Naivasha (longonot volcano & hell's gate)

Trip to Naivasha

(Longonot Volcano and Hell’s Gate)

Four of us decided that a trip to Naivasha was a good idea, especially for me as I have been in Kenya over a year and had never visited.  

We hired a car and drove via Narok, this journey took us through the lush green areas by Kerricho, the savannah planes near Narok and eventually arriving in the dark at Naivasha.  We stayed at the Crayfish Camp as all our other options were fully booked.  Kie had booked on the Wednesday for 2 rooms for 2 nights, but as usual things didn’t get written down in their books that way and we only had one night confirmed.

We were told that we were going to be shown to our rooms, so followed a man to the rooms.  He was walking quite fast, but none of us thought anything of it.  Then he opened the door and we followed him in.  I asked, “Are you sure this is our room, as there is a bag already in it?”  One of the other girls asked the question, “But where is the other bed?”   It turned out we had just followed a fellow guest into his room and he was not working at the hotel at all!!! Opps. (Wonder what he was thinking!!?)

We went to Carnelly’s for dinner just down the road and gorged ourselves on an amazing selection of food; Pizza, Nachos, Crayfish, Samosas (one flavour was camembert and bacon…. Absolutely to DIE FOR).

The next day we ate breakfast and asked about the room for that night, they said that most likely we could stay but were not all that convincing!  So we left for Longonot Volcano.  

Thankfully the day was a little cloudy so it wasn’t unbearably hot.  The first part of the hike was to the volcano rim, this meant walking up 2 very steep hills.  The ground was a mixture of slippy sand and volcanic rubble which made walking a little hard and at times needing to use our hands to climb certain parts was necessary.  This was not a simple stroll.

Once at the rim, we took a short rest before setting off to walk around the whole rim.  (Total hike that day was 21km…although I’m sure it was further!)  Most people who had climbed up were not walking the whole rim so this section was much quieter. There was one large peak that was almost as high as the walk to the rim, at one point we were actually rock climbing, with the rim only being a few feet wide.  The views from the top were unbelievable, you could see 360 degrees, lake Naivasha and back towards Massai Mara, it was beautiful.

Walking back down was the interesting bit, as many parts I found myself sliding on my ass.  Crazy Kenyan’s were actually running and jumping these parts, but that seemed like a stupid idea to me.

We got back to Crayfish and rather than ask them if we had a room I just approached the desk and asked for room keys 28 &29, they gave the keys, no questions asked! :) 

We decided the food at Carnelly’s was so great that we wanted to eat there again.  I was trying to explain my friends about the Kenyan Cowboys (KC’s), who are basically the rich white playboys of Kenya, born and bred but are notorious for being drunk, rude and annoying.  There were some in the bar and when we wanted to leave one KC rushed over to buy us drinks and make us stay.  Needless to say that one drink turned into several and before we knew it, it was 5.30am!!!

Two hours of sleep later we woke up to eat breakfast, see Hell’s Gate and drive all the way back to Kisumu!!!!!  (It was going to be a long tired day.)  However once getting to Hell’s Gate and starting to walk, I felt much better.  Hell’s Gate is the place that the Lion King is based on and also Tomb Raider was partly filmed there, you can see why it is such an awesome place to use for filming.  We walked through these tight gorges and saw thermal springs; in fact there is a huge thermal system that is being used as a source of power for Kenya.

Finally we had to make the 6/7 hour journey back to Kisumu, thankfully there were 2 of us driving so we could take it in turns.  That kept me awake and the fact I had 3 cans of Redbull!  The journey was pretty uneventful until we had an incident where the car half fell off the tarmac road, where there was a good foot drop and as the car tried to get back on the road, one tire was stuck and we started to swerve into the middle of the road as a truck was coming in the opposite direction.  I definitely think the word “FUCK” came out of my mouth from the back seat.  We survived but 5 minutes later, of course one of the tires was completely busted.  

Stuck in the middle of nowhere, raining hard and becoming quickly dark.  We tried to figure out the jack, but it was just rubbish.  The spare wheel had a ton of rips in it and also bulged horrifyingly in places, but we had no choice.  We managed to flag someone over, who literally saved us from sleeping in the car.  He came with his jack, in fact in the end we had to use both jacks!!  But the tire got replaced and we steadily carried on home, in the dark.  

