I've just freshly arrived from Kenya to Mbale, Uganda. I ate lunch and now I'm trying to change travellers cheques, which hasn't been as easy as my outdated ( but latest edition) makes it out to be. It's 4pm and most of the banks are closed. The ones that are open won't take my T/C. I take out some money from an ATM easy enough, just to last me the day. I write and relax and then eat again in Nuraili's cafe, a restaurant below my hotel. It has a large selection of Indian food which I think is much better than any Kenyan food or Ugandan food, which I have yet to have. I have been craving Indian food too. I have channa masala with rice, which is like chick peas in a spicy gravy, very delicious. I washed it down with a 500mL bottle of Nile Special, Ugandan brew. It's strange, the smallest bottle of beer I've seen has been 500mL, a little bit bigger than our (Canadian) 375mL ( pretty sure this is the correct volume, not much of a beer drinker at home) bottle but much cheaper. Even in this restaurant the bottle was just over one dollar US. The restaurant was pretty packed and a local guy sat down with me to nurse a sprite. He was well educated about East Africa and the world and we had some good conversation. I went to bed in my castle of a room at about 10.30pm.
I slept in my first full day in Uganda till 9. I ate some cereal I had left from Kakamega and ate some guava fruits I bought yesterday. Then I went downstairs and had a passionfruit juice, omelette and an African coffee ( coffee with milk). Now my mission to change T/C began. I finally found that Stanbic bank changed them but after checking my cheques out for 10 minutes, the teller said they couldn't change them because I didn't have an end number for the number of cheques in my 10 packet. I tried to explain that it says it's a series of 10 beginning with the written number but she didn't understand this. I wasn't going to take her word as final so I asked to see the manager. He was in a meeting so I talked with the assistant manager. He started to say the same thing the teller did until I pointed out the fine print and he said ' Oh, you are right, they are in a numerical series.' I had already waited in line before so he sent me right back to the same teller and she processed them. But now she was being a real bitch and giving me attitude, no apology...I made a mistake, nothing, just straight to the point, no courtesy. Obviously no thank you's when I left there. I was happy though, I had some money and knew I could get more from this bank while in Uganda.
My next stop was the Ugandan Wildlife Authority (UWA) for info about climbing Mount Elgon, my main reason for coming to Mbale in the first place. I got great information from the very kind and soft spoken Moses. The climb I want to do takes 5 days and by climbing standards is very cheap at $45 US a day for everything. Tomorrow I go to a smaller village near the base of the mountain to arrange everything and I should be on the mountain by saturday morning. More about the trek next week. I really like Uganda so far, I get a good vibe from the country and plan on spending the bulk of my trip here, 2 months or so. I hope everyone is enjoying reading my first blog and please feel free to leave comments.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Kakamega to Uganda
My last day at Kakamega I got up at 7am. I wanted to have everything packed and breakfast eaten by the time Neills was ready to leave camp around 9. This was I could hopefully get a ride with him to the main road and avoid the 2km walk with all my stuff. Everything worked out and I was on the main road just after 9. I was sad to leave the peace and tranquility of the forest, it's hard to get back into 'reality' again. I can only imagine how tough it must be for some of the researchers to spend months in the forest and then have to return to Germany.
I didn't have to wait long until I got picked up by a matatu. I'm heading the Uganda today which is only about 100km from Kakamega. I have to switch matatus 3 times before getting to the border. My last matatu would be my most memorable because I actually got the real local price this time. I know because I heard the conductor demanding the same price from everyone. I liked that I got the real price without hassle or bargaining. Sometimes when I though the price was too much, the conductor asked me 'How much do you want to pay then?' This was tough to answer since I didn't know the real price, only that I being charged too much. We came to a happy medium but I still didn't know if I was getting the real price. The last matatu dropped me at the bus stand and then it was a 2km walk to the border. I passed through Kenyan immigration without hassle or delay. There was no line up. I walked to the Ugandan customs and it was the same, no line or hassle. I asked the official for a 60 day visa instead of the usual 30 day and he complied without any problems.
