Fri 24th. Noisy last night in the Arusha Tourist Inn. I was picked up at 7:15 and driven to the Riverside office near Impala hotel.
We left at 08:10…slightly drizzly and very cloudy trip. Had a glimpse of Mt Kili…a lot of snow due to the rains, but could hardly distinguish the snow from the clouds. We arrived at the Namanga border at 10:15. The biggest border crossing between Tanzania and Kenya, so there were sniffer dogs as well. It was less than an hour to pass through immigration from start to finish. Whilst waiting to leave I bought a Masai bracelet. I never usually buy anything, but it had been something like 13 years since my last purchase, and that was a cheap Masai bracelet at Namanga, so I thought…’why not’. I had some loose Tz notes in my pocket, so splashed out the 4,000 (around £1:35 ).
We left Namanga 11:00.
The whole journey from Arusha to Nairobi took 7 hours, whereas I was expecting about 5 hours. It didn’t help that 5 of the passengers needed to be dropped off at JKIA.
We arrived in Nbi at 15:00 at the Riverside office on Monrovia Street. I walked down to Java House, passed the Old Market. An older man collapsed in Java, but was resuscitated. I walked to the Central train station for my 111 bus to Karen; I managed to board one straight away. I took some video of me sort of singing along to reggae music. Knowing that Helen and Elizabeth had gone to the Greek embassy, I stopped off at the junction for a couple of White Caps before going to the house at 6 p.m. There was a spaghetti bolognese waiting for me; I was starving hungry. They came back before 8. Of course we had a good catch up; I was last there about 9 months ago.
25th – 27th. Very comfortable 3 days in Karen. Am not used to having 3 meals a day; breakfast was simple coffee and toast but the other meals were filling and delicious. The usual mix of breakfast and lunch on the verandah…very nice indeed.
We went to Karen dukas, including The Hub a couple of times for coffee. Once I drew money from the ATM; by chance I got to the bank about 2 minutes before it closed. Theodora came to stay at the house on Sunday and Monday. Glen was also there; he arrived the day after me. On Monday there was a family get together over coffee at the Hub. Stavro and Jane’s eldest son Alexander had popped over to Kenya for a few days for a friend’s wedding. His sister Sophie was there…but she only lives nearby in Karen with her family. Then there was Fleur, Theodora, Elizabeth, Helen and Myself.
I enjoyed the walk from the Dukas back to the house…always declining the offer of a lift.The walk around the garden is always a pleasure, and especially this time as it was so lush after all the rain.
2 of my shirts, a pair of underpants, and a pair of socks enjoyed the luxury of a washing machine wash and iron.
One evening we went next door to Andy and Jan’s (who are renting Yaya’s old cottage) for drinks and snacks. Having mentioned drinks…I got to drink red wine, which made a nice change from beer.
I had planned to go to Naivasha on the Monday but Fleur was driving there on Tuesday and I was offered a lift.
28th-30th . We left at about 9:30 and it only took an hour and a half to get to the house in Naivasha. If I had made my own way it would probably have taken about 5 hours…getting into Nairobi, waiting for the matatu to leave, at least 2 hours to Naivasha, and then hopefully collected from the town to go to the estate.
I checked into my usual loft room. Very comfortable but I seemed to be greatly affected by the cats this time. I used the Piriton pills that I bought at the Hub but also needed to use my inhaler about a dozen times.
I only stayed 3 days on the estate. Fleur cooked a delicious veggie Thai curry the first night.
Day 2, Theodora did some fruit shopping in Karakta and I treated her to a beer at the Farm shop. I bought a bottle of red wine for Fleur as a general ‘thank you’. We also stopped at Fisherman’s Camp for a quick drink. On the way out/off the estate we encountered buffalo crossing the road….which was exciting. Peter and I had chicken and mash potato for dinner.
Day 3, Peter and I drove to Carnelleys by the lake for a beer and a snack. I treated him to the fancy samosas which had feta cheese inside. A walk to the lake’s edge was very pleasant. We stopped at Matteus to get a takeaway pizza for dinner.
A very relaxing stay. Involving sitting on the verandah of the main house. Having a drink outside Theodora’s. We had morning coffee at the Dutch neighbour’s a couple of minutes down the road. Watched a film every evening…which is a bit of a novelty for me. No walks on Kedong ranch this time as there wasn’t enough time. No wild animals on the plot this time as water was plentiful on the ranch after all the rain, but there were a few nice birds to photograph.
The weather was generally good…a mix of sunshine and clouds. So that was Impala estate for a few days…very nice indeed.