Heading
What a surprise to have the team's regular driver Tom back with us; no one can quite pack a van like Tom can... and wow, did we need that skill this morning!
We left at 7am and drove 250 kilometres to get to Nakuru, rolling through the morning haze of charcoal & garbage burning and rural areas surrounded by sunflower and maize fields. There are so many small villages with men sitting by piles of boulders, smacking rocks with hammers to make gravel, groups of children walking to school, motorcycles and ladies frying chapatis. Metal shop workers grinding and welding. All sorts of hustle and bustle. Herdsmen moving livestock to find green grass for the day. Miles of red dirt windy roads joining the main road. We revelled over the miles of lush crops, the valleys and vegetation. They have adorable little plant nurseries alongside the roads.
We hit hundreds of speed bumps, saw miles of sugarcane fields, avocado plantations and ladies harvesting tea in the vast tea fields. The recent rains meant freshly tilled plots of land. The roadsides had guys pushing motorbikes, a bus (full of people) missing a tire, a drive shaft hanging out from under a Mercedes semi, men carrying a big radiator from a broken down truck, and various other breakdowns and accidents. The risky passes & tailgating on these chaotic roads can take your breath away and make your heart skip a beat.
There are so many roadside stands selling bananas, seed, bed frames, mattresses, firewood, honey, other fresh fruits & veggies, propane and more. We inhaled a wide variety of smells from exhaust fumes & acrid burning smoke to food frying & crop smells. Carwashes and woodworking shops. Cows grazing with their lead lines tied to pegs lining the road. A fascinating mix of hand to mouth sustenance and commercial farming. Locals leisurely strolling by chewing sugarcane and so much laundry hanging out to dry.
We saw traffic control who laid out spike belts on the highway to direct traffic through safety checks. We even got pulled over for not displaying a valid decal. The license had recently expired and though they did apply and pay for a renewal, in typical bureaucratic fashion, there was no decal sent.. so that all had to get sorted out. Everlyne got pulled into the police headquarters (despite showing proof on her phone), she had to pay a fine and got a court notice so she can dispute it on Thursday if she chooses to. We were all stuck in the stuffy van waiting that out but were entertained by multiple school kids gawking and chatting to us mzungus through our open van windows. We arrived at the Kabarak Guest House at 1pm, and after a quick lunch, we headed out to the Nakuru National Park for an evening game drive. We saw an amazing plethora of animals and thoroughly enjoyed the smells and sights that the park had to offer.
What a beautiful world we live in and what a great driver & guide Tom is. We're so thankful for another day of God's grace in Kenya.