I met 2 Canadians going to Kenya, they had just come by private taxi from Mbale, Uganda, where I was heading. They said their driver was going back empty and might give me a good price. I wasn't about to pay big bucks for the hour ride when I could easily get a public bus but he gave me what I thought was a fair price ( $2.50). I waited for him to drop the Canadians at Kenyan immigration and then we were off. He picked up a few other passengers but I retained the front seat all to myself. He dropped me off in Mbale, just minutes from the Mt. Elgon View hotel where I wanted to stay. I checked out a few rooms and one really caught my eye and price. The room was absolutely huge, easily the biggest I've ever had. I could fit 2 or even 3 previous hotel rooms I've had throughout the years into this one room. It wasn't filled though. It had a bed, couch, table and a few chairs, most of it was empty space but it felt satisfying to have such a big room. The toilets and hot shower were just outside my door. I ate delicious Indian food for lunch at the restuarant below the hotel and left to get my bearings and try and change money. More about Mbale next.....
I didn't have to wait long until I got picked up by a matatu. I'm heading the Uganda today which is only about 100km from Kakamega. I have to switch matatus 3 times before getting to the border. My last matatu would be my most memorable because I actually got the real local price this time. I know because I heard the conductor demanding the same price from everyone. I liked that I got the real price without hassle or bargaining. Sometimes when I though the price was too much, the conductor asked me 'How much do you want to pay then?' This was tough to answer since I didn't know the real price, only that I being charged too much. We came to a happy medium but I still didn't know if I was getting the real price. The last matatu dropped me at the bus stand and then it was a 2km walk to the border. I passed through Kenyan immigration without hassle or delay. There was no line up. I walked to the Ugandan customs and it was the same, no line or hassle. I asked the official for a 60 day visa instead of the usual 30 day and he complied without any problems.
I met 2 Canadians going to Kenya, they had just come by private taxi from Mbale, Uganda, where I was heading. They said their driver was going back empty and might give me a good price. I wasn't about to pay big bucks for the hour ride when I could easily get a public bus but he gave me what I thought was a fair price ( $2.50). I waited for him to drop the Canadians at Kenyan immigration and then we were off. He picked up a few other passengers but I retained the front seat all to myself. He dropped me off in Mbale, just minutes from the Mt. Elgon View hotel where I wanted to stay. I checked out a few rooms and one really caught my eye and price. The room was absolutely huge, easily the biggest I've ever had. I could fit 2 or even 3 previous hotel rooms I've had throughout the years into this one room. It wasn't filled though. It had a bed, couch, table and a few chairs, most of it was empty space but it felt satisfying to have such a big room. The toilets and hot shower were just outside my door. I ate delicious Indian food for lunch at the restuarant below the hotel and left to get my bearings and try and change money. More about Mbale next.....
Kakamega Forest Reserve part III
Dec. 1
It's 5.30am, still dark and chilly as I get up. My goal is to see sunrise from the view tower. I dress quickly and get on the trail. It's still very dark in the depths of the forest but by the time I reach the open hill on the which the viewing tower is located it's quite bright. I arrived at the tower at 6. I could hear the forest waking up all around me. The birds and monkeys getting their day started. There was some movement behind me in the trees but I didn't see who was making it. I was at the viewpoint a little early since the sun didn't rise till 6.35am. It was an amazing sight to see the suns rays illuminate through the fog of the forest. I hung out for an 30 minutes taking photos and then went back to camp. I ate breakfast at the German camp. They were just getting ready to go to work. I rest in my tent after breakfast and then walk the main entrance road to some trails I hadn't walked yet. I take the appropriately named colobus trail because I see plenty of colobus monkeys on it. I finally got a good look at one of them, though from a distance. The colobus is fast becoming my favourite monkey. They have a black body, white face and black tail with a bushy white tip but the most curious thing about their appearance is an O ring loop along the edges of their back of long white hair. I get some ok photos just to show what they look like.
Back in camp I finish lunch and a troupe of red tailed monkeys comes through camp. These monkeys, smallest of the 3 arboreal monkeys here, have a white belly and cheeks and nose, grey limbs and face, orangish brown back and contrary to their name, the tail is more of an orangy brown than red. Even colobus monkeys come to camp. I don't even have to leave camp to see animals here, I really like that.
I prepare my teepee for my cooking fire. The Belgians left yesterday and nobody new has arrived. I have the whole campsite to myself. Fireflies fill the air after sunset. I hangout with the Germans for a while and then look at the day's photos in my tent before crashing.
