The NeverEnding Story

My trip to Nairobi coincided with Kasiunia’s trip down to her coastal home with her sister Marejka*. They've been going to the coast on holiday since they were children and nor much has changed. I was delighted that I was invited along and it was a nice surprise to be able to see more of Kenya. So at 5:03am on Saturday morning (not that I really noticed what time it was, getting up a 4am wasn't difficult at all), we departed with a fully packed landrover down to a town called Watamu on the Kenyan coastline. Although Watamu is only 510km (roughly according to google maps) from Nairobi, we arrived at 4:30pm which – if you weren’t counting – is an eleven and a half hour car trip, averaging about 60km/h** (this included a stop every 2 hours for Kasiunia to stretch her legs, and two lavish picnics for breakfast and lunch).

Let's start at the beginning: we were on the road before sunrise, and managed (for the first time) to make it through Nairobi without hitting traffic.

There is always traffic in Nairobi – and the driving is adventurous to say the least. Even though there were so few cars on the road, we passed by three accidents before making our way out of the city. Then we hit the trucks. Imagine, if you will, a long line of trucks spread as far as the eye can see. These trucks are trundling down the “highway” in both directions. That’s in inverted commas as the highway between Mombasa and Nairobi is a two lane road (total, as in one lane each direction) – although to be fair, the road itself is in pretty good shape. However, the trucks drive bumper-to-bumper up and down this road, ovetaking at random. Of course, Kasiunia doesn’t stand for this and the car ride is 11 hours of weaving, heart in mouth, in and out of oncoming traffic.

The drive was long, but it was so beautiful.

After we stopped for breakfast, a group of Masai came past with a herd of cows. I had to take this picture very stealthily as they do not like people taking pictures of them.

The way the bush changes on the way down to the coast is incredible and everything from who lives there to how land ownership works is so interesting. In this arena, I was clearly not the best guest they’d ever had in the landrover. Every question I asked about the changing countryside was answered to the best of their ability, but both sisters would inevitably end their answer with “if only Ted were here – he’d be able to tell us all about it”, very clearly lamenting the fact that I was not more knowledgeable in these matters***.

Kasiunia and Marejka are no novices when it comes to making this trek, and we stopped at some lovely picnicking spots along the way for breakfast, lunch, and various snack times when Kasiunia needed a break from dodging trucks. Along the way we saw: cows, goats, dwarf mongeese, wildebeests, various antelope, zebras, camels (I was surprised too!), a number of different birds, and some elephant droppings but sadly no actual elephants (which was a disappointment after reading The Elephant Whisperer).

We arrived in Watamu just in time for tea (further fueling my addiction) and this beautiful view.

Blog post on Watamu forthcoming xx

A Quick Addendum:

Between this post and my last, there has been a terrible tragedy in France. I wanted to acknowledge that. My cousin broke the news on Saturday morning when we were away in the Magaliesberg (I am slightly behind with the blog). It was a huge shock and my thoughts and prayers go out to all those families. My family is alright and my friends in Paris are also fine.

I want to acknowledge that there is an incredible disparity in the media between different events and lives lost. There has also been an incredible tragedy in Beirut as well in the past week which has not been given the same amount of media attention. My heart goes out to families in both Lebanon and France, affected by the attack.

*Pronounced Ma-REE-ka

** 600km = 316.899 miles; 60km/h = 37.2823 mph (sponsored by Google)

***My uncle Ted is a geologist among other things but knows an incredible amount about everything – especially when it comes to the African bush. I’m going to stay with him in Joburg and will be on safari with him so hopefully I will be able to record some of that knowledge and not be quite so useless the next time I am journeying with Kasiunia.

#travelday #Kenya #Watamu