12 - 19 Aug

Thurs 12th August Narok - Tsavo, Kenya (via Nairobi airport)

After a good breakfast, headed for Nairobi. Doris wanted to take us round the outskirts to the airport but we decided to go straight through. Stopped to buy some Masai statues and a spear en route.

Could see the other side of the rift valley. Amazing yellow fields with big trees left in them – really pretty.

Then flat plains with nothing but whistling thorn trees and dust devils all over the place. Climbed up the escarpment with lovely views across the rift valley. Lots of tourist shops perched off the cliffs along the road.

Rd into Nairobi was full of trucks so slow progress but predictable. 10 min stop, with engines off, then moved again. Lollipop men at intersections overrode the traffic lights. Nairobi central has lots of development and was amazingly clean and 1st world–ish compared to the rest of the country that we have seen. Clean parks and lovely highrise buildings. Looks poised for an economic boom – not sure how the rest of the country will deal with it if it comes.



Drive through Nairobi was actually quite pleasant. Got to airport painlessly and said goodbye to Sharon and Sarah. Was quite envious of them heading home to baths and washing machines and then a week of relaxation in Turkey. Hopefully they (or just Sarah) can come out end of this year / early next.



Headed for Tsavo and then the coast for the home run. Passed 22 brand new Land Cruisers obviously landed in Mombassa and headed most likely for Uganda which is definitely Toyota territory. Kenya seems to be Land Rover territory. Lots of trucks too. Baobabs as we got closer to Tsavo. Looked at a National Park camp just in the reserve – wanted the same rates as Masai – got to be kidding!



Carried on to the Tsavo Inn - they had 2 rooms left – we booked one for K&M. Was nice to sit by the pool although it was too cold to swim. Erin had fun climbing the trees and collecting frangipani flowers.

The old colonial style hotel was obviously lovely in its day but was looking a bit worse for wear. Had a nice 3 course meal for R100 though. The night was noisy with the Muslim crier and the trucks going over the bumps outside but slept relatively well.

Friday 13th August Tsavo – Malindi, Kenya

After a nice breakfast we set off for warm seas and sand between our toes rather than mud! There was a howling gale coming from the East which didn’t bode well. The main rd to Mombassa passes through Tsavo NP but didn’t see much. Lots of fancy looking lodges with lions in their emblems seems to suggest this is lion country but as expected, we didn’t see any at 100km/hr.



Took the “back rd” north to Malindi to avoid Mombassa on a Friday afternoon. The rd was under construction – what’s new – so was mostly deviations that were muddy. Soon got to hill after hill of coconut palms. Should see lots of these most of the way home now. Headed for Silversand Camp on the GPS (only camp shown for Malindi) and mentioned in Holgate’s book.



Malindi is clearly a tourist haven with one huge hotel after the next. Popped in for a drink at Hemmingway’s. The wind was howling and it was very unpleasant outside. Quite a disappointment for the images we’d looked forward to for so long. Anyway it couldn’t do that for 6 weeks – well so we hoped. Hemmingway’s looked stunning and had roses in the loos! (and hand towels and scented soap )– what luxury! Oh to be rich! Only $320 pppn!

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Headed off to find the camp. After Doris took us up a 1-way street (not marked) in Malindi we headed along the beach rd. Lovely big thatched hotels being built everywhere. Went past the Old Man and the Sea pub. Eventually got to where the camp should have been and guest what, there was a hotel under construction! Obviously that piece of real estate was far too valuable to have as a camp for the plebs! The only other camp was the Malindi Marine NP camp. Again we couldn’t be fussy. It was a short walk from the beach with no-one else there – surprise surprise! At least it had a flush loo but siff cold showers – a bit much for $15pppn. Decided we’d stay 1 night and then move on south. Set up camp then had a short walk on the beach – which was very dirty with loads of water bottles and litter all over. Not sure Kenyans know what conservation is now days – quite sad as they were one of the forerunners in terms of conservation in Africa. Erin had fun playing in the sand despite the rubbish and the howling gale.



Sat 14th Aug Malindi – Kilifi, Kenya

Woke to drizzle – aaah come on now! Fortunately it didn’t last too long and we actually saw some blue sky! Wind still blowing though.



Set off to do the tourist sites in Malindi. Started with Vasco da Gama’s cross erected originally in 1499 at the Palace of the Sultan in Malindi. But it had to be moved because it’s Christian connections offended the local Muslims. It was moved to a small spit off the mainland. The coral outcrop on which it was placed has eroded and had to be propped with concrete columns.

