To Turkana and Beyond!

EARCs have some downtime in August for the school winter break, so my colleagues encouraged me to see Kenya, something I’m always available to do. A volunteer friend of mine had carefully planned an epic journey way up north to Lake Turkana and it seemed an opportunity I’d be foolish to miss out on. It was an amazing and very lengthy journey. Luckily I was a little way in before I’d started as I was in Nairobi on official business, meeting with the VSO-Jitolee national volunteering team and attending an HIV-AIDS workshop.

We set off early in the morning by coach and headed west through the Rift Valley, past Nakuru to Kitale. The journey was pretty comfortable until the final section which was, to that point, the bumpiest road I’d experienced. We stayed overnight in nearby Makutano and waited for the early bus to Lodwar. We drank some coffee, had a tour of the market, ate some snacks, posted a letter, bought phone credit, shopped for a hat, drank some more coffee and eventuallythe bus arrived and we set off at midday.

The Bus to the End of The Earth/Kenya

The journey was pretty magic. We passed Marich Pass Field Studies Centre that I’d visited ten years ago when I first came to Kenya on a school trip, it seems to be still going strong. As time went on, the time between towns increased, the soil turned from red, to brown to sand and the bus became full to bursting. It felt we were far from the Kenya I’ve got to know, with the desert landscape and most strikingly the style of the long necked Turkana women entering the bus, with row upon row of beads and braided mohican hair. One tiny old man joined us late in the day, in full Turkana dress including a lethal knife bracelet. Imagine the blade of an enormous knife carved into a circle with a hole for your wrist and a strip of leather covering the inside and outside blade. It looked pretty dangerous to me and when my friend tried one on later in the trip he caused himself an immediate injury, I won’t be trying that. Anyway, this guy was pretty set upon having my seat and earned himself the nickname, ‘Lizzie’s lap dancer,’ for demanding my lap as an alternative. Since I also had a live chicken balanced on my head at this point it didn’t seem that extraordinary.

We arrived in Lodwar late in the evening, too late to travel onto the lake. Lodwar’s a town not dissimilar to many places I’ve visited in Kenya, just many more miles from anywhere else and with a massive amount of extra sand.

Dusty Lodwar - I'd Love to Know What Half a London Is

The Heat was Snooze Inducing, This Guy Had a Great Plan

We finally arrived at our destination the next morning and it really wasn’t what I expected. The desert was as barren as you’d think and I knew Lake Turkana was vast but when the green water of the lake appeared from nowhere in the midst of the palm trees you could be fooled into thinking you’d landed in the Bahamas.

A Rare Piece of Action in Turkana

Public Transport isn't Forthcoming; Turkana's Think Nothing of a 40km Walk

We stayed in Eilye Springs, the site of a freshwater spring and now home to a small resort.

Freshwater Springs in the Middle of the Desert

I stayed in a Manyatta, Turkana style hut, perfectly designed for the location.

My Manyatta

We spent lazy days by the lake and long evenings watching the star.  Took an amazing trip to Central Island, home to 14,000 crocodiles  of which we saw two and visited the local community:

A Traditional Turkana Woman

Sunset Over the Jade Sea

Some say we were crazy to make the journey one way but we weren’t hardcore enough for the return trip. We splashed out on a flight back to Nairobi from Lodwar airport which would be easy to miss. Check out the facilities for check in desk, security, baggage handling and arrivals:

Compact & Efficient!

An amazing trip and a proper adventure!

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