Fire and Brimstone

The Masai lands of the Shompole Conservancy were an untouched paradise. We had spent just over a day there with our fabulous guide Joseph and were settling into the simple life with enthusiasm

We drove behind Joseph on his motorbike but whilst parts of the landscape were beautiful with flowing yellow grasses

Other parts were very overgrown and Henry was getting scratched again

At one point we were trying so hard to keep up with the bike and avoid the thorns that we veered off the path and headed into a ditch straight towards a group of trees. As Henry crashed through the bushes and leaned precariously over to the side my life flashed before me and my heart was in my throat. I closed my eyes waiting for the inevitable crash as we either hit a tree or keeled over onto our side but James deftly pulled us out and Henry darted away from the edge of disaster once again.

We arrived at the salt pans which used to be part of Lake Natron but are now a beautiful dead zone

We then headed up to a viewpoint at the top of a hill

The view was spectacular

We were surrounded by rolling plains and nature, it was breathtaking

Memories of the Namibian farm came flooding back and I wanted to buy the whole conservancy. I asked Joseph who I needed to negotiate with – he just smiled

But there were also tsetse flies around and we spent a lot of time literally watching each other´s backs and flicking off the vicious creatures before they could bite – there is always something that brings paradise back down to earth.

We were on our way to ´Ostrich Point´ for lunch when a man on another motorbike came riding up towards us. He and Joseph appeared to be having an argument but, in the typical African way, seemingly angry voices soon turned into smiling and patting each other on the back. As the man rode away Joseph told us that he had come to get the camping fee from us for the previous night – apparently he had been worried that we were going to leave without paying until he saw Joseph was with us and realised all was well.

Ostrich Point was lacking in ostrich´s but was otherwise very relaxing. We opened up the awning for some shade, put up our chairs and made lunch

James decided to have a little nap in the heat!

Whilst we rested, waiting for the sun to cool, Joseph leaned over to me and asked whether we would like to visit his home. He said he felt very close to us and would love to introduce us to his family. We were thrilled at the idea and when I said yes his face lit up. He said it was just a small house in the village and hoped we didn´t mind – his parents´ place was bigger but the Landrover wouldn´t be able to get there. Of we didn´t mind, we gestured towards Henry and pointed out that his house was likely to be far bigger than ours, which brought a renewed smile.

So a couple of hours later we were driving towards the Masai village and it started to get rather wet

Nothing that troubled Henry though and soon we were in the village and parked up inside the gates of Joseph´s home

We met his wife, Edna, and his daughters Elsie and Mila. Joseph had told us that Elsie was the youngest and would be very shy but that Mila would be excited to meet Mazungus. In the end Elsie had the flu and Mila was overcome by meeting us and hardly said a word

Even when we presented the girls with some chocolate each they didn´t come out of themselves!

Edna´s English was perfect and she was a great hostess – serving us tea and plantains

She told us that she came from the area around Lake Naivasha which was much higher up and she found it stiflingly hot in her adopted home. We had some sympathy with her view.

She was learning all about chickens and already had 100 that she was rearing. She hoped to increase that number to 1,000 over time to add to the 30 goats they already kept – as she said, a Masai is not a Masai without sheep or goats.

That evening we camped on a hill overlooking Lake Magadi and it was stunning

As the sun went down over the water we felt a renewed sense of awe at the beauty of this planet

There were so many stars above us that we sat for hours looking up at them and chatting. Joseph asked us to explain to him how the stars stay up there and we talked about our understanding of the solar system, galaxies and the universe. He was fascinated.

We started talking about religion and how different people believe different things but musing on whether it was all connected to a wider understanding of nature.

A satellite passed overhead and Joseph was astonished to hear about satellites, the Space Station and rockets. That lead on to aeroplanes and travelling in them – he was not sure whether he fancied the idea of being up in the air or of being strapped into a small seat for hours but thought it was something to consider for the future.

As we went to bed that evening Joseph thanked us for sharing our knowledge, experience and beliefs with him and said that we had given him a lot to think about. We could not help but think that it was actually the other way around

The next day was our last with Joseph. We started slowly, drinking our tea looking out over the lake, lost in the beauty of it all

We then set off for the hot lake. The drive there took us through landscapes that made our hearts lift

The walk from where we left Henry to the lake itself was very hard with long, thick grasses hiding uneven ground and potholes everywhere. It took all my concentration and balance to stop from turning my ankles over time and again.

When we finally arrived the view was lovely

And very hot!

Our final stop was the Flamingo Site

There were only a few birds there

But thousands of flowers

We followed Joseph back to the main road heading towards the gate

We passed the salt works again and it seemed a lifetime ago since we first saw it only three days before

We then headed out of the conservancy and felt as though we were leaving a whole new world behind – or more accurately, an old one

Joseph said that he had not met anyone else like us and would miss us. He looked genuinely sad and we felt the same. We hugged and said our goodbyes, promising to stay in touch and hoping to meet again. We gave him a big tip to thank him for a wonderful few days – big enough in fact to buy him a much-needed new tyre for his motorbike. James gave it to him telling him that was what it was for and he smiled again.

