Kenya
The Kenyan side of the border is far less developed than the Ethiopian side – there’s not a great deal here – but the border guards are the most welcoming I’ve encountered so far. The police say there’s no need for us to take a policeman with us (it’s been standard to have either a convoy or an armed policeman for all travellers I’ve heard of going on this road). Apparently there’s been no ‘incidents’ as they call them for at least a year and a half.
Upon signing the logbook I notice that the last tourists to pass through here went three days ago on the 15th May, it’s only foreigners who have to sign this book – presumably so the authorities can keep an eye on whether people make it to Marsabit!
Our worries about the road, and the tales of woe from the Ethiopian side were quickly dismissed by everyone on the Kenyan side – it’s 6 hours to Marsabit if you go quickly, there’s no problems and the rain isn’t an issue for my ‘big strong car’.
So after being assured by everyone in the know that there’s no problems, we decide to crack on and travel over the worst road in Africa.
It starts off well – the first 20km are fine, just a dirt / gravel road, with the usual African potholes.
Soon after the town, we arrive on the stretch which follows the Ethiopian border, it’s raining, and the road’s becoming a little muddy.
The mud’s no big problem – M is holding up well, just getting a little dirty
The road does gradually start to deteriorate – the mud becomes deeper (which conceal the sometimes huge potholes) and the driving becomes harder.
I’m absolutely loving it – we nearly get stuck a few times - and on a few occasions I’m thinking that we’ll need to winch our way out of it… Sadly winching isn’t necessary – a careful bit of reversing and rocking out of some knee-deep mud does the trick and we’re off again.
Karin’s quite quiet through most of the drive so far – I can tell she’s terrified something will happen to the car and we’ll be stranded – so when the battery alarm starts to beep, with all lights on the LED Display going crazy she gives me a deathly stare…
It’s no problem – worst case scenario, the main battery is now failing to charge – the secondary battery is still fully charged and receiving charge (which means the alternator is fine – saving a repeat of the nightmare dash Lucile and I had to make to Sarajevo a few months previously)
There’s a lot of mud and water entering every crevice of the car – so my assumption for the time being is there’s a short somewhere caused by the water – it’s not a critical problem as I have a backup battery so we press on through the mud and rain.
The first 100km is fairly bad – I don’t know what it’d be like in the dry, probably a lot worse due to the lack of gravel and stones – when the sun comes out and dries up all this water, all that’ll be left is huge solid gauges in the earth that’ll kill most tyres and suspension. I for one am happy we’re doing this in the rain – when the occasional corrugations occur we’re able to drive straight through them – the ground’s that soft.
It’s tiring driving, but enormous fun… Karin doesn’t seem to enjoy it as much as me – and gives me a disapproving look as I lose control once and skid to a sideward’s standstill, at the time we were doing around 15kmph, going through some really thick stuff – not in the already established tracks, but making new ones… The tyres have around 5cm of mud caked on them – similar to our shoes whenever we venture outside to check on conditions – all of this means loss of grip and direction can be very quick.
I learn my lesson and stick to the tracks – it’s harder work for the car, but it means we can travel slightly faster – with no risk of sliding off the road.
Karin keeps telling herself her fathers advice “anything like this you survive makes a great story” This one should.
After what seemed like forever – and three army checkpoints we ascend what turns out to be our last muddy hill – and are presented with a glorious view of the Kenyan plains below us.
M’s slightly dirty, and I think at somepoint soon she’ll need a clean… Karin begins the work immediately.
We’ve hit dry land – and found out what the corrugations are like in the dry – a bloody nightmare… As anyone who’s ever driven on similar roads in Africa will tell you, there’s two ways to drive on it – very slowly, or very fast.
Going slowly means you feel every bump the suspension feels, every one of the ruts created by the huge trucks that hurtle up and down this road feels like you’re hitting the kerb on a normal road in the UK. I’m all too aware of what knackered suspension means, so decide to start off slowly.
The second approach is to go so fast that you effectively skip across the top of the corrugations – never actually descending into the rut. After ½ hour of trying the painful ass pummelling first approach I change tactics and go for speed.
It works – at speed you really don’t feel much – but the suspension is taking a hammering. I’m checking every 20km the front and rear suspension, but it seems the new parts are holding up well – no signs of damage, I think the tyres will go before the suspension – which is good because I have two spares.
By sunset, we’re just 50km from Marsabit – it’s taken us 6 hours to do the lion’s share of the drive, after watching a beautiful sky slowly fade we make it to Marsabit within 90 minutes.
Marsabit itself is a wild-west kind of town, we check into what turns out to be a Muslim hotel – there’s a mosque here – which saves the need for an alarm clock tomorrow, but means there’s no beer – just a disapproving look and a small laugh when I ask in the restaurant.
We had our first taste of Ugali here – a tasteless stodgy staple which is eaten with everything here and in Uganda – it’s pretty good as long as you eat it with a sauce. It doesn’t take long before we’re both asleep – happy to have made it in one day.
The next morning it’s important that I check over the car thoroughly – I noticed a coolant leak as I parked the previous night, and in the morning it’s clear that the radiator now has a leak. A quick fix with the radiator stop-leak solution I have is a great result, but the 45 minutes I spend under and around the car with half of the village watching and asking for lifts / cigarettes / money makes it quite wearing.