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From there we went to the Portuguese Chapel which was apparently the first church built in East Africa. It is a tiny little church – probably seats 20 people. There was a ceremony going on when we got there so just wondered around the grave yard surrounding it. Then it was the Malindi Museum which was mostly about their discovery of a coelacanth in 2001. Some history related to early Malindi days.



Then we went to the Tourist Market. Well Erin and I and M&K, did. Mark stayed with the cars and tried to find us somewhere to camp amongst all the hotels. Bought some nice goodies – in retrospect wish I’d bought more. Got some nice “first customer” discounts!



Then it was back to Hemmingway’s for lunch. Mark was really keen to stay but we couldn’t justify that much money on 1 night! Lunch was pricey but really good and we got to sit in the sun outside – only a mild wind today.

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Overcast by 2. Next was Gede Ruins which was very interesting. Unfortunately the maintenance and reconstruction work was being done by a spade boy (Mark's comment)  and that detracts somewhat from these extensive ruins. They are beautiful though with huge trees growing amongst them.

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Only left at 17h00 which was a bit late as we had no idea where we were going to stay. Anyway headed for Kilifi separated by the Kilifi Creek (rather big river/ estuary). It is really very pretty. No sign of camping. The north banks had all the government departments on it’s banks – all run down. What a waste of prime real estate. Then further down there were huge private mansions. Eventually we came to a couple of hotels which were really nice. By now it was getting late so we decided to splash out and stayed at the Baobab Sea resort which was rooms nestled in a luxurious tropical garden with pool and private beach. Erin was in 7th heaven. She “really really loves hotels, swimming pools and restaurants” She’d better get a really really good job!



I must admit it was good to walk into an airconditioned bedroom with bar fridge and spacious bathroom. Our shower was still cold as they only have a small gyser between 2 rooms and they had put K&M in the room next to us. I think there were only 3 other rooms taken in the whole hotel, but they had to put us next each other to share a shower! Anyway……. It was still good!.



Had a divine buffet supper and then a show – acrobats or gymnasts who were incredible on the hard slate floor. Erin really loved it and they even performed to “I’m a Barbie Girl” song, which she thought was very funny!

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Slept well that night.



Sun 15th Kilifi – Diani, Kenya

Decided we had to make the most of the money we’d spent so after a proper hotel breakfast, we went down to the beach for a bit and let Erin swim in the pool. She was in her element! The sign by the pool said “Fee massage for guests” but as it was Sunday the lady was off – how’s that for bad luck!

At about 10h30 we dragged ourselves away and headed for Mombassa. There were again loads of huge hotels as we neared Mombassa from the north. We crossed the bridge to Mombassa island and into the Muslim part of the city.

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Being Sunday, it was busy but it didn’t take us long and we were at the ferry to take us to the mainland on the other side. We’d been told you could wait hours there but it was a breeze – we practically drove straight on and could stay in the car. It was a big ferry by comparison to the others we’d been on and had about 5 lanes probably 10 cars deep and hundreds of passengers on the top deck. It only took about 10 minutes to load and 15 minutes to cross and we were off again. No photos or filming allowed! With 2 ferries running opposite each other, its hard to image that you’d ever have to wait long – unless the traffic on week days is really scary.



Unfortunately that meant we’d missed actually looking around Mombassa. I’d have liked to have gone to Fort Jesus but they say you’ve always got to leave something for another time!



On the other side it looked like any other Kenyan town – dirty and stinky.



Got to the beach resort area of Ukunda and Diani and again it was hotel after hotel. Eventually we asked if there was any camping and were told that 1 place might let us camp. When we got to Chale Sea Villas it looked very run down. It had obviously been a lodge in its day but definitely wasn’t operational now. There were huge piles of palm fronts and coconut husks that looked ready for burning. At the beach it did have a bar with some jet skiis, so something was working. We asked if we could camp and they agreed. The bar loos and the shower were not at all functional, so they said we could use the bath room in 1 of the run down chalets. The first one was completely flooded! The 1 we eventually used hadn’t been cleaned in years and had a huge hole in the ceiling over the loo (and by day 2, the ceiling above the shower was dripping everywhere and about to collapse) but once again, who were we to be fussy!



Actually it turned out to be a nice camp as we were right on a beautiful white beach and the people were friendly (other than the obnoxious lady bar fly), and Erin and I “bathed” in a basin in the tent. At R90 per tent with power it wasn’t too bad and we effectively had the place to ourselves. A walk on the beach at low tide revealed 100s of cowries! We had great fun collecting them.

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Windy but peaceful night.

Mon 16th Aug - Diani, Kenya

Woke up to a lovely day – light breeze and sun! Spent the morning on the beach. Sea was flat and so Erin and I spent about 2 hrs in the sea. Miracles never cease! Mark caught up with washing.



