Day 3 May 8, 2025 Nairobi to Lake Elementaita
We started the day with a very nice breakfast in the hotel. We met the group and our tour manager in the lobby at 8:00 am. We were given water bottles, hats and light blankets. There are only nine of us on the tour. Definitely off season. Our transportation is two four wheel drive vehicles. Five ride in one and four in the other. Our tour manager is David and the assistant is Philip. They have African names as well but the Christian names are much easier for us. The drive out of the city took 45-60 minutes. Traffic is incredible. Hard to believe there aren’t more wrecks. We drove through several suburbs with markets and numerous trucks. Lanes in the road are of no significance because everyone drives wherever they can squeeze in. By the way they drive on the left mostsome of the time. Besides trucks, cars, jeeps, buses and motorcycles there are significant speed bumps and potholes. It’s best to look out the side windows and not the front. Of course then you see how close the vehicles are together. You can easily shake hands with someone in the vehicle beside you. There are no traffic lights only traffic police. They don’t seem to do much. We were told that they do take bribes in lieu of traffic tickets. Out of the city the road becomes more narrow and winding. Then we got into fog as we drove along the Rift Valley. In a couple of places we were able to see down into the valley. It’s a long ways down but very beautiful. Passing is difficult because of all the oncoming traffic. The shoulder isn’t there either. The elevation is about 7000 feet.
We passed near a fresh water lake. We see lots of sheep, goats and cows along the side of the road eating the grass. Some are tethered but most are not. The landscape is very green and lush. Some of the herds have all three animals while some have only one. Occasionally there is a donkey or two. The colors are mixed with no one color being dominate. We did see a few zebras scattered along the way.
Nairobi’s population is about 5 million and Kenya’s is about 50 million. The bus system is well utilized. The buses have lots of paintings on them and are very crowded. In some the passengers dance and sing. About 45% of the GDP comes from agriculture with coffee, tea and avocados leading the way.
We made one bathroom stop at a souvenir shop. We passed an area where the locals were grilling corn to sell. The baboons were here waiting for anything someone might give them. Several stands are selling onions. They are in red bags if they are red onions and yellow bags for white onions. The stands are quite colorful.
Eventually we turned off the highway onto a dirt road. Then the fun really began. These roads have lots of ruts as well as places where the water has carved deeper ruts in the road. The road is barely wide enough for one car let alone two. Sure glad the traffic has decreased. Then we started up. Quite a climb. Seat belts help hold you in your seat. The soil looks like a red clay. Small farms are on both sides of the road.
We finally arrived at the Lake Elementaita Mountain Lodge about 1:00 pm. The view out the dining room window is incredible. We can see all down the mountain and across to the Lake Elementaita. We had a nice buffet lunch and then were taken to our rooms for a short rest. The rooms are individual houses scattered all down the mountain. The road is very steep and built of pavers. We were lucky and got the first house. Those further down the mountain took the hotel van.
After our short rest it was back up the hill to the lobby. We are going to one of the game reserves. That means back down the mountain in the vehicle. Walking up the hill feels like a 45 degree angle. We took a somewhat different route down the hill. Not much improvement however.
This is the Soysambu Conservancy. We stopped at the gate to pick up one of the rangers employed here. The terrain is more jungle than we expected. Everything is very green and lush. The Conservancy goes along the shore of Lake Elementaita. The lake is alkaline so during the dry season the lake changes color as the water evaporates.
We don’t have to go far before we spotted our first animal which was a monkey high up in a tree. In the clearing is a herd of impalas I think. There are so many different antelope its easy to get confused. A little further is a waterbuck which is a larger antelope. These are darker in color.
Several different birds inhabit the area as well. At sometimes during the year large flocks of flamingos live here. These are not nearly as pink. The water is too high so the algae they feed on is more difficult to find.
Domestic cattle are also here. They are many different colors and look like small Brahmans. We got out of the vehicles and walked along the lake with the ranger. He described the environment and pointed out different plants and wildlife. We even saw an abandoned nest with three eggs.
Back in the vehicle and down the way we found a couple of male water buffalo. The horns on the males meet in the middle. The females on the other had have a small gap between the horns.
It must get dry here some of the year because here and there are huge cacti that are as tall as some trees. They have wicked looking thorns.
More antelope of some kind and then some zebras. The vehicles don’t seem to bother them. I figure they see them often enough. In the same area is a herd of female water buffalo and some antelope. Plenty of food for everyone.
Next is a small herd of giraffes. It includes one male several females and a couple of youngsters. The male is much darker in color due to his age. Male giraffes have three horns while females have only two. They are eating leaves from a tall bush that has the most awful looking thorns. They must be at least two inches long. Somehow the giraffes get their tongues around these. The bush however has another survival mechanism. It secretes a bad taste so the giraffes only eat a few leaves from a bush before moving on.
We have a welcome and get acquainted dinner at the lodge before retiring. Breakfast is early in the morning so its early to bed.
Spoffords Travel 