I give up on troubleshooting the battery problem – the crowd’s growing and it’s difficult to watch everything… So far the radiator leak’s been fixed and I’ve found two missing retaining bolts for the rear differential guard – something which can be resolved in Isiolo or Nairobi. Apart from that – we’re good to go…
Today’s drive is much the same as the previous afternoon – the corrugations are a pain, but the speed works, and the suspension’s holding up. There’s no rain here – even the river beds are dry
Towards the end of the morning – after a brief stop and car check I find that I have absolutely no drive – the engine’s revving and the propshaft is turning, but no traction. This is familiar – even Karin now knows that with diff-lock on we’ll be able to move. Sure enough – with diff lock engaged we can move.
With great anxiety I check the rear passenger side drivemember – my heart sinks as I see that once more it’s worn through – just three days after Ethio Lakes replaced it and the halfshaft for new.
There must be a major problem with the work they did when replacing the hub seal – two perfectly good drivemembers (one new) and my Douglas motors special halfshaft have been wrecked since they took the hub apart for the first time around 10 days ago… It’s a nightmare scenario – on a road that you really don’t want to break down on.
Even though we’re past the worst bit – the Ethiopian border area where bandits have been known to operate – it’s still not a good place to break down. We have 100km to Isiolo, and we have to do it with the differential lock engaged – on for the most part hard ground.
The diff lock ensures that an equal amount of traction goes to each wheel – rather than the most going to the wheel that needs it most… this means that with the rear halfshaft removed, the other three wheels get 75% of the engines power rather than none…
The trouble with the diff lock is that it can only be used when traction is likely to be lost – the wheels need to spin freely to release any tension created by locking the differentials on each axle – if they can’t spin (because you’re on tarmac for example and the grip’s too much), then it has catastrophic consequences – twisting and wrecking the shafts also probably destroying the very expensive differentials.
We drive on – with me swerving into any soft sand or gravel I can find at frequent intervals, it makes for quite an interesting ride.
The scenery changes – mountains appear in the distance, and beautiful random rock formations rise out all around us.
Soon, we’re onto the home stretch – the road is for the most part good, the corrugations are fine at 40kmph and we’re now heading directly south – with just 100km until Isiolo
Arriving in Isiolo is apparently different depending on which way you come from – to us it’s a civilised town, a far cry from the wild-west feel of Marsabit and Moyale – for those coming from the south – it’s apparently just like the wild west!
Within 5 minutes of arriving in the town (amusingly having to avoid 5 km of tarmac they thoughtlessly put to the north) I find a land rover parts dealer – right opposite our hotel… Handy.
Within 45 minutes I have a new drivemember – I’ll have the cause of the problem looked at in Nairobi rather than here – I figure we have a good 1000miles before this drivemember wears through, more than enough to get us to Kenya’s capital.
I’m still cursing Ethio Lakes – this could and should have been avoided – especially since the wear on the old shaft and drivemember was so quick… It’s another costly repair which I could do without… My lesson from all of this is to do all the work yourself – the old saying “if you want a job doing well – do it yourself” has never been more true. As soon as I arrive in Nairobi I’ll look into the cause of the drivemembers wear.
Before heading to Nairobi, we decided to take a detour and head to one of Kenya’s little visited national parks. Meru National Park – east of Mount Kenya has had few visitors since most of the wildlife was illegally hunted in the 1980’s. Stocks are now recovering after substantial foreign investment, and it’s a fairly cheap option (as Kenyan national parks go) at $27 a day each.
As much of the wildlife here has recently been reintroduced it’s difficult to know where to find them – guides are apparently of no use – we’d be just as well off driving ourselves around if we go to the park there’ll be quite a lot of luck needed.
Although the park’s not that far – the last part of the road is absolutely appalling – you need a 4x4 just to get to the park, so after a much longer drive than anticipated (not helped by us taking a wrong turn), we arrive at around 1pm.
The park fees rose in 2006, it’s now $40 per person per day – after speaking with the senior warden, he agreed to wave the camping fees ($60) if we enter for 2 days... So after handing over what to us is a lot of money – we enter the park hoping it’ll be worth it.
The campsite’s outstanding – the facilities are excellent and there’s a pool! After a quick dip we set off with the hope of finding some animals.
It’s only a few minutes until we spot the first of the big 5 (which is buffalo, elephant, cheetah, lion and rhino).
The buffalo are easy to find – for a start they’re massive, and they don’t mind cars so much…
We’re hoping to see something more exotic however – and before long we find it… In fact I nearly hit a giraffe, which is grazing at the side of one of the lush tracks. The huge beast was around 2m from the car as we drove through the bush.
As soon as I hit the brakes he bolted – somewhat bemused by M screeching to a halt. I think however that we had a bigger scare than he did!
Just as our third hours drive approached we had even more luck – a herd of elephants were wallowing in a shallow river near one of the major swamps, they’re fairly wary of the car – presumably as there’s many young with them.
After they headed into the bush we continued – looking for a clearing we’d spotted earlier and marked as a good spot for sunset. I’d dearly love to see some cats here – but the time of year is bad – the grass is high and the bush is dense – we’d be very lucky indeed to see the lions.
As we drove to the clearing we came across one of the few other guests at the resort – apparently there’s only 4 vehicles in the park at the moment – and it’s a huge area, so stopping to chat – we have a brief chat and I give the Dutch couple directions to where we’d seen elephant just a few moments ago.
As I turn to point in the direction – my eye catches a familiar outline in the bush – just 20m from us is a cheetah, sat upright in the long grass looking longingly at the gazelle in the clearing below.
It’s incredibly lucky to see cheetah at any time of year – but in these conditions it’s incredible. After explaining that we’ve already found elephant, giraffe and now cheetah the Dutch couple ask us how long we’ve been here – the three hour response came with the words “And I’m the professional – perhaps we should follow you around!” It seems they’ve had no luck so far and after a few minutes they go off in search of the elephant.