My forth day at Kakamega begins with breakfast around 9. I decide just to chill at camp for a while. I read and write my journal till 11 when a troupe of red tailed monkeys passes through camp. The debris from their tree crashing falls onto my tent.I get out onto the trail at 12. I take the colobus trail again and spook a red flanked duiker, a small brownish forest antelope rarely seen. It sees me and turns around and runs. I walk the trial through an arboretum where trees are labelled. The trail doesn't take the 2 hours the sign indicated so I take the long way back to camp. A heavenly fragrance of strong perfumey soap permeates the air. It smells so good! The source is a small white flower, like miniature jasmine blooms. Clouds have gathered and there is a lot of thunder but the rain only sprinkles for a few minutes. I eat my last pb sandwich and put peanut butter on my Borio cookies, because I'm leaving tomorrow and don't need lunch. It's sad to see my foodbag so empty. I really enjoyed my time here and think 5 days was a good amount of time to spend here. As I signed the guestbook, I noticed that most visitors only stay 1 or 2 days. The guys at the German research camp really noticed I was a different kind of traveller, serious about my forest for staying for 5 days. I made another perfect teepee for my fire but the German's invited me to dinner and I never refuse free food, not to mention they are good company anyway. They have their own cook. Tonight he prepared veggie lasagna (Yvonne, the only female researcher, was vegetarian) french fries and squash.It was all very tasty. We drank a bit of rum and hung out till the late bedtime of 9pm!
It's 5.30am, still dark and chilly as I get up. My goal is to see sunrise from the view tower. I dress quickly and get on the trail. It's still very dark in the depths of the forest but by the time I reach the open hill on the which the viewing tower is located it's quite bright. I arrived at the tower at 6. I could hear the forest waking up all around me. The birds and monkeys getting their day started. There was some movement behind me in the trees but I didn't see who was making it. I was at the viewpoint a little early since the sun didn't rise till 6.35am. It was an amazing sight to see the suns rays illuminate through the fog of the forest. I hung out for an 30 minutes taking photos and then went back to camp. I ate breakfast at the German camp. They were just getting ready to go to work. I rest in my tent after breakfast and then walk the main entrance road to some trails I hadn't walked yet. I take the appropriately named colobus trail because I see plenty of colobus monkeys on it. I finally got a good look at one of them, though from a distance. The colobus is fast becoming my favourite monkey. They have a black body, white face and black tail with a bushy white tip but the most curious thing about their appearance is an O ring loop along the edges of their back of long white hair. I get some ok photos just to show what they look like.
Back in camp I finish lunch and a troupe of red tailed monkeys comes through camp. These monkeys, smallest of the 3 arboreal monkeys here, have a white belly and cheeks and nose, grey limbs and face, orangish brown back and contrary to their name, the tail is more of an orangy brown than red. Even colobus monkeys come to camp. I don't even have to leave camp to see animals here, I really like that.
I prepare my teepee for my cooking fire. The Belgians left yesterday and nobody new has arrived. I have the whole campsite to myself. Fireflies fill the air after sunset. I hangout with the Germans for a while and then look at the day's photos in my tent before crashing.
My forth day at Kakamega begins with breakfast around 9. I decide just to chill at camp for a while. I read and write my journal till 11 when a troupe of red tailed monkeys passes through camp. The debris from their tree crashing falls onto my tent.I get out onto the trail at 12. I take the colobus trail again and spook a red flanked duiker, a small brownish forest antelope rarely seen. It sees me and turns around and runs. I walk the trial through an arboretum where trees are labelled. The trail doesn't take the 2 hours the sign indicated so I take the long way back to camp. A heavenly fragrance of strong perfumey soap permeates the air. It smells so good! The source is a small white flower, like miniature jasmine blooms. Clouds have gathered and there is a lot of thunder but the rain only sprinkles for a few minutes. I eat my last pb sandwich and put peanut butter on my Borio cookies, because I'm leaving tomorrow and don't need lunch. It's sad to see my foodbag so empty. I really enjoyed my time here and think 5 days was a good amount of time to spend here. As I signed the guestbook, I noticed that most visitors only stay 1 or 2 days. The guys at the German research camp really noticed I was a different kind of traveller, serious about my forest for staying for 5 days. I made another perfect teepee for my fire but the German's invited me to dinner and I never refuse free food, not to mention they are good company anyway. They have their own cook. Tonight he prepared veggie lasagna (Yvonne, the only female researcher, was vegetarian) french fries and squash.It was all very tasty. We drank a bit of rum and hung out till the late bedtime of 9pm!