As we passed out of the gate the security guard, Titus, remembered us and asked where Joseph had gone. We told him he was back home now and Titus nodded with a smile and wished us luck on the rest of our travels. As Shompole and the Masai people who are lucky enough to call it home disappeared into our rear view mirror we felt a pang of sadness and not a little as though the ´real world´ would somehow never feel the same again.

After one more night back in Karen Camp we headed off to see an old friend – we were going to visit Mount Kilimanjaro again, this time from the Kenyan side.

We had chosen a campsite that we had been told offered fabulous views but it was a challenge to get there. We tried to follow the directions that the owner had text to us and even called her for help, but the dirt tracks twisted and turned in all directions around the farmland and we had little expectation that we were going the right way.

But all of a sudden two children stepped out into the road with determined looks on their faces. The older one, a girl of about seven, stood in front of Henry with her hands up saying ´You must stop!´

So stop we did and wound the window down. They were the children of the campsite manager who had been posted at the gate with strict instructions to wait for us and ensure we did not miss the turn – instructions which they clearly took very, very seriously.

We smiled at their dedication to our safe arrival and waited as they dragged thorn bushes away from the entrance. Once the way was clear we thanked them for their help and drove up the dirt track.

When we arrived at the campsite itself we were very pleased. The place was pristine and the manager, Joshua, greeted us warmly before busying himself putting out kitchen equipment, towels and all sorts of other luxuries that we were not accustomed to whilst camping.

He pointed to the clouds in the sky and told us that Kilimanjaro was hiding in there

He said that we would be able to see both peaks once the clouds went, I hadn´t even known there were two peaks!

That afternoon James decided to stay on the campsite and tend to Henry whilst I went for a walk around the farm with Joshua

It was a relaxing afternoon, hearing all about the history of the farm. Joshua had worked there for over 30 years. Apparently it used to be a thriving business growing every type of flower, fruit and vegetable you could name – and he named quite a few!

We saw tracks from hyena and honey badger, actual bush buck and black monkey and smelled a petrol plant.

We then visited a cave that used to be home to a band of hunter gatherers some years ago

The river was crystal clear and cool

It seemed sad to hear that climate change had made the farm unviable but some good had come out of it as the current owner had turned the whole area into a conservation reserve after inheriting it from her parents.

That night was pitch black and the stars were stunning

I was up at 5am the next day with my camera at the ready. As the sun slowly crept up over the horizon, Kilimanjaro came out in all her glory….

And she does indeed have two peaks!

As the sun brightened the sky and glinted off the mountain it seemed as though she shone

We would have loved to stay here longer but we had tickets booked for the Tsavo West – one of Kenya´s premium national parks. Keen to get there early we left the campsite before 8am and followed the map that Joshua had diligently drawn for us to take us back to the main road and straight to the gates of the park.

We had paid for one day´s entrance into the park which meant we could stay for 24 hours. So when we arrived at the gates at 9:30am we were actually a bit early – we wanted to be able to spend more time there the following morning. We would have been happy to sit at the gates and wait until 10:30am but the lovely security guard offered to let us in an hour early in exchange for some coke, sweets and cake!

I had had high hopes for Tsavo West, it is supposed to be a fabulous park, so we were very disappointed as we drove along to find that the roads were rough and corrugated and the bush dense and overgrown. There would be no chance of seeing any animals around here

Even the largest creatures were managing to hide very well

Undeterred, we made our way to the first of the main attractions – the lava flows

Acres and acres of black lava from ancient volcanic eruptions

It was eery and fascinating

With the vegetation now having thinned out we managed to spot a few old favourites

But all we could do was drive slowly through it, we weren´t allowed to get out of Henry here.

So we carried on to the Mzima springs where it was possible to park up and walk around

The river was lovely and the scenery beautiful

We saw a lot of wildlife next to the clear, cool waters

We wandered along the footpath, winding our way along the river bank

Until we reached the under water viewing tank. It was wonderful with thousands of fish, large and small, clustered around the glass of the tank

We watched them from the top at first

And then went inside the tank to look at them through the glass

We were starting to enjoy this park – it was short on animals but big on beauty and atmosphere

We headed up to ´Poachers Lookout´ and climbed the steep steps up to the top where we were greeted with a spectacular view over the park

It was the middle of the day and far too hot for any self-respecting animals to be around so we decided to follow their lead and find the campsite where we could have some lunch whilst we waited for things to cool down. The campsite manager, who didn´t speak much English, looked surprised to see us but welcomed us to pitch up wherever we wanted.

Over food I consulted IOverlander and other sources of help to find out where all the animals were in this park. I discovered that the best viewing area was Rhino Valley so that´s where we headed later in the afternoon.

First stop was the Roaring Rocks viewpoint from where we were treated to another breath-taking view

We could see a couple of waterholes in the distance with some buffalo ambling past

We tried to figure out how to get to them from where we were and headed back down to Henry.

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving slowly around the valley, finding a few of the waterholes and being much happier to find open plains and a few animals at last

There was a herd of elephants at one water hole

And two lonesome buffalo at another

That evening the campsite manager welcomed us again, this time much more enthusiastically, and told us to make ourselves at home. He had kindly taken our camp chairs into the kitchen area and locked the door to keep them safe whilst we were out for the afternoon. We gave him some chicken and bread which we weren´t going to be able to eat before it went off and he looked thrilled.