It gives us a chance to get closer to the cheetah – parking around 10m from this super fast cat we discover that there’s not only one here – but three. Occasionally they lie down, waiting for the sun to drop behind them before they attack the gazelle 300m infront.
We had a wonderful hour and a half watching the three large cats watch their prey – any movement from the gazelle in our direction resulted in the cheetah getting ready to attack.
The gazelle never came close enough – either that, or the cheetah had eaten recently and weren’t that bothered – as soon as the opportunity had passed, they quickly lost interest and chose instead to have a nap or to look around for other snacks.
We really didn’t bother them at all, occasionally they’d pass us curious glances, but there’s not much that threatens this beautiful cat so they’re happy to let us watch. We’re absolutely ecstatic about seeing them – and spending so much time with them at such close proximity is incredible.
As the sun begins to set, we have to say farewell to the cheetah.
I’ve always wanted to see Cheetah in the wild but I really didn’t think I’d stand a chance on my whole trip – I don’t have the money to visit many national parks, but on our first attempt we’ve found them within 3 hours.
On the drive back to the campsite we’re chuffed – it’s been a fantastic afternoon and it was topped off by seeing the world’s largest owl (whose name I forget)…
I did explain to Karin that it’s unusual to see three of the big 5 (including cheetah) in such a short space of time – tomorrow may be totally different… We’ve had a huge amount of luck today, but as the baboon’s race around our camp and I light a fire we’re both saying that this afternoon alone was worth the $160 entrance fee.
We’re up before dawn today, and ready to go as the sun starts to rise… Following a similar route to yesterday we find nothing but Zebra and Buffalo in our first three hours.
We’re not bothered about not seeing much – it’d be great to see some Lion, but I think we’ve used up most of our luck.
Before lunch we take a 45km drive south towards the River Tana. Our guidebook insists that this a ‘must do’ if you visit the park – it’s a long drive, and away from the lush swampland which is home to most of the game but the scenery’s spectacular, and at 38.30.882 degrees east we cross the equator.
It’s the first time I’ve crossed the equator by land – but as we’re in a park with big game, we decide no to do the old water draining experiment right now…
We reached the River Tana after a good hour and a half’s drive – the waterfall isn’t the most spectacular in the world but the river as a whole is quite beautiful.
The drive along the river to head back to the campsite is probably best done in the dry season – our route takes us alongside the river, in thick, dense, thorny bush. The tracks are barely visible, and we’re only sure we’re going the right way when the occasional concrete bridge provides a gap in the undergrowth.
I don’t think a car’s driven here in quite some time.
Soon the bush became really thick – calls from Karin “that’s not a road……. Is it??....” were frequent, shortly followed by a big sigh of relief when the old tracks became visible again.
We really didn’t see much of the river – but the brief glances we did get were devoid of hippos or crocs.
Our long, relaxing lunch and swim resulted in me being rather sunburned after falling asleep… it was rather good sleep – so worth it…. As we left for our afternoon’s game drive we’re optimistic even though we’ve seen nothing through the entire morning.
Lions are what we need right now – we’ve never seen them in the wild, and apparently they’re easy to find here – seven of them were even spotted in our campsite the night before we arrived.
Within a few hours we’d found our elephants from yesterday – they’re not far from where we saw them last, and we have a good 20 minutes before they head off into the bush.
We fail to find the lions, but are happy having seen the elephants one last time – tomorrow morning we must pack up for the last time and take our morning drive around the park before leaving for Nanuki, on the western slopes of mount Kenya.
In the morning, a whole troop of baboons were playing outside our tent. After leaving the breakfast box on the table and turning away for a few moments there was a showdown between Karin and the largest male Baboon. As soon as Karin looked at him with her bright blue eyes he ran off screaming… seems they don’t see many of them here.
The baboons treated us to lots of excitement – a little too much at times, I told Karin what the baboon behind her was up to just as I took this photo.
I noticed some sidewall damage on one of the tyres so changed it before leaving camp. I don’t think I’ve ever sweated that much in my entire life – and it’s not even 9am. The heat and humidity today is quite something. After signing the guest book and finding out that the rhino sanctuary is open we head off hoping to see rhino – and to make 4 of the big 5 in our short safari.
The guards at the entrance to the 45km rhino enclosure aren’t enthusiastic about our chances of seeing anything – very early morning is the time to see them but we’re hopeful anyway.
It’s a densely vegetated area – there’s one large swamp where we’re most likely to find them – but after a quick look there’s no sign of anything… continuing the drive around the enclosure we finally spot the rear end of the huge rhino plodding gently away from us… it’s the briefest of encounters, just a few seconds – but it does mean within just two days we’ve seen 4 out of the big 5 – not bad for a park in the rainy season with unpredictable animals.
We leave the sanctuary after spotting some more giraffe
and start our drive back over the terrible access road to the park.
We reach Nanuki that afternoon, the champions league final is on tonight and I’m hoping that Liverpool will once more beat AC Milan for the title.
Our hotel is like a fortress – there are gates to all floors, manned by armed guards. M is parked securely, with another guard watching over her – and doing a good job, after we sat down for some food he came to tell me I’d left the door open… whoops – this isn’t the place to do such things.
Liverpool lost, and we never did leave the secure hotel – first thing the next day we headed south, towards Whistling Thorns in the Ngong hills south of Nairobi.