Then we headed for Diani village for a look around. Had been recommended a few places for lunch. Decided to try 1 sea-front hotel but they wanted KS3000 pp deposit and KS 1000 pp for swimming. Guess what we told them.



Found Leonardo’s restaurant which we’d been recommended. It wasn’t on the beach but was very nice with great food – expensive but great to be in a 1st world restaurant with great food and the homemade ice creams were yummy too. The 1 waitress was wearing a beautiful top and skirt which would look stunning on Ab. She told me where I could get one, so after lunch we went shopping. Bought one and decided if Ab didn’t like it I would keep I – so no pressure Ab! 

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Drew money and did some grocery shopping at Nakumat, a great shop for everything you might need from appliances to furniture and groceries. Erin got to drive a car trolley which made her day! Keith and Erin swam for ages – she told him to pretend he couldn’t hear me calling her to come out!!

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Did cheese and biscuits for supper for a nice change after our big lunch. Even found Brie – expensive but jolly yummy. Also had a baby cray each as a taster. Margs and Erin sorted their collections of shells.

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Had been a nice chilled day.



Tues 17th Diani, Kenya

Was quite windy already when we woke so decided to get the car noise sorted out and find an internet café in town. Took 2 hrs to load 1 – 11 Aug on the blog with photos – hope you guys are appreciating this!:) . Had just got onto the email to check work stuff when Mark arrive. Erin and I had hoped to do some shopping before he finished. Anyway, we finished up quickly and got a few more groceries so Erin could drive the car trolley – no there were actually a few things we’d forgotten to get!



No time for fun shopping though. Found a nice pub and restaurant on the beach – 4 Thieves and had a windy lunch. Was glad we were camped where we were as there were relatively few people down there. Here it was packed. Could even do camel rides down the beach! Guys were kite surfing in the howling wind – very brave! Was another nice lunch though. I had the most divine salad. Proper salads have been like hen’s teeth , so I really appreciated it.

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Back to camp. Spent a bit of time on the beach (Erin just loves swimming) then had to reorganise the boxes to fit in the gift shopping from the last week or so before they got wrecked.



Mark had order us fresh fish but we’d got octopus instead. He made a curry which was very tasty but very tough.



Wed 18th Diani, Kenya – South of Tanga, Tanzania

Packed up and drove to the end of the dirt rd which took us to a jetty to Chale Island, a coral island not far off the mainland – apparently they drive you there when the tides are out. Looked stuning with coral, white sands and mangroves. I’m going to have to rob a bank I think!



Coral rd from there was very slow going – not good for the tires – went at less than 10km/hr for most of the way. Fortunately not too long. Got to Shimoni where we thought we might stay next, but the people were like flies wanting to take you to the caves , or snorkelling etc. they were really painful. Only camping was the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) and they wanted their usual $15 pp for nothing, and we’d have the human flies bugging us all the time. No thanks. Unfortunately they put us off going to the Shimoni Slave Caves too, and we all decided we’d had enough of Kenya and would rather head for Tanzania.



The border was Ok, relatively quite compared to others but we had to pay again for what should have been covered by COMISA. Very annoying. The rd from the border was shocking. Got to Tanga around 3. Again no signs of camping. One place away from the beach offered camping with cold showers but it looked really grotty. While Keith and Mark were checking it and their rooms out, Margs and I found a camp further down the coast and phoned. The phone was answered by a lady who sounded like she came from KZN north coast! Better still, the camp existed and charged only $4 pppn camping (the cheapest yet), was on the beach, had hot showers, and the road there wasn’t too bad. We said we’d be there in an hour or so and set off.



Penoni Camp is owned and run by a couple who lived in Pmb at a time. It is right on the beach and is a really organised camp – as we expected. There are even dish and clothes washing facilities and we have booked for Surf and Turf supper for tonight (19th). It is really nice to be in a decent camp for a change with things that are maintained and that work properly and are clean.

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After a divine shower and supper we had an early night.



Thurs 19th Aug Penoni Camp, Tanz

Woke to a breezy but clear morning. Phoned Ab for her 16th birthday. Really sorry we aren’t there, Babe. Hope you have a fantastic day and are thoroughly spoilt!



M&K and Erin went for a long walk on the beach and collected shells while we caught up with washing. Handed out some research questionnaires and chatted to a couple from Germany who’ve travelled since Nov and plan to do all the countries south of here for 5/6 weeks each before shipping their vehicle home to Germany. Shame!



Hope to get this posted (with photos today or tomorrow – but right now it is time to work on my tan!

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Cheers for now.