisy (apparently someone rode a motor bike into the bar area!), but we managed to get some sleep. Jacques & Cecilia and the staff at the camp were very friendly and super helpful.

  

Avril  driving; 220 km; 4.5 hrs; N 00⁰ 29’ 04.0’’ E 033⁰ 09’ 47.4’’

Day 3 – 6/1/13

There was a lot of rain in the morning, but we managed to pack up the tent during a dry period. The road to Kampala was very ordinary/bad tar.

We passed through some industrial scale sugar cane and tea plantations and as the guide books said, took 2 hours to cover 73 km to Red Chilli Camp.

The  camp was very full with backpackers and one overland truck, but no other overlanders.

We met up with a group of young Americans who are carrying out charitable works in South Sudan. These are being funded by an independently wealthy former oil man. It is amazing how often one comes across Americans living a very basic existence and trying to assist local folks.

Avril  driving; 73 km; 2 hrs; N 00⁰ 19’ 12.4’’ E 032⁰ 37’ 47.0’’

Day 4 – 7/1/13

We were up early to get to the Rwanda embassy 1^st thing. Unfortunately, the staff was not of a similar mind and arrived 30 min late. TIA. Very unfortunately, they have a 72 hr waiting time for a visa. Bit of a bugger, Rays’ charm did not work fully this time. After pleading/begging, maybe they can do it in 36 hrs. Fingers crossed.

We headed off to the local shopping mall for brunch and essentials shopping.

Then, just as we got back to the camp, the heavens fully opened up.

Ben & Jen, who we had met at the border and Sipi showed up and we shared a few beers and dinner

Day 5 – 8/1/13

Again we were awakened by rain. It also rained later in the day.

We did some emails and chores during the day. Luckily the Rwanda embassy listened to our pleas and we got our passports complete with visas late in the day.

Again, we shared the evening with Ben & Jen.

Day 6 – 9/1/13

Rain, rain, rain. Again we were awakened by rain and packed up a wet tent.

We then drove through to Gulu in mid north Uganda. The vegetation remained green and lush, but the scenery was not all that interesting. We did get a picture of the rapids/small falls on the Victoria Nile at Karuma.

We had an interesting exchange with a traffic cop along the way. Apparently we were doing 54km/hr in a 30 km/hr zone. We pointed out all the other people speeding and the appalling driving standard in the country. After some conversation, we were let off.  Fine would have been $45 – lucky, Avril - as that would have been her chocolate allowance for a week!!

When we stopped for lunch, a girl (early teens?) who was minding some cattle came over. In a show of subservience/submissiveness – and much to our total embarrassment, she knelt before us. We gave her some food, pen, money etc. We had a similar experience with an older woman when we were walking at Sipi. Some of the old stuff must hang on.

The road was good until the Murchinson Falls turn-off and then deteriorated to very poor tar with lots of aggressive pot holes.

We could not find any camping, so stayed at the Churchill Court Hotel (USh 114,000 B&B and internet)

Avril  driving; 336 km; 6.5 hrs; N 02⁰ 46’ 58.1’’ E 032⁰ 18’ 06.2’’

Day 7 – 10/1/13

After a hearty breakfast, we were off on the “bad” section of the road. It was dirt and bad, but not as bad as other roads we have been on recently. This is the main logistics route into South Sudan, so there were lots of trucks along the way

A good day to be white!! We were ushered to the front of the very large queues in both Customs and Immigration on the Uganda side and in no time at all exited the country.

Kenya 2

Day 12 – 31/12/12

A day for relaxing. Avril got her “hair done”; we did a bit of shopping and prepared for a New Years Eve BBQ.

We joined with other overlanders at JJ for the BBQ. Each couple provided their own meat and contributed a salad for the table. We had pre dinner drinks with a very multi cultural mezza including some yummy snacks from an Indian biker couple. Then the main course. We drank a little, played the game where you have to guess the name of the person written on a sticker on one’s forehead. Ray managed to stay awake to 00:00 – just.

Day 13 – 1/1/13

Soon after we had retired to bed, the rain came and settled in for the night. Given the late night, we got up late, had a lazy breakfast, said our farewells to the fellow travellers and set off. On the way out of town we stocked up on the nice fresh vegies from the supermarket.

Nairobi farewelled us with a rain storm that made our vehicle all dirty again.

On a fairly decent tar road we drove to Naivasha with some spectacular views over the Rift Valley along the way.

We drove around Lake Naivasha. As seems to be generally the case in Kenya, as soon as we left the tar, the road was terrible. There are now a lot of flower farms and game reserves around the lake, so we did not get many views of the lake. We did manage to see a number of animals: zebra, buffalo, giraffe and Thompsons Gazelle.

We then drove on to Lake Elmentetia and camped at the Cactus Ecco Campground, which had been recommended by others. It was clean, had flush loos and hot showers and very pleasant staff. So, we could not complain.

In the evening we went for a stroll to the lake and saw some pink flamingos , pelicans and other birds.

Avril  driving; 171 km; 5 hrs; S 00⁰ 27’ 01.5’’ E 036⁰ 15’ 46.0’’

Day 14 – 2/1/13

After a late start we drove via Nakuru to the Naibery camp south of Eldoret. In Nakuru we stopped off at a very modern tyre service center – the 1^st really decent tyre place since RSA. We wanted to have a wheel balanced as the weights were knocked off when the punctures were repaired in Maralal. However, the rip in the tyre was too large and we were forced to buy yet another tyre. They wanted to sell a BFGoodrich – but with their abysmally poor performance thus far, we said no. Instead we bought a Pirelli. Let’s see how that goes.

We may have forgotten to mention, but some time ago we awarded BFGoodrich/Michelin our 3^rd Raspberry for the trip.

The drive was along the Rift Valley and scenery was rolling hills with some grand vistas. The vegetation seemed to be semi-tropical and there was quite intensive agriculture along the way.

The road was good until ~ 65 km before Eldoret and then it deteriorated badly. This is the main truck route to Uganda. The road consisted of 2 deep ruts on each side of the road. The ruts suit the trucks, but pose a serious hazard to small vehicles. In addition, the truck drivers show little consideration and make driving even worse than it should be.

The camp is excellent, maybe the best of the trip thus far. The down side is that all the big overland tour trucks use the site. So, it can be very noisy.

Avril  driving; 153 km; 4.5 hrs (driving) ; N 00⁰ 26’ 52.4’’ E 035⁰ 25’ 20.5’’. Across the equator again.

Day 15 – 3/1/13

A day of chores; lots of cleaning and mending.  The good news was that it was dry, so we could get the jobs done.

BBQ for dinner

Day 16 – 4/1/13

The road to the border varied between some good new short sections and more of the big groves worn into the surface by trucks.

We managed to use our excess Kenyan Shillings to fill the fuel tanks, only to find we needed Shillings to pay Road Tax.

The crossing from Kenya was easy. We did have to pay road tax as we had not paid it on entry (as there was no border post).

Kenya Summary

Roads and rain to one side, we enjoyed Kenya. The people were welcoming and ready to assist, without expecting payment. There was a little begging by young boys in rural areas, but apart from that we were left alone. We could pull off to the side of the road for lunch and not be crowded by spectators/beggars.

It was nice to be able to buy good quality meat, fruit and veg/salad.

We thought the game parks were expensive, but then they seem to be lower cost than other east African countries. The camp grounds were in the main of reasonable to good quality.