It’s a paradise here – we can camp for a reasonable price – there’s a swimming pool and a great restaurant cooking homemade food. Whistling thorns is run by Marie-Louise and Mike, a great couple who other guests point out inadvertently provide much entertainment! Mike’s from Yorkshire, Marie-Louise from Holland – they settled here in 1992 and started this little oasis frequented by tourists and many Kenyan’s from Nairobi.
It turns out that Mike is entering the Rhino Charge event for the 5th year – it’s one of the world’s toughest 4x4 challenges. 60 cars are vying to achieve the shortest possible distance between 13 points (the location is kept top secret until the eve of the challenge). The event raises enormous amounts of money to protect the Aberdare mountain eco system which is of huge importance to the environment here in Kenya.
The event starts on the 2nd June, I’m going to go and camp with the team of car 52 throughout the event.
The workshop here at Whistling Thorns is a hive of last minute activity, and Mike, Ralph and Dave, three of the 6 team-members have kindly given me some pit time and years of experience to resolve my ongoing drivemember problem.
Karin’s enjoying the food and the pool whilst I get my hands dirty with the guys – it’s nice not to be driving for a few days… My next update will come from the rift valley where the Rhino Charge event takes place – it appears I’m on the bench for the team now – so if anyone drops out or is injured I may well be joining the team of car 52 in this fantastic event.
Whistling Thorns has been my first chance to relax for some time – the food’s outstanding and the surroundings are spectacular. The Ngong hills have always been home to migrating zebra and giraffe – but human encroachment from Nairobi and the fences which come with the new residents has led to a steep decline in animal numbers.
Having never seen the huge herds of Zebra crossing the valley ahead of us it’s difficult to imagine, Marie Louise tells us of how different it was just 6 months ago.
Sitting out for dinner on the veranda each night we look for the zebra, but there’s none to be found.
It’s getting close to Karins departure – whilst I help out in the workshop Karin takes a few walks through the Massai villages in the surrounding hills – there she finds the zebra, but in small numbers.
Ralph, a top coded welder in the UK and an experienced mechanic is making the final modifications to the charge car’s doors – there’s no glass on the new doors, just metal mesh to keep the branches and thorn bushes away from the team.
The rest of the competitors arrive, completing the car 52 Rhino Charge team of 2007:
Mike: owner of whistling thorns – car 52 owner and driver
Dave: the navigator, a BA employee and with 5 years experience of the Rhino Charge
Ralph: His third Rhino Charge – Ralph’s a dab hand with anything mechanical, and a talented welder
Kevin: new to the charge – Dave’s colleague from BA
Phil: ex-army and ex-paramedic also new to the charge
Venus: retired - also new to the charge (and 4x4’s)
The next few days are full of stories from previous charges – as Dave, Mike and Ralph recall the highs, lows, fights and dangers I see the mixed emotions etched on the others faces – no one knows exactly what to expect – or how hard it may be.
Tuesday 29th May 2007
I’ve been updating Google Earth with the best quality maps of the area surrounding Kabernet and the Kerio Valley – hopefully it’ll come in useful when planning the car 52 Rhino Charge route. Whilst online, I check the weather forecast for the area – the news is not welcome, a 50% chance of rain on Thursday, 60% on Friday, 70% on Saturday (the day of the charge) and 80% on the Sunday.
The Rhino Charge is one of the toughest 4x4 offroad events in the world – the course is often extremely difficult in the dry – this year, the organisers have warned competitors that it will be extremely hot – they’re not expecting rain. News of rain really isn’t good.
Last year only three cars finished the race – the mud was waist deep and not all of the vehicles even made it to the start!
Once all of the modifications to the car are completed in a frenzied hurry we take her (the Raven) for a quick spin to the local ostrich farm. It’s a chance to try out the newest modification of no-roof – and a chance for Dave to check how the GPS is performing.
It’s a great view from up-top, we’re able to see much further than the driver – everyone agrees (except Dave) that having the roof off will help on the day. Dave’s reservations probably come from years of experience of all manner of insects landing on him.
That evening – Karin’s last one in Africa, we listen to yet more charge stories – and a cracking after dinner speech from Suzie – one of Mike and Marie-Louise’s many dogs.
For Karin’s last day, we’re heading off to the Giraffe sanctuary – home to 13 giraffes it’s a chance to see up-close the majestic animals we’ve already seen in the wild.
As Karin introduces herself to the largest female of the herd, I can’t help but notice that she doesn’t take her eyes off me.
I’m a little surprised to see how forward the girls are here.
It’s a great place, with friendly and helpful staff and also the worlds only two headed giraffe.
Saying goodbye to the Giraffe’s we headed to Karen Blixen’s house, just a few kilometres away.
The house may look familiar – it was featured in the film ‘out of africa’, and was home to Karen Blixen for many years. Unfortunately they’ve raised the price 600% in the last year, so we didn’t venture inside – instead headed for afternoon tea in the Karen Blixen tea rooms just around the corner.
I think Karin’s looking forward to the ‘luxuries’ like hot running water, a bed you needn’t pack up each day and milder climates.
It’s never nice when my travelling companions leave and I’m sad to see her go – we’ve had a great time together (when we’ve been out of the garages), I’ll miss you Karin!
Dolors arrived at the same time Karin left – so thankfully only one trip to the airport… Tomorrow morning, we’re off at 9am towards the Kerio valley – the Rhino Charge is now only 2 days away.
Thursday 31st May 2007
This morning there’s what can best be described as unorganised chaos, there’s a few more jobs Ralph, Kev and Dave are doing to the charge car – and we leave quite a lot later than expected at 11am – two hours later than planned, the cars roll out of whistling thorns.