Kakamega Forest Reserve part II
My second day at Kakamega I started walking the trails at 10am. Since I already saw most of the animals I wanted to see and that are possible to see, it's not necessary for me to be on the trail super early. The animals seem active at all hours of the day because it doesn't get super hot here where they need to rest. Today I took the waterfall trail and was a little disappointed at the 'waterfall'. It wasn't even 2m high! After this I followed the river trail for a few hours. The forest around the river is very nice with tall trees and seemingly undisturbed. Lots of the forest in Kakamega is regenerating secondary forest with shorter trees, many guava trees ( not a native species) and dense undergrowth. I don't like secondary forest so much, mature tropical lowland rainforest actually has very little undergrowth and is easy to walk in and good visibility for finding hiding forest inhabitants.
It was almost an hour and a half before I saw anything but then some colobus monkeys made an appearance. They are very skittish though and usually retreat instantly to where they can't see me anymore. I don't make it to the end of the trail but turn around anyway because most of the trails here aren't loops so I know I have to walk back the way I came. I was getting hungry and still had 2 hours to wake back.
I eat my pb sandwiches for lunch back at camp. A Belgian couple had arrived and are camping as well. They go on a hike as I'm resting and I see them later at dinner. As I'm resting in my tent I hear the telltale sign of monkeys crashing through the treetops. A troupe of blue monkeys are in the forest around my tent and I can see them without even getting out of my tent. I love watching wildlife from my tent. It's the ultimate lazy man's safari! Contrary to their name, blue monkeys are not really blue, from what I could see. They are more a greyish blacky silver.
I go back into the forest at 4.30 hoping for some close photo opportunities but no luck. I take a cold shower and wash some clothes. I don't mind the cold shower, it has powerful pressure which always makes for a good shower no matter the temperature.
Jasna and Alex, the Belgians, are in the kitchen when I start to make a fire. We are both trying to start fires. I didn't make a proper teepee for my fire and just used what was there and it was a mistake. It took me a long time to get it going. I should've known better since I've stared plenty of fires in the bush before at home, not for cooking but for light,warmth and something to hangout around. Jasna goes to bed and Alex and I stay up for a while. The sky is clear with no light pollution making for amazing stars.
My third day at Kakamega begins like the rest. Wake up at 8.30am, eat breakfast and get on the trail around 10.30 after talking with Neills for a while. It's sunday, no work for him today. I walk to the viewpoint, about 40 minutes from camp. As I make my last step up to the base of the viewpoint tower, I'm really surprised to see a troupe of colobus monkeys all around the base of the viewing tower. They must have heard me coming but waited till they saw me to flee. They hung around for about 4 seconds deciding what to do. Of course they decided to retreat into the forest before I could get a photo. I hung around the view tower for a while and then wandered another trail before heading back to camp mid afternoon.
I eat lunch and then get firewood for tonight's dinner. I make a proper teepee with super dead and dry kindling. I lit one piece of toilet paper, put it in the base of the teepee and instant fire, no hassle. My noodles are cooked in no time. I hang out with the Germans at their camp after dinner. They have solar panels hooked up to car batteries for powering their Macbooks, phones, headlamps etc. They let me charge my camera batteries, headlamp batteries and Ipod. It's sunday night and they usually have some sort of entertainment. Tonight it's 2 episodes of The Simpsons. The first is in English but the second is in German, but I had already seen both. It was interesting to hear how they dubbed the voices in German. It was so cool and kind of surreal to be watching my favourite show in the middle of the forest in Kenya.
Bushbuck, a medium sized brownish antelope visit the camp every night. We see their eyeshine near the forest edge. It's a late night, 9.30pm and we all go to bed. I have an early start tomorrow morning to see sunrise from the view tower.
It was almost an hour and a half before I saw anything but then some colobus monkeys made an appearance. They are very skittish though and usually retreat instantly to where they can't see me anymore. I don't make it to the end of the trail but turn around anyway because most of the trails here aren't loops so I know I have to walk back the way I came. I was getting hungry and still had 2 hours to wake back.
I eat my pb sandwiches for lunch back at camp. A Belgian couple had arrived and are camping as well. They go on a hike as I'm resting and I see them later at dinner. As I'm resting in my tent I hear the telltale sign of monkeys crashing through the treetops. A troupe of blue monkeys are in the forest around my tent and I can see them without even getting out of my tent. I love watching wildlife from my tent. It's the ultimate lazy man's safari! Contrary to their name, blue monkeys are not really blue, from what I could see. They are more a greyish blacky silver.
I go back into the forest at 4.30 hoping for some close photo opportunities but no luck. I take a cold shower and wash some clothes. I don't mind the cold shower, it has powerful pressure which always makes for a good shower no matter the temperature.
