Mon 1st. Caught 10:00 matatu via Voi to Nbi. If I’d known it was going to take 8.5 hrs I would’ve left a bit earlier. The trip is at least 3 hours longer than before because Naekana can’t use the TZ shortcut via Tarakea and Oloitoktok as the border is currently closed. But a good trip. I had a front seat and had a good view of a truck tipping over from the motorway onto the murram hard shoulder; it had had 3 wheels on the tarmac and one was hanging over a bit of a drop; as he reversed the truck just toppled over. Being on the MSA/Nbi highway, we went through Makindu which brought back lots of memories of visiting Dad there in the hospital where he died. Could see the gate which I went through 3 times a day at visiting times. A bit emotional.
Could see Mt Kilimanjaro from the highway; I’d forgotten you could see it from so far away. Checked into the SunWay…my usual hotel. Not the best of hotels..but for 10 – 11 pounds in the middle of Nbi, what do you expect. Power point not working, no light in the room and no running water. The light got fixed…I think the main wall switch needed to be on in order for the other switches to work !! Waited 45 mins for a jerry can and bucket of water to be delivered to the room. The plastic bowl the water was poured into had a crack and some of the water seeped out. The water was cold…but it had been a long journey…
Headed over to the Hilton for a bit of luxury. Asked about their happy hour. But to get a beer at a reduced price of 300ksh I had to buy 5 beers. I said I couldn’t possibly drink 5 on my own and walked out. Went to the Ambassadeur virtually across the road where the beers were 200ksh. Settled to read my book when a fight broke out at the bar. Africans often jostle roughly and can get seemingly violent, but this was real fisticuffs with head blows landing. I moved one table away just in case…..Anyway they were taken into separate to resolve things. Found the Highway restaurant across the road and had a very nice chicken curry. An eventful day.
Tues 2nd. Water still a problem. Had a cold wash. Went walkabout. Had a coffee. Went to draw out some money from the bank. Put 5000 on Mpesa because Charles would need it for my visa extension. Back to the hotel….still no electricity. Fortunately I carry my solar charger with me, so I climbed up a ladder and through a small hatch and settled down to sunbathe whilst my phone charged slowly.
I needed a charge to communicate with Charles who was coming to see me. He came after 2:00 and we spent a couple of hours discussing visas and residency. After he left I went to the Ambassadeur for a drink and bank to the Highland again for chicken curry. Met James who was related to the family that owned SunWay and we had a long chat in the bar of the SunWay.
Wed 3rd. I stayed on in Nbi because I was led to believe Bonny would be around. As it turned out he was still at the Mara. Took the opportunity to visit the National Archives right across the road which had a very interesting history of Kenya manly, but other African countries as well.
Went onto the roof to relax. Searched for an Indian restaurant for dinner but failed to find one. The nearest one had closed down and another one didn’t seem to exist. So before it got dark I went to the Ambassadeur and Highland…again !!
Thurs 4th. After breakfast I checked out at 10:00. I told Bonny I couldn’t hang around Nbi and would travel to Naivasha. Confirmation of visa extension arrived after 10:00 and I walked over to OTC and the Naivasha stage. Waited from nearly 10:30 til after 12:00 before we left for Naivasha. At least it was only a couple of hours journey and the matatu implemented social distancing.
I bought a six pack of White Cap beers which I knew Peter liked. I caught a matatu to Matteos on Moi South Road which encircles a large section of Lake Naivasha. Caught an uber to the family plot. Set up a camp bed in Peter’s attic/loft space and greeted the family.
Fri 5th to Tues 9th. Very nice time on Naivasha….relaxing. Fri we went for a sundowners a short drive away on the Kedong ranch. A calm evening whereas normally there’s a howling gale up there apparently. The next day Peter needed to do bit of shopping, after which we went to Fisherman’s camp for a drink. It was an opportunity to see evidence of the rising lake waters. The water had receded a bit but left in its wake a lot of dying trees. One day we went on a 15 mins walk to visit a neighbour….all the timekeeping an eye out for any buffalo.
Which reminds me….the first evening was very exciting as a herd of zebra came to the front of the house in their search for water. They found a little trough and the swimming pool !! Either the same evening or the second one a herd of buffalo visited for the same reason. I got some great video and pics….quite a thrill.
One evening I went beyond the back fence to some rocks to enjoy the view. It was a bit nerve wracking as I was told to be careful of buffalo as evening was approaching….kept looking around and didn’t stay more than half an hour!!!
On Mon I got a lift to a local shop and bought ingredients for a Thai chicken curry that I said I would prepare for everyone. So on Tues I got to work on that. Utilising someone else’s kitchen is a bit awkward but I kept it simple and it turned out very well. Well, that was my last day as on Wednesday I planned to go to Nakuru.