I was stopped by a policeman on the way – the first time in Kenya, and had to bribe my way out of not having insurance – Mike calls ahead to Nakuru to arrange for me to pick up one months insurance on the way thorough. We arrived at the insurance office, and upon encountering the usual African delays, we’re now at least an hour behind the charge car and support vehicle.
It’s becoming dark as we turn off towards Kabernet, and the heavens have opened. It’s a torrential downpour – and I’m worried that we’re not going to find the campsite tonight without the other two vehicles. By now they’ve probably registered the car in Kabernet and on their way to the campsite at the event.
I needn’t have worried, as we climb the mountain towards Kabernet, we find both cars broken down with you guessed it – overheating problems.
The temperature gauge on the charge car has never worked – we’ve been trying to fix it for the last week – comparing gauges and sender units with my car led us to the conclusion that the two on the charge car were incompatible – it’s always in the red. Dave runs up to me through the rain as I pull over and tells me he’ll have my babies if I have a spare thermostat plug. He’s in luck – I have two due to the problems I’ve had over the last few months.
After having to cut out the blown plastic plug from the charge car thermostat, we hope that the head gasket isn’t blown and continue (slowly) towards Kabernet.
The rain isn’t easing up at all – after finding out the campsite is 80km from the registration point, 40km on roads, 40 on dirt tracks and across a river we decide to stay the night in the town.
Our hotel seems to have a termite problem – well at least tonight it does, there are hundreds of thousands of them flying all around the dining room – it’s breeding time, they’ve grown wings and flying for just this one day in the year.
Food takes some time to arrive – I’m the last to eat at just gone midnight, after a few too many beers we’re all off to bed – ready for the 80km drive in the morning.
Friday 1st June 2007
Thankfully the rain has stopped – which gives us some great views of the Kerio valley.
The dirt track has dried out – and we make slow but steady progress to the campsite.
Not long after setting up the mess tent the heavens open once again.
Bernhard and Moses (employees from whistling thorns) manage to cook up a feast despite the downpour as Dave goes to collect the GPS coordinates for the checkpoints and draw lots for car 52’s starting position.
Once we have the ordinance survey map and the checkpoint coordinates Dave and I set about planning the car 52 Rhino Charge route.
To win the Rhino Charge, you must pass through all 13 checkpoints – returning to your starting checkpoint with the shortest possible distance within 10 hours. Last year the winner completed the course (which was hundreds of kilometres away east of Nariobi) in 72 kilometres.
The 13 checkpoint coordinates are given to all teams at 5pm the day before the event. No competitors should know the whereabouts of the checkpoints before this time – it gives us only a few hours to plan the route.
Our planning isn’t helped by a typo on the coordinate’s sheet – the organisers state that the area is 37N, which puts the event by the Indian Ocean in Mozambique. Shortly after wasting an hour figuring out their mistake they came around to tell us what we’d just worked out – it was in fact 36N.
Using the OS map, Garmin Mapsource and Google Earth we start to get a feel for how tough it will be for the team tomorrow. Luckily, the huge mountains to the west don’t enter the equation – they’re insurmountable – the course is shorter than last year, and there are only a few obvious trouble spots which Google helps us avoid.
The teams starting position is Satao, from which they will drive south east to Braeburn, onto Unilever, Brook, Carousel, CFC, Goodyear, Vinyard, KWS, DT Dobie, TM AM, Ford, Hardie and back to Satao.
If the car were to travel in a straight line between these points (which never happens) the route would be 45.5km.
This image from Google Earth gives you a rough idea of the terrain – there are many river beds, which after the last few days may now be full and most of the terrain is covered in thick bush, huge boulders, thorn trees and dense vegetation.
After completing the planned route – those still awake head off to bed. It’s 10pm now, and the team must be up at 5am tomorrow morning, ready to leave at 6am.
On heading to the loo before retiring I give Mike the shock of his life – he’s in the loo tent and in his broad Yorkshire accent curses “FUKIN ELL! I’ve been ere for the last alf hour!” a few minutes later he emerges looking very poorly indeed – apparently the food he ate in Kabernet is causing him trouble.
Dolors and I will be in the support vehicle with Kimani tomorrow – the Charge starts at 7:30 am, we’ll leave to pick up the spectators map at 7am – breakfast (for us) is at 6:30.
Saturday 2nd June 2007
It’s ten to 6 in the morning. It’s still dark. There’s a huge bang on the tent – Dave’s outside yelling
“CHRIS, WAKE UP – WE NEED YOU IN THE CAR!”
Mike’s been ill all night, with no sleep, and absolutely no energy he’s unable to go on the charge. I go to jump in the back with the other runners to be told that I’ll be in the front – navigating.
Dave and Ralph are the only experienced offroad drivers – Dave will be doing the driving today, he has the most Rhino Charge experience, I have the most experience with Garmin GPS’s and navigation (after my last 4 months) so within 5 minutes, we’re off to the starting line and I’m still not sure whether I’m dreaming.
As I familiarise myself with the map once more – I begin programming the GPS with our first set of coordinates.
We arrive at the Charge HQ – just next to the airstrip (used by competitors with private planes and used to ferry out the injured). We need find our starting line and we need to verify with the organisers that we’re able to substitute me for Mike:
“As long as you know your blood group – no problem”
Came the answer.
“yep – O+”
(I lied)
Hoping that this was in fact my correct blood group, I’m only about 80% sure…
Each competitor has drawn lots for their starting checkpoint – we’re starting at Satao with five other cars – it’s one of the furthest checkpoints from the HQ so within minutes we’re the first convoy on our way.