Jasna and Alex, the Belgians, are in the kitchen when I start to make a fire. We are both trying to start fires. I didn't make a proper teepee for my fire and just used what was there and it was a mistake. It took me a long time to get it going. I should've known better since I've stared plenty of fires in the bush before at home, not for cooking but for light,warmth and something to hangout around. Jasna goes to bed and Alex and I stay up for a while. The sky is clear with no light pollution making for amazing stars.
My third day at Kakamega begins like the rest. Wake up at 8.30am, eat breakfast and get on the trail around 10.30 after talking with Neills for a while. It's sunday, no work for him today. I walk to the viewpoint, about 40 minutes from camp. As I make my last step up to the base of the viewpoint tower, I'm really surprised to see a troupe of colobus monkeys all around the base of the viewing tower. They must have heard me coming but waited till they saw me to flee. They hung around for about 4 seconds deciding what to do. Of course they decided to retreat into the forest before I could get a photo. I hung around the view tower for a while and then wandered another trail before heading back to camp mid afternoon.
I eat lunch and then get firewood for tonight's dinner. I make a proper teepee with super dead and dry kindling. I lit one piece of toilet paper, put it in the base of the teepee and instant fire, no hassle. My noodles are cooked in no time. I hang out with the Germans at their camp after dinner. They have solar panels hooked up to car batteries for powering their Macbooks, phones, headlamps etc. They let me charge my camera batteries, headlamp batteries and Ipod. It's sunday night and they usually have some sort of entertainment. Tonight it's 2 episodes of The Simpsons. The first is in English but the second is in German, but I had already seen both. It was interesting to hear how they dubbed the voices in German. It was so cool and kind of surreal to be watching my favourite show in the middle of the forest in Kenya.
Bushbuck, a medium sized brownish antelope visit the camp every night. We see their eyeshine near the forest edge. It's a late night, 9.30pm and we all go to bed. I have an early start tomorrow morning to see sunrise from the view tower.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Kakamega Forest Reserve
I set up my tent on the edge of the campsite as far away as I could get from the kitchen and everything else. I like my privacy and silence. Guides are available for the trails but not mandatory. The trails are not well marked but are easy to see and I thought I'd give them a go before I hired at guide, since a guide for a 4 hour walk was almost $13.
Kakamega is the the easternmost forest of the once great Guinean-Congolian forest and the largest slab of rainforest left in Kenya. It's not a big reserve and is still under considerable pressure from locals for illegal logging, firewood collecting, encroaching agriculture and grazing from cattle. The forest lies at an altitude of about 1500m making it more a montane rainforest than a hot and steamy lowland forest. Temperatures in the day hit around 29 C and the coldest night dropped to 14 C.
Biota is a German research camp located beside Udo's camp and I really got to know some of the scientists there. Some trails started from their camp so I always had to walk through it. I met Neills my first day and he gave me some info about the forest and trails. He is here for 3 months studying pollination and is part of the much larger 9 year long Biota research project encompassing all aspects of the forest.
I came to Kakamega mostly for the primates of which there are 5 duirnal species - baboon, black and white colobus, red tailed monkey, blue monkey and De brazza's monkey. Baboons walked the main entrance road and I passed them on my way in. I was surprised to see baboons here, I thought they were mainly a savanna animal. But then again, I walked in the forest for hours everyday and I never saw a baboon. I only saw them around camp. The main monkey I wanted to see was the De brazza's and was really disappointed to learn that it doesn't exist in this part of the forest anymore. Kakamega is made up of fragments of forest and the De brazza's suppposedly exists in the northern fragment, I was told. Though Neills had never seen one. It was too much $ and hassle to go the this fragment of forest but I will have more opportunities for finding the De brazza's in Uganda and Rwanda.
As I headed out on the trail Neills said I would see all the 3 other species of monkey and he was right. It was already 4pm when I started out and it gets dark in the forest around 6 so I just walked for an hour and then turned around. But this was enough time to see the blue monkey, actually right near camp and the red tailed monkey and black and white colobus further out in the forest. The blue monkey hung around long enough and low enough for me to get some ok photos of it. I was happy to have seen all the monkeys and now it would be my mission to try and get some photos of them.