Thank you to Gideon for saving our asses and being a helpful Kenyan when the Wazungu’s were too stupid.

Kochia and a new organisation!

I think after spending those days 2 weeks ago in Kochia things seemed to change in my mind. I quit working for cycle out of Poverty as I just didn’t feel like I was working in the right place, it was not satisfying me and Kisumu and the Duke of Breeze hotel were not doing my head or liver any favours.

However it did take quite a long time for me to actually pack my bags and move on!

First things first… I did finish my brochure and tourist map of Kisumu for the CooP organisation, so at least I finished what I started. I was sad to give my bike back but really I am happy to be out, I will of course miss my friend Daniel who was my work colleague and towards the end more of a friend.

It took nearly a week for me to realise that although I was avoiding doing most work for the last organisation, I at least kept my mind busy with worrying about the work I wasn’t doing! Having nothing to do in a non-touristy place is well…. Pretty boring! However I did manage to beat my friend Ali in pool, which meant that I no longer had to buy him 2 dinners. Although I did then take the challenge again, twice and lost meaning that the original 2 meals I owed I still owed! Grrrrr!

I had to go to hospital this week again as one of my infections (on my leg) will not heal. I knew it was going to be a bad visit, but fuck me it was awful! First the doctor said, “ok we need to squeeze all the puss out” I was thinking, please help me, don’t you think I have already tried that but it was too painful!? So after the doctor squeezing a lot and me screaming and swearing, he decided to get another Doctor. So Doctor number 2 asked the first one “What is coming out of the wound… blood or puss?” The reply from the first Doctor made me laugh, all he said was “Nothing just brown shit!” After this discussion they then decided to stick a needle and syringe into my open wound. This time I really did say some bad names at the doctors, lucky I’m not in England where by if you swear at hospital staff you get kicked out. I bet the whole waiting room was thinking I was having my leg amputated or something. And probably thought I was Jekyll and Hyde when I came out laughing and apologising to the staff! Having gone back a week later they now think that if it doesn’t heal they might need to x-ray my leg to see if the infection has gone into my muscle or bone!!!! I mean come on, let’s not be silly bout this!!!!

Nine of us went for dinner to Al Noor (Indian restaurant) Ali, Christina, the Finnish and myself. Ate the most amazing chicken Biryani spilt between 3 of us and we still couldn’t finish it. It was my last night in Kisumu and was really nice that we all got to go out together and at least Ali got one of his promised free meals!

I then headed to Homa Bay 3 hours south of Kisumu to meet a Dutch boy Berend that I have become close to. We stayed in a luxury tent with bed, flushing toilet and hot shower…. And did absolutely nothing but relaxed and read books and watched films. Somehow I managed to get totally sun burnt wearing factor 30 suncream, sitting in the shade on a rainy day… let’s just say my back is peeling and 2 different colours. Frustrating as it has been along long time since I got this badly burnt!

What have I been doing for this new organisation? Well I have been getting dirty building a rabbit breeding house, which has killed my fingers threading chicken wire together and getting totally covered in oil which is painted on the wood to deter termites and snakes. I have also been learning about agriculture, yes you read that right, hazel and farming. Been to an organisation where I have been learning methods of better crop production by the planting of certain plant species together that promote growth and deter insects, acting as natural pesticides. I am still working on fish leather products… although not very fast, I am also designing some greeting cards relating to African culture and Free Kenya, the organisation that I am now working with.

I have also been asked when I come back to work with an organisation that is partnered with Free Kenya called ABBA, which is a school. They want me to teach art to the children and also teach money making handicrafts for the mothers of the children so they can pay for the children’s school fees. I think this could be an interesting project on my return.