Any route information we gain during this drive to our starting checkpoint could be of enormous help later – so at every turn and junction I’m busy creating waypoints on the GPS and OS map, noting exactly in which direction the tracks we’ve found head. The team at the back are able to stand up – spotting the tracks as I make my notes.
A new rule for this years charge is that you cannot travel more than 30% of the route on dirt tracks or roads – there’s obviously a fair amount of them throughout the area – but noting where they are as we see them is still worthwhile.
We arrive at Satao checkpoint at 6:45am, there’s egg, bacon, sausage and toast for breakfast (lucky as I’ve not yet eaten a thing) and most importantly coffee. Within a few minutes I’ve woken up and am finally aware that I am actually navigating in the Rhino Charge. I’d thought there was a small chance I’d get to be a runner at some point in the day (injuries unfortunately are common), but hadn’t expected this – there’s a fair amount of responsibility on me now but I can’t wait to start.
The navigators’ job is to find the best and shortest possible route to the next checkpoint. The organisers plan this event way in advance, making sure travel between each checkpoint has its challenges – ravines, luggers, rivers, forests, insects, cliffs, villages and wild game all stand in our way.
Our first job is to find out where all of our fellow Satao starters are heading for – after listening intently and having a peek at the registration sheets for the other cars it’s clear that most are heading for Unilever – not Braeburn (where we’re headed).
Unilever can be reached easily on the roads, or through the dense bush over the relatively flat ground – but having seen many potential obstacles from the satellite images provided by Google Earth between Braeburn and Brook (the route our fellow Satao starters will likely take) we’re hoping we have the advantage.
7:30 arrives and we’re off – I’ve already asked Kev and Phil to scout potential exits east out of the checkpoint but it seems this is quite an awkward spot – there’s cliffs to the north, we’re not heading west, so have to drive out on the track before darting into the bush past the road and heading east.
It’s pretty thick stuff and all of us newbie’s are getting a taste for what the day has in store for us. Every tree or bush we hit (about two every metre) sheds its thorns, branches and all manner of insects it was once home to into our car. Spiders, ants, stick insects, beetles, bugs I’ve never even seen before now have us as their temporary home.
It’s quite an experience to be charging through the bush like this – only large boulders, very large trees and insurmountable hills force us to change course – the rest is simply bulldozed.
It’s actually not as brutal as it sounds – the car’s path through the bush is similar to the carnage an elephant or rhino would create in a normal day – as there are so few now in the wild (compared to just a hundred years ago) we’re doing the job they used to do – allowing smaller creatures to venture through the thorn bushes and thick bush we’ve flattened for them.
Within half an hour we’re climbing a rocky hill – with three runners out in front, we’re only just establishing a good way to work – the idea is you have someone (most experienced) a few hundred metres ahead, in earshot of the next runner, who’s able to shout to the runner nearest the car (who I communicate with). The most experienced will be finding a path the land rover’s capable of driving through, the others relay this information.
The top of the hill brings quite a challenge – there’s a 40degree drop – across huge rocks into a leafy valley below – the rocks are too large, so we set about removing them or breaking them up, creating a path for the Raven to hurtle down.
The car’s going to need something to slow it on the rocky decent, Ralph begins tying ratchet straps to the back of the charge car – then to the only suitable tree at the top; as Dave descends all alone in the car, Ralph and I are taking up the strain at the back. We’re being pulled around like rag dolls as the car shoots down the hill – much to the amusement of the locals who’ve been following us for the last ½ hour.
Once on the flat ground below we’re all glad Dave and the car are still with us, we’re all back in the vehicle – and heading on a direct course for our checkpoint. Now travelling through just small trees and bushes, we’re making good progress. Braeburn takes us a total of an hour and 42 minutes to reach, 4.7km at an average speed of 3km/ph. (the shortest possible distance was exactly 3km).
It’s a long time for one checkpoint – if it’s like this all day – we’ll struggle to finish.
Thankfully, our next checkpoint was reached in just 30 minutes across easy terrain and using some of the existing tracks – we need to be careful about using roads, I’ll need to keep an eye on our 30% on-road allocation.
Brook and Vinyard are our last two destinations before “the gauntlet”, which is a cluster of three checkpoints on particularly difficult terrain. We’d initially planned to do the gauntlet before Vinyard, but as we head south – we find through the dense bush, the path of cars gone before us it’s heading straight for Vinyard – I change our route on the fly and direct Dave towards the furthest Eastern checkpoint.
Tracking where cars have gone is easy until you come to very rocky ground – occasionally we lose the tracks – but once found again we’re able to do both points in no time.
Each checkpoint brings some welcome refreshments – there’s home cooked food and cakes – ice cold energy drinks, cold wet towels and fresh fruit – all provided for competitors by the employees and families of the checkpoint sponsors. It’s a lot of fun entering each one – most have a great party atmosphere that we’re only briefly allowed to savour before I have to re-programme the GPS and find the best route out towards our next waypoint.
Its tiring work for those in the back – running over this terrain in this temperature and humidity is exhausting – Dave and I keep a check on who’s tired, and only send the team out when it’s absolutely necessary.
There came just one moment in the morning that was semi-suicidal, Ralph and Kev were out in front, climbing down the very steep hill in front of us – Phil communicating their instructions to Dave and I in the car. The call came to go ahead – Phil using our agreed hand signals telling us to come forward. Just as we’d come past the point of no return Ralph came running towards us screaming to stop – the call to come down was premature - a charge car has come down here today, but it’s incredibly steep and probably wasn’t done in an old Land Rover like ours.