It was friday night and there were a lot of people around the kitchen which is just some firepits in a large banda (native mud walled hut with conical straw roof). It turns out it was one staff members going away party. They invited me to join but I didn't feel right about it. I just cooked my noodles and beans and chilled in my tent. The party went on till 2am, I couldn't believe it. It wasn't keeping me up the whole time but I could hear them laughing loudly and was surprised when I got up for a pee break at 1.30am and heard them still. They asked me the next day how I slept!I said it was kind of loud and they replied, ' Yes, everyone was very happy!'
Kakamega is the the easternmost forest of the once great Guinean-Congolian forest and the largest slab of rainforest left in Kenya. It's not a big reserve and is still under considerable pressure from locals for illegal logging, firewood collecting, encroaching agriculture and grazing from cattle. The forest lies at an altitude of about 1500m making it more a montane rainforest than a hot and steamy lowland forest. Temperatures in the day hit around 29 C and the coldest night dropped to 14 C.
Biota is a German research camp located beside Udo's camp and I really got to know some of the scientists there. Some trails started from their camp so I always had to walk through it. I met Neills my first day and he gave me some info about the forest and trails. He is here for 3 months studying pollination and is part of the much larger 9 year long Biota research project encompassing all aspects of the forest.
I came to Kakamega mostly for the primates of which there are 5 duirnal species - baboon, black and white colobus, red tailed monkey, blue monkey and De brazza's monkey. Baboons walked the main entrance road and I passed them on my way in. I was surprised to see baboons here, I thought they were mainly a savanna animal. But then again, I walked in the forest for hours everyday and I never saw a baboon. I only saw them around camp. The main monkey I wanted to see was the De brazza's and was really disappointed to learn that it doesn't exist in this part of the forest anymore. Kakamega is made up of fragments of forest and the De brazza's suppposedly exists in the northern fragment, I was told. Though Neills had never seen one. It was too much $ and hassle to go the this fragment of forest but I will have more opportunities for finding the De brazza's in Uganda and Rwanda.
As I headed out on the trail Neills said I would see all the 3 other species of monkey and he was right. It was already 4pm when I started out and it gets dark in the forest around 6 so I just walked for an hour and then turned around. But this was enough time to see the blue monkey, actually right near camp and the red tailed monkey and black and white colobus further out in the forest. The blue monkey hung around long enough and low enough for me to get some ok photos of it. I was happy to have seen all the monkeys and now it would be my mission to try and get some photos of them.
It was friday night and there were a lot of people around the kitchen which is just some firepits in a large banda (native mud walled hut with conical straw roof). It turns out it was one staff members going away party. They invited me to join but I didn't feel right about it. I just cooked my noodles and beans and chilled in my tent. The party went on till 2am, I couldn't believe it. It wasn't keeping me up the whole time but I could hear them laughing loudly and was surprised when I got up for a pee break at 1.30am and heard them still. They asked me the next day how I slept!I said it was kind of loud and they replied, ' Yes, everyone was very happy!'
Kisumu to Kakamega Forest
Friday was my last day in Kisumu and after breakfast I got the rest of my food and changed some money before heading to Kakamega forest. There is only a campsite, basic kitchen and long drop toilets there, so I had to bring everything with me. I estimated I'd stay 5 days and bought 5 days worth of food. I usually like any rainforest a lot so I thought 5 days would be good and if I really wanted to, I'm sure I could figure out to stay longer. I bought this maize cereal (corn flakes, basically) with powdered milk and coffee for breakfast, peanut butter sandwiches and bananas for lunch, instant noodles with baked beans and milo to drink for dinner. I also brought some chocolate bars and cookies for snacks. I was set to go. I took a matatu to Kakamega from Kisumu, again getting the front seat but I found out later the conductor charged me twice the real price. I really hate that, they see white skin and the price skyrockets!
Not much of scenery along the way and I arrived Kakamega town after about 2 hours. A few people tried to help me get to the forest from the town but it turns out that thought I was going somewhere much closer when they suggested I take a taxi. The taxi then quoted me like $25! A little bit too much for me since it was only 18km away. I took a matatu heading towards Kitale and they dropped me off at the junction to Kakamega forest. From there I walked 600m to the gate and park headquarters. The price for daily entry had doubled since my LP guidebook was published. It was now $20 daily entry fee and $5 for camping, for a total of $25 everyday I stayed there. My food only cost me about $14 and I worked that into my daily budget of the day before I came to Kakamega, so essentially it was costing me just $25 a day to stay there. It was another 1.5km to Udo's campsite on a road through forest, most of it in the shade because it was hot and sunny but still tough carrying all my things and about 5kg worth of food. I arrived at camp around 2pm.