That night we basked in the cool air, beautiful surroundings and not a single mosquito.

We were up, out and back into the park by 6:30am the next morning – but not before having found tiny little ticks all over the place, including one on my leg and another on James. This was my first tick in three years in Africa, I was charmed as I picked it off my skin…

Our mission for today was to climb the volcanic crater and get back to the gate before our check-out time of 10:30am – thanks to our friendly security guard with the sweet tooth at the gate the day before, we had plenty of time.

Along the way we inadventently picked up a passenger. He flew in through the window and got a bit stuck investigating the insurance disk

We managed to gently remove the disk and let him out but he looked a bit surprised!

The climb up the crater started off very easy but by the time we were halfway up things got a little more tough. The path was steep and the scree was getting increasingly loose so it was a case of one step forwards two steps back

The last few meters were so steep I wasn´t sure I was going to make it with my wobbly knees but James told me to stop being a wuss and strode on ahead so I put my hands down and climbed the rest of the way on all fours!

It was worth the effort….

In the end we were back at the gate and ready to go for 9am. As the staff were checking our paperwork a local came up to the window trying to sell us some trinkets. James told him we had everything we needed so he appealed to me instead ´does mama want anything?´. I grimaced and told him that if he´d addressed me as ´sister´ he might have been in luck but not if he was going down the ´mama´ route! Horrified, he apologised profusely and said that ´mama´ was a term of respect. I laughed and said I was just teasing him. He said he only wanted to sell one small thing so he could get a cup of tea – we gave him a tea bag!

It was going to be a long day ahead but at this stage we didn´t realise quite how long. Spending time in the Masai lands and Tsavo West had insulated us from what was going in the rest of the country, but the harsh reality of it was about to hit us full force.

We were aiming to get to Mombasa which was a 4.5 hour drive away but after about an hour we were pulled over by the police at a checkpoint. They asked where we were heading and when we said Mombasa they looked concerned.

They said that we would be passing through the town of Voi where there was a lot of trouble with the protests. They told us to be careful and perhaps try to go around the town. They also strongly advised to reconsider our plans to go to Mombasa at all.

We thanked them for their advice and carried on down the road. James was driving so I studied the map to see how long it would be before we reached Voi. It was only half an hour away but the main road seemed to avoid the centre of the town. I counted down the miles so that we weren´t taken by surprise but all seemed quiet. We stopped at a fuel station to buy a drink and talk to the locals. They told us that Voi was calm at the moment but Mombasa was in turmoil – they echoed the advice of the police and told us to stay away from the city.

We took the warnings seriously, we had seen the problems all over the news and were not about to put ourselves in the middle of it. So as we drove I consulted our itinerary and the map and tried to come up with a new plan.

In the end we decided to bypass Mombasa for now and head further north up the coast to Watamu Beach instead. That put Mombasa between us and any escape route into Tanzania which was a bit of a concern but the protests were only being held on specific days so we hoped we might be able to pass through eventually.

We reset the sat nav and settled in for another four hours of driving, passing some beautiful buildings along the way

We reached the coast north of Mombasa in the full expectation that we were keeping away from the protests and staying in the quieter, more remote parts of the country. How wrong we were!

We drove over a bridge towards the town of Kilifi with nothing in our minds other than getting to the campsite and relaxing after a long day. But what we didn´t bank on was the fact that although Kilifi may be a small town it is the home of a large university – and therefore full of Gen Z activists.

We passed a pile of stones in the middle of the road which seemed odd but we didn´t think too much about it.

Then there was another pile and another, then some old tyres. We looked at each other, this was getting strange.

The next pile of tyres was melted and smouldering and we had to drive in a large arc to avoid it

When we came to another, larger pile of burnt-out tyres the penny dropped – James turned to me and said ´this is the protests isn´t it…´

We carried on but now on full alert. The piles of burnt-out tyres got bigger and more frequent until we found ourselves passing fires still in full flame.

Before we knew what was happening we were in the middle of a burning town

The military were there, trying to move the fires out of the road and there were protestors everywhere. We were struggling to see through the smoke and tensions were high.

Just as we were starting to think we were in trouble a group of young men surrounded the Landrover and started banging on the body calling out to us to wind the windows down. James tried to slowly drive through them but the group got so big that eventually we had to stop. And having stopped we really had little choice but to do as they asked and wind a window down.

Faces peered in at us smiling but looking worried. They told us that the road ahead was burning and impassable. Two of them pointed to a dirt road behind the buildings and said they would guide us down there safely to the other side of town.

They were by no means threatening us, on the surface of it they appeared concerned for our safety and wanting to help.

But at this point we could not be sure and there was no way we were going to follow a group of strangers in the middle of a burning town down a back alley. Even if their intentions were good it would not take much for us to be cut off from any escape route and in deeper trouble than we currently were.

We nodded and thanked them for the advice then turned around and headed back the way we had come – we needed to get out of here as fast as we could…