Dave and I stop – jump out and look at the decent below – probably a 45degree drop if not more, 150 – 200m below there’s some flat ground and there’s no way back now. After a minute’s discussion and agreements on calls I’ll make while descending, we’re back in the car – both checking our harnesses and starting the engine for what feels like the last time.
We start off slowly – diff lock on, low ratio, first gear. The car’s fitted with air locks to lock the two rear wheels – now engaged. Dave’s driving is outstanding, every time traction is lost and the car lurches forward, he manages to somehow steer us past the danger points (large rocks and thick trees) and within moments we’re at the bottom with the rest of the team cheering.
Other cars were waiting at the top to see how we’d do before taking the plunge – they told Phil they took their hat off to us – now they’re gonna try.
Not before Phil and Venus were off the track mind – they were still heading down on foot when we heard the next charge car start the descent – luckily they didn’t meet each other at any point.
On the run from Vinyard to the first gauntlet checkpoint (Goodyear) we bend the steering trackrod – thankfully there’s a spare, but the steering is not in good shape. The noises whenever Dave is at full lock are horrendous – so Ralph does some excellent field repairs. We’re able to make it to the gauntlet– but are now conscious that the car’s in a bad way.
The gauntlet is where most of the spectators go to watch the race – it’s where you’ll find the highest concentration of cars (the rest of the time we’re all out in the middle of nowhere with about 2m visibility through the bush) In this photo you can see all three checkpoints, and get an idea of the kind of terrain we’re spending the day driving through.
The gauntlet is the most dangerous part of the course – normally at least a few cars turn over here so only Dave and I remain in the vehicle for the decent towards CFC and the ascent to Carousel. With hundreds of spectators cheering you on – it’s quite a buzz and a huge change from the solitude of the morning in the bush.
Dave’s no chicken; you have to be an aggressive driver to make it in one piece, or at least without looking like an idiot. As we’re coming down the first hill – with Venus and Kev alerting us on foot to the turns we need to make Dave puts his foot down for the climb to Carousel.
Once we’re near the top, the hill flattened out – the last 10m is up a steep incline, with one last big push we reach the Carousel checkpoint.
There’s two ways down – the steep way (not in our direction) or the easy way (in our direction), I felt like going the hard way despite it being in the wrong direction – the crowd wanted that too – but our steering is knackered and we have a long way to go.
We’ll have to do as much as possible from here on roads – the thread on the steering column is being nipped up by Ralph as needed – but if we continue to push it as hard as we have so far today, it won’t last long.
So far we’ve completed 8 of the 13 checkpoints in 6 hours 45 minutes – in just 23.8km.
From here to KWS, we’re taking the road – it’s quick and only Kev who’s responsible for having our route card stamped at each checkpoint leaves the vehicle. We’re off in no time to DT Dobie which proves more of a challenge.
After having to take a detour around a pipe that seems to go on forever (it’s a thin metal pipe laid straight over the ground – if we drive over it, it’s sure to break), we reach a largeish lugger, as we approach two guys in blue shirts come shouting and waving towards us. They’re from car 49, and have also bent their steering rod, mostly Brits, with a few South Africans they need to be pulled out. For the first time today, we’re using the winch.
It ends up taking about 20-25 minutes, and after pulling them up from the decent they’d attempted they advise us avoiding this little valley if we can, especially if your steering is bad – they’re going to go around and find the road… There’s only been a Unimog through here since they were stuck – and even they had problems.
We decide we must take the roads and dirt tracks if we’re to have a chance of finishing, en-route to DT Dobie we’re all aware that these extra kilometres will kill our score – but we’d rather finish with a long distance than not at all. If we finish with more than 30% on roads – we’ll be put into a different class, but we’ll still be in the finishing line-up.
TM AM and Ford were both reached via roads – which for me was painful (I had to watch the kilometres tick over on the GPS), but we’d done 12 of 13 checkpoints – only Hardi remained – and of course the return to our starting position – Satao. The time was now 16:45, we have just 45 minutes to do the 5.4km to Hardi and the 4.7km back to Satao.
I’ve just realised that I’ve lost my GPS – I brought mine along as a backup (it’s a slightly newer version than the one in use) I’ve only used it once all day – to check a waypoint I’d placed on the way into the event. I’ve lost it since using it, a very bitter blow. This Garmin GPS costs around $700, I can’t really afford to replace it – but I’ll have to. Tomorrow I’ll come back and check the two places I thought it could have dropped out of the car – but we’re in the middle of nowhere – and the chances aren’t good.
It’s just not enough time; even though we’d left these two checkpoints until last due to the flat terrain between them, with the small amount of time we have left, it’s impossible. As we descend from the Ford checkpoint into the bush grimaces from Dave are frequent due to the steering problems. If we continue we’re likely to need recovering when the steering finally dies and we’re almost certain not to finish – still I find it hard to give up – we’re so close, after just over 9 hours we’re 90% there – in the toughest offroad event in the world.
The decision was made after one final push into the bush that with now 35minutes left, there’s little point continuing. We’re retiring from the 2007 Rhino Charge.