Not much of scenery along the way and I arrived Kakamega town after about 2 hours. A few people tried to help me get to the forest from the town but it turns out that thought I was going somewhere much closer when they suggested I take a taxi. The taxi then quoted me like $25! A little bit too much for me since it was only 18km away. I took a matatu heading towards Kitale and they dropped me off at the junction to Kakamega forest. From there I walked 600m to the gate and park headquarters. The price for daily entry had doubled since my LP guidebook was published. It was now $20 daily entry fee and $5 for camping, for a total of $25 everyday I stayed there. My food only cost me about $14 and I worked that into my daily budget of the day before I came to Kakamega, so essentially it was costing me just $25 a day to stay there. It was another 1.5km to Udo's campsite on a road through forest, most of it in the shade because it was hot and sunny but still tough carrying all my things and about 5kg worth of food. I arrived at camp around 2pm.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Menangi Crater to Kisumu
Before I left Nakuru I wanted to visit Menangi crater, 9km out of town. I got up at 8am and went to the bus station to look for a moto to take me there. I could've taken a taxi but it's more expensive and I prefer the open air of a motorbike. I found a driver quickly,or should I say he found me. He quoted me a supercheap price and I suspected he didn't know where exactly I was talking about. It became clear when he wanted to take me the opposite way when we came to a roundabout. I made myself more clear ( I thought I was pretty clear before!) and this time he was sure. He doubled the price but that was still cheap so it was ok. He kept asking for directions the whole way there. About half way there, the road turned to dirt and ruts but my driver negotiated it well. The way was all uphill and we passed by some people and kids who were very friendly waving and screaming 'hello'. I must say most Kenyans I've met have been very friendly and genuine.
We finally reached the crater edge with a panoramic viewpoint. The crater is extinct but vegetation can be seen growing in the crater floor on the old black lava flows. The crater is a few km in diameter and has most of its walls intact. Satisfied with the crater and my photos I went back to town to eat and try and change money. Breakfast went well but the $ changing not so well. Nakuru is a large town and I went to every bank and forex bureau and not one would change travellers cheques. I couldn't believe it. Thankfully I travel with a bank card/visa and cash but I always try to change my travellers cheques first. I took some $ out with my bank which was painless and easy. Hopefully Kisumu, where I'm going next can change T/C.
I packed up my stuff and walked to the bus station. I got into a minivan, known here as a matatu, right away going to Kisumu. The driver said it was leaving in 40 minutes. Yeah, I had my doubts about that since it was already noon and most vehicles leave in the morning. We left 3 hours later! They gave me the front seat and I sat and read while I waited. There were tons of hawkers selling all the same shit - locks, combs, jewellery, wallets, electric razors, hats, water and candy. I was a prime target being white and stuck in the matatua. Everyone selling something must have approached me. All were friendly and some even left after I expressed no desire to buy anything but some hung around to talk. Then they were some that gave me their sob story and told me just to give them money because they had a 'pure heart', whatever that means. I was glad when we finally got going.
The journey took about 3.5 hours to Kisumu and the road was pretty rough for most of it. We passed through the tea growing region of Kericho. Neatly pruned valleys of tea blanketed both sides of the road and some were even being harvested. We descended the central highlands down to Kisumu on the tropical slopes of Lake Victoria. I took a moto taxi, known as boda boda because they used to be the main transport to take people from the Kenyan border to the Ugandan border. It's all about the way they pronounce the word border,like boda, and then the boda boda was born. There are motorized boda boda and bicycle boda boda's with a bug cushiony seat over the rear tire. I took the boda boda to the Western lodge but thought it was a bit pricey and just didn't like the way the guard who showed me the rooms acted. I couldn't get a straight answer out of him and I don't have much patience when I'm tired, hungry, dirty and carrying both my packs. I checked a few other places and ended up settling at the Lakeside Hotel, not in the guidebook but a big room, attatched bath and the rate included full breakfast. Kisumu has my kind of climate, it was 28 C when I arrived and only dropped to 25 C during the night. The only problem was that no hotel had any fans in the room. They said the breeze from the lake is the fan. I don't know about that! I prefer a fan, it was borderline trying to sleep and I was just on the edge of lying there sweating but I didn't and slept ok. I was just so damn thirsty all night and finished my 600mL bottle of water beside my bed before morning.
