Back to Nairobi, Kenya…..again!

We arrived on the outskirts of Kampala just on dark which we had always said we wouldn’t do and it was absolute bedlam, with bumper to bumper traffic we crawled into our campsite at 7.45pm, a 12 hour drive for the day. We were so drained, coupled with the fact that we had to leave early the next morning we decided to take the last room available at the ICU Guesthouse. We were too late for ordering something to eat but the kitchen made us a scrumptious omelette sandwich and we washed it down with a couple of cold beers! It was a particularly hot night in our small and stuffy room with not even a fan to keep the air moving so we slept the night with not even a sheet or pyjamas on! We left early the next morning after a great breakfast and even though it was a Sunday it was again bedlam trying to get out of Kampala because they had a marathon being held of course, but eventually we cleared the city and were soon driving through nice green farming country. We reached the border of Uganda and Kenya and still having quite a bit of Ugandan currency we filled up with diesel just before the border and it used up all our cash which was great. The border crossing went smoothly with Immigration but then when we got to Customs the man behind the counter was a beginner and had never processed a Carnet so he had to call his colleague who took over half an hour to come in but processed it in record time. We then asked about paying our Foreign vehicle road tax but he was adamant that we did not have to pay as we were in a private vehicle, we knew differently but he would not charge us so it will be interesting when we try to leave Kenya in about 6 weeks time. We then continued on, trying to reach Eldoret before nightfall which would leave a reasonable drive to do the next day to Nairobi. It was a quite easy drive and we arrived in time to have a good coffee and cake in a cafe in Eldoret before finding some accommodation. We then found a hotel on the highway about seven kilometres outside Eldoret and for the princely sum of $21 Australian we had a room complete with what looked like jail bars on the windows and a giant padlock for the entrance door but wait there’s more, breakfast was included!

As we passed the bar we were pulled in by some locals and were then shouted a beer by a man called Koscai who lectures in business at the Eldoret University and was keen to come to Australia but if that was not possible, were we or our last born interested in investing with him?😳. We ate in the hotel that night and were fed a plate of very chewy chicken and chips, obviously the chicken had been doing some serious running in order to stay off the chopping block! After dinner Koscai had insisted we come back and have another drink with him but unfortunately he was asleep on the bar! So we retreated quietly back to our room to get an early night. The next days drive was one we had done a couple of times now but even so it was still an anxious drive in through the streets of Nairobi.

We arrived in Nairobi and after picking up some supplies from a supermarket we went around to Jungle Junction where we are getting to be part of the furniture now. First thing the next morning we drove into AA Kenya to get our carnet extension done with one day to spare and Nina assured us that she would have it done even though she was off on a three day conference!😳. We then picked up some LPG gas at a gas supplier who can fill South African gas bottles which is not easy to find up this far north and then we needed to call into Toyota Kenya’s biggest dealership to pick up an oil filter and some oil for an oil change. However would you believe it, they had no oil filters or oil! This was a massive dealership with maybe 10 hoists in the workshop but that’s Africa baby. Around the corner there was an automotive supplier who was not just able to supply me with the oil filter and oil but they were genuine Toyota parts! The Jungle Junction mechanics did the oil change for me and I set to moving the roof rack as far forward as it would go in readiness for the fitting of the new roof top tent which is longer than the current one we have fitted. Yes we are still waiting on our roof top tent replacement from Bundutec South Africa but due to holdups getting an inspection and approval from Customs Kenya it still hasn’t left Johannesburg in South Africa so again we are faced with a few more days waiting so decide to get out of Nairobi the next day.