On the way back to camp, the rain clouds begin to gather – we’re grateful they weren’t here earlier. Today’s been an excellent day – as a team we’ve worked well and the car’s done better than in any of the 6 previous years – 12 of 13 checkpoints is a car 52 record – it’s also a record they’re gonna break next year…
I’ve had a great day – I’m so pumped full of adrenalin I could go and do it all again… Then again I haven’t been running as much as the others – who are all totally exhausted. On returning to the camp, we receive a phone call at 5:30 from Mike – worried about us and hopeful of our return. Dave tells him we’re at the bottom of a ravine, the cars on its side, a right off and we’re waiting for a chopper to come rescue us. Moments later we roll into the campsite – finding a very relieved Mike!
He’s as happy to see us as we are to have completed 90% of the Rhino Charge with no major incidents.
It’s a real shame Mike wasn’t on the charge – he puts so much into this each year and you can tell he’s incredibly relieved by our safe return. Welling up, he greets us all and gives big hugs as we jump out of the charge car. He’s got a heart of gold (although it often doesn’t appear so!), I’m glad we’ve done as well as we have – I hope he’s proud of the team, everyone did a great job.
Sunday 3rd June 2007
Everyone’s off this morning – the camp’s being dismantled around us – Mike and the rest of the car 52 team are heading back to Whistling Thorns for some well deserved R&R. We’re not heading back to Nairobi – Uganda is calling us and we’re already most of the way there.
Dave (being the star that he is) offered to lend me the car 52 GPS for the remainder of my trip – it’s an incredibly kind offer, and he insists it goes unused between Rhino Charges – I gratefully accept - thanks again Dave, you’re a real lifesaver!
The charge car pulls out – and it’s even forced to tow a trailer all the way back to Nairobi!
After noticing that my steering is way out of alignment, I make some crude adjustments – it’s impossible to get it 100% right in the bush and without proper equipment, but it’s a lot better now – the road noise from the tyres has almost gone and I replaced a shattered gearbox mount.
I’m feeling a little happier about the state of M today. Just brake problems remain – something I’ll need to look into when we arrive in Kampala.
On the way out of the Kerio Valley Reserve, we stop to look for my GPS. One of the likely places it was lost was when I jumped out of the car to look for a route on the way to Ford. It’s fairly open ground, but muddy as hell – the GPS would probably have been buried by the rear wheels if it did fall out of the car when I opened the door – but I have to look.
Dolors can’t believe my luck – within 10 minutes of searching, I find it, lying in the mud, just by a small thorn bush and not far from the car tracks. I am a lucky bugger – and today I’m very grateful for it!
Dave – I’ll get your GPS back to you as soon as possible – It’s locked up securely in the back…
Dolors has found a cheap place to stay not far from Kabernet and the 2007 Rhino Charge event – Lake Baringo, to the east has a minimal entrance fee and a popular campsite. By mid afternoon we’re on our way – driving through the Kerio valley once more, taking in the stunning scenery as we meander along.
Roberts Camp, on the shores of Lake Baringo is our destination – it’s a well run, well placed campsite – a little on the expensive side (especially as there are no hot showers) but a welcome pit stop for us.
I’m totally exhausted after the Rhino Charge, it’ll take me two days to recover – this is a great spot for it – there’s a swimming pool next door we make good use of – and catch up on some well deserved sleep. The only interruption to sleep is the frequent visits by hippos in the night. We hear them around our tent, and catch glances of them as the security guards at the camp shoe them away with bright lights.
They’re enormous animals – and I have to get a photo of one for my good friend Jacob in Germany (who’s just turned 6 years old). At night they’re out of the water – and chomping away on the grass around us – but with my camera they’re impossible to photograph here – we’ll have to take a boat and see them in the water.
The only way to get to the water is to take a boat – the reeds and bush is too dense by the shores, and there’s lots of large crocs here.
There was a 2m long crock on the pier at Roberts Camp just a few moments before this picture was taken – thankfully they’re scared of people, so rarely attack.
You’ll also notice in that photo the island in the lake – it looks rather like a teddy bear laying in a huge puddle….
After a few days resting and eating, we head out for a sunrise boat trip across the lake. It’s teeming with wildlife – incredible birds, large crocs and huge hippos.
After buying some fish from the local fishermen
We’re off to feed the fish eagles… They fly over when our guide – Douglass calls them, they’re used to tourists providing them with a good meal – all we ask in return is a decent photo.
Before long, we spot the hippos, strangely today this family’s not in one group, but spread around a large area – only a few are in the open water, the rest hide in the long reeds.
There’s your first picture of a hippo Jacob – it was quite interesting as just after I took the photo as the large beast started to charge at us through the water. We’d ventured too close and he’s not happy about us being here.
We hope that the boats engine starts first time as he comes bounding through the water – creating huge waves as he gets closer.
It does start – and we leave him to his business – enough stress for him for one day. We’re reminded constantly of how dangerous these animals can be – just last night a woman was mauled by one as she tried to climb a tree to escape. Now in hospital, she’s OK – but with severe leg injuries.
Douglass – our guide from Lake Baringo suggests camping up on the cliffs overlooking the lake – there’s a stunning view, and it’s free. Not needing too much encouragement we head upto the cliffs and setup camp.
It’s really a spectacular spot, camped right on the cliff edge, our dining room has the most spectacular views of the lake.
The lake also has spectacular views of us – Muzungu camping on the hills!! Within no time, we have a few extra guests for dinner.
The kids are great – they’re truly curious about us – many have never touched a white person before and they take great delight in stroking our arms and poking us whilst giggling. Blonde hair (which I now have on my arms after 4 months of sun) is a total novelty to them.
We cooked a whole leg of goat, drank a few beers as the sun went down and settled into some great stories from Douglass – a highly recommended guide for Lake Baringo. If you’re passing there – and need a guide – call him (just e-mail me for his phone number).
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