Thursday morning I had to get up before 9 because that's when breakfast stopped being served. It's ok I was up anyway and had plenty of rest. Since I'm on the shores of Lake Victoria I thought I should go down to the waterfront for some pictures. To do this I walked 3km to the village of Dunga, which is supposed to have the most pleasant access. I could have stayed in town but it was something to do. It was sunny and a very agreeable 30 C. I got my haircut really short, no more thinking about hair for a few months now! I came to Kisumu because it's on my way to my real destination of Kakamega Forest Reserve, western Kenya's only rainforest. I started to buy supplies because there is no restaurant there, I'll be doing all my own cooking. The forest has trails and I think I'd like to stay for 5 days so I'm buying enough food to last for that. After Kakamega I'm going to make a break for the Ugandan border so I'm not sure when I'll be back online. But rest assured if you don't get any updates from me for a while at anytime, it just means that I'm out doing stuff and nothing to worry about.
We finally reached the crater edge with a panoramic viewpoint. The crater is extinct but vegetation can be seen growing in the crater floor on the old black lava flows. The crater is a few km in diameter and has most of its walls intact. Satisfied with the crater and my photos I went back to town to eat and try and change money. Breakfast went well but the $ changing not so well. Nakuru is a large town and I went to every bank and forex bureau and not one would change travellers cheques. I couldn't believe it. Thankfully I travel with a bank card/visa and cash but I always try to change my travellers cheques first. I took some $ out with my bank which was painless and easy. Hopefully Kisumu, where I'm going next can change T/C.
I packed up my stuff and walked to the bus station. I got into a minivan, known here as a matatu, right away going to Kisumu. The driver said it was leaving in 40 minutes. Yeah, I had my doubts about that since it was already noon and most vehicles leave in the morning. We left 3 hours later! They gave me the front seat and I sat and read while I waited. There were tons of hawkers selling all the same shit - locks, combs, jewellery, wallets, electric razors, hats, water and candy. I was a prime target being white and stuck in the matatua. Everyone selling something must have approached me. All were friendly and some even left after I expressed no desire to buy anything but some hung around to talk. Then they were some that gave me their sob story and told me just to give them money because they had a 'pure heart', whatever that means. I was glad when we finally got going.
The journey took about 3.5 hours to Kisumu and the road was pretty rough for most of it. We passed through the tea growing region of Kericho. Neatly pruned valleys of tea blanketed both sides of the road and some were even being harvested. We descended the central highlands down to Kisumu on the tropical slopes of Lake Victoria. I took a moto taxi, known as boda boda because they used to be the main transport to take people from the Kenyan border to the Ugandan border. It's all about the way they pronounce the word border,like boda, and then the boda boda was born. There are motorized boda boda and bicycle boda boda's with a bug cushiony seat over the rear tire. I took the boda boda to the Western lodge but thought it was a bit pricey and just didn't like the way the guard who showed me the rooms acted. I couldn't get a straight answer out of him and I don't have much patience when I'm tired, hungry, dirty and carrying both my packs. I checked a few other places and ended up settling at the Lakeside Hotel, not in the guidebook but a big room, attatched bath and the rate included full breakfast. Kisumu has my kind of climate, it was 28 C when I arrived and only dropped to 25 C during the night. The only problem was that no hotel had any fans in the room. They said the breeze from the lake is the fan. I don't know about that! I prefer a fan, it was borderline trying to sleep and I was just on the edge of lying there sweating but I didn't and slept ok. I was just so damn thirsty all night and finished my 600mL bottle of water beside my bed before morning.
Thursday morning I had to get up before 9 because that's when breakfast stopped being served. It's ok I was up anyway and had plenty of rest. Since I'm on the shores of Lake Victoria I thought I should go down to the waterfront for some pictures. To do this I walked 3km to the village of Dunga, which is supposed to have the most pleasant access. I could have stayed in town but it was something to do. It was sunny and a very agreeable 30 C. I got my haircut really short, no more thinking about hair for a few months now! I came to Kisumu because it's on my way to my real destination of Kakamega Forest Reserve, western Kenya's only rainforest. I started to buy supplies because there is no restaurant there, I'll be doing all my own cooking. The forest has trails and I think I'd like to stay for 5 days so I'm buying enough food to last for that. After Kakamega I'm going to make a break for the Ugandan border so I'm not sure when I'll be back online. But rest assured if you don't get any updates from me for a while at anytime, it just means that I'm out doing stuff and nothing to worry about.
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