I have been further South around lake Victoria to Mbita and Rusinga Island and have even had the opportunity to drive the organisation’s car on dirt paths that were hardly wide enough to fit a car down! It was fun driving that’s for sure! On this route I saw a man cycling dragging a dead dog which was tied with rope by the neck behind him! Never a dull moment! And to top it all off I have once again had to visit the hospital as I thought I was getting bitten by fleas, but it turned into a massive rash all over my body that was extremely itchy. This meant I had to be given cream, tablets and strangely an injection in the back of my hand! I have no idea what I was allergic to, but once again my body looks a real mess!

I have spent Sunday night back in Kisumu for the one and only gay party, which as homosexuality here is illegal it was a crazy time for these people to be able to be completely open about their sexuality. Let’s say it was funny. Lots of “Queens”!

One thing that did make me laugh over the last few weeks …. Whilst at the Laughing Buddha Restaurant this annoying white man came past shouting Mzungus!!!! And then ran inside. Obviously we laughed and thought he was a bit of a dick. About 3 mins later he came back apologising and I corrected him saying it was Wazungu when plural! And he was like oh right… well u can join us if you want. “im just off inside for a hooker and a beer!” (quote of the week) we do know that he meant a water pipe, but it just aint half as funny.

Welcome to Kisumu

Well the good news is, the Kenyan Officials at the airport didn’t give a damn about my exit ticket and the fact that I lied about a flight home. Their loss they didn’t check it was true!!!

So I got a bus from Nairobi to Kisumu, which was just beautiful. I saw the Maassi Mara and Serengeti plans from the bus window and generally started to doubt the lonely planet’s description of really bad roads…. I doubted them too early. For about 2 hours the bus threw me around, I was sat at the back; I actually got thrown from my seat by the window into the aisle and have a pretty good bruise on my head where I was thrown into the ceiling. I had to hold my torso a lot as I felt like my heart was about to be ripped from its tubes, but that aside I made it to Kisumu in pretty good health, bar a few bruises and scratches.

So far I am loving Kisumu, everyone seems to be very friendly and not too annoying with unwanted stares and attention. After buying two pretty horrendous tops on the market I decided I should get my hair cut. Lets just say…. I should have done it myself! I now have rather a mixture of lengths in my hair and the hairdresser decided that I needed a hair conditioner rubbed into my scalp. The massage was good, but I have washed my hair 5 times now and still I have greasy locks! On the plus side this only cost me KSH200 which is about £1.50 plus a horrible clip thrown in that I will never use!

On my first night here I met an American man who did 14 days of emergency medical training and is now delivering babies in the local hospital. His stories were, well quite funny after 3 beers, but in hindsight pretty harrowing. If you’re squeamish don’t read this next part. He told me of very blunt needles for suturing, where the skin was stretching more than an inch before the needle would pass through. He also graphically described carrying out an episiotomy (cutting the vagina during childbirth) where his scissors were so blunt that he felt like he was hacking away using those child proof scissors! Then proceeded to tell me he could get me job at the hospital helping to deliver babies, I just had to say the word!

Today (8^th Oct) I have been cycling round Kisumu with a lovely man called Clifford. I have had to get used to a back cycling brake, it’s rather scary not having brakes my hands use, they trying to grab imaginary hand brakes! I nearly crashed into a tuk tuk after 1 minute on my bike… I got a rather sharp stare and a beep.

I have now seen the workshop, which is basic to say the least!! And obviously health and safety is not a priority!! So I am now officially meant to be doing a list of things the length of my arms!! I’ll see what I can actually do! I am going to be painting pictures for a café opening in conjunction with a bike tour I am organising round the lake and also making furniture for the seating area inside. I hope that at some point I can learn to weld, making tricycles and bikes with a front basket. Making 2 shelters, one permanent so welding that is done outside is not always in hot direct sun and one temporary that can be rented out. I also have to reorganise the workshop and have a daily maintenance checklist so items don’t go missing!

Today (12^th Oct) I am on my second day of antibiotics… obviously it was to be expected that at some point I was going to get a bug! So I have taken my day off today and feel pretty weak, but it is fine as I am working Saturdays so can take a midweek day to myself.

I have had three offers of dates and a marriage proposal already in a week. Neither of the men I am interested in! I haven’t really made any real friends yet, but I am sure it will happen. Hopefully soon I will have some photos of things that I have made! I guess watch this space!!!