This past summer I had to take many driving trips in the US
and it highlighted for me how I feel about driving in Kenya vs. the States. Driving
in the States is so easy and enjoyable compared to driving in Kenya. As someone who doesn’t really love being in
cars, has no appreciation for the machine itself, and has some driving anxiety, I don’t really appreciate the driving experience at home or in
Kenya. I do like to travel and enjoy being able to see the scenery wherever I
am, so it is a bit of a conflict. In Kenya,
the conflict persists because not only does driving into the unknown
often cause a sense of unease, there’s
also sometimes the physical discomfort
of having your teeth practically bounced out of your head or your head racked
on the ceiling of the car. Yes, driving
on some of the unpaved roads here is
both good and bad because there are so many opportunities to experience Kenya
in a way one normally would not.
On trips in the US, I always go prepared, which is essential for any trip, but frankly, the level of preparedness is all relative. In the
states, for instance, you can have a roadside emergency card, like AAA and feel
confident that that will work. Also you can get maps that are accurate, or
mostly, and you now can, of course, use GPS if you are smart enough to have it
(which I am not apparently!). The nice
thing also in the US is that there are roadside stops where you can take a
break, stretch your legs, go to the bathroom, and look at a large wall map (yes, I like maps). Of course, from my
perspective, there is way too much garbage on the side of the road and very
little variety; too many fast food joints, cheap hotels, lighted up byways, and
big billboards, making the highway driving rather unappealing from an aesthetic
perspective. But, honestly, the highway system in the US is a wonder and makes
long drives so easy. The signage, the lane delineations, the shoulders, the safety aspects, like guardrails and
warning signs, the lighting, the
roadside stops, the convenient coffee and food, hotels and parks; all of these
make for such simple driving, you can almost do it with your eyes closed !
I recently had a
hairraising trip home from Montreal by myself after dropping Jeannette there in
August. It was not supposed to be a difficult drive because Windsor, Ontario,
where the international bridge is, is a straight shot from Montreal on one
road. However, I had a heck of a time finding a hotel and ended up driving sort
of incessantly, getting more and more frantic and I felt I was in an Alfred
Hitchcock movie as I couldn’t see anything except the car in front of me.
Unlike in the US, not every town in Ontario has a selection of hotels off the highway,
it turns out. And bless those Canadians, their exits are not even very well lit
up. It’s actually really dark in Ontario at night! And their signage is
different too….since they are not promoting many businesses off the highway,
there are not a million signs forewarning you when a hotel or restaurant is
coming up. They do have these roadside “oasis” things, that have a coffee shop,
a Tim Horton’s, and bathrooms (they are also LEED certified which is
remarkable), but they are not that frequent and there are no hotels at those
stops. So, needless to say, I ended up driving and driving and driving into the
night, getting more and more tired, a little freaked out, and finally, when I
got to Windsor, where the international bridge is, I stopped, thinking I would
find a hotel. However, turns out there was a big baseball tournament and a lot
of construction too, making access to the city a bit confusing, at 2 am. After checking probably 6 more hotels, and
finding no rooms available, I got directions to cross the bridge, got quite
lost looking for it again, and then I ended up driving to Dearborn, MI and getting a
hotel there. 13 hours later! Not my idea of a fun day or drive but I did learn
a valuable lesson or two. I’m just glad I didn’t run into any moose on the road
as the many signs were forewarning me!
I recently returned to Kenya and was immediately immersed
into the world of driving again because Michael picked me up in Nairobi and the
following day we drove the 6 hours back to Eldoret. One never knows what one is
going to find upon the roads here, but fortunately we had good luck and the
highway which is in much better shape than it was 2 years ago, was actually
somewhat clear.
Then, last weekend, Michael and I took a drive to the Masai Mara, a large nature preserve in
Kenya, bordering Tanzania. We have a small older Rav 4 with 4 wheel drive which
we have fixed up and it runs pretty well. I call it the “blue bomb.” Michael
has a penchant for taking the road less travelled, or the back way, partly
because it’s “part of the adventure” but also because we see and run into interesting
things/people. However, instinctively,
by now, we should know that this is not always a great idea. We left Naivasha,
where we had camped on Thursday night, and headed to Narok, which is sort of
the gateway to the Masai Mara, by back road. We were told that the road was
“ok” and that with our 4 wheel drive, there should be no worries (hakuna matata!). Well…suffice it to say
it was not anything like driving on a back road at home. Not even in Brown Co,
where the signage is not all that good. First of all, the road was really not
built for cars and this we deduced after we noted that we were probably the
only vehicle on the road…everyone else was on a small motorbike, much better
able to maneuver on this very rutted, very bumpy track. There was no shoulder,
and of course no signs or bathrooms or rest stops. We did have snacks with us,
and plenty of water. Fortunately, we had 2 large bottles of water because the
car began overheating as we climbed up and up into the hills. On the plus side, it was a
beautiful region, covered in small farms and huge wheat fields, and something
we would never have seen had we taken the main road. We stopped multiple times
to let the radiator cool off so we drew a fair amount of attention from
passersby and were continuously reassured by people on the road that where we were
going was, in fact, quite far.
The funny thing is you really have to be careful who you ask
here for directions or travel
information. For one, many people don’t drive so they don’t really
understand distances. In fact, most people will tell you that the road is good
and that wherever you are headed is far. Very reassuring, except that usually
the road is not good and where you are going is not very far, kilometers-wise,
but seems far, because with public transport, there is a lot of
waiting around and the vehicles are not in good shape, and the roads are
terribly bumpy so they take a long time to get through! So, it really does not pay to ask. It was a lovely dad, at first, but soon enough we could
see large billowing rain clouds forming and feel that the light rains were
about to begin. The road got a bit better and there was more truck and car
traffic, as we got closer to Narok, and then it started raining. Because of the rain, it became very slick and sticky. A bit of a cross between
peanut butter and molasses with a deep dark rich hue. Since I was wearing
sandals and knew I would not be very helpful if we did get stuck, I found myself “praying” that we wouldn’t. Thankfully, my hubbie, Michael “let’s take the
back way” Greven, is a great driver and was able to get us all the way to Narok
safely. There, we found a mechanic who
happened to have the fan that we needed for our Toyota. Not only that, we were
able to convince him to give us a good price rather than the price for “
wazungus” so we did not end up paying an arm and a leg for it. Soon, we were on
our way to the Mara , happy in the knowledge that our vehicle would not
overheat again.
We spent a lovely day in the Mara the next day, seeing lots
of wild animals and enjoying what is simply one of the most beautiful places on
earth. The Masai Mara Reserve is surrounded by conservancies and we continued
our day long drive into the next conservancy, having decided to go out of the
western side and drive again through the countryside towards Eldoret. Instead of staying the night on the
conservancy, we left around 5 pm, thinking we would find a place to camp or a
small hotel nearby the gate. We also needed fuel at that point and we were told
by the people at the gate that we could find fuel nearby. Not so. In fact, we
drove on this dirt road for about 5 kilometers after exiting the gate only to
be surrounded by small Maasai villages and the only other thing on the road
were herds of cows and their shepherds. It was a nice enough road, aside from
all the cows that we had to drive behind, but then, as it began climbing, it
became more and more bumpy. Nightfall was approaching and there was nary a
guest house or campsite in view. I was becoming a bit anxious but didn’t say
anything because I knew my super driver would take offense and/or just reassure
me that we would find something soon.
We began to wonder where we were and if we had missed a
turn. We had a map but it was difficult to say if we were on the road to the
big main road, which we were seeking. The map has different colored lines, like
most road maps, but they don’t really seem to indicate anything specific. Finally,
we started seeing a few signs for campgrounds and then a few safari vehicles,
one of which we stopped. Noone seemed to have heard of the town that we were
heading to in our search for fuel. It definitely could have been our
pronunciation, or it could have been that these people were driving from
Nairobi and weren’t that familiar with the small villages either. The safari
vehicle driver got out, wearing a big friendly smile, happy to help us. His
English was good and he indicated that we should take the next left and continue straight on that road as it was a short cut to the big road, in
35 kilometers, he reassured us. He was very confident seeming, especially when he said it was a good road. So, we
bombed on up the hill; the road was more stone than dirt and I personally was
fearful for the underside of our vehicle. There were many holes, ditches,
gulleys, and large puddles filled with black water, which were a bit difficult to traverse, but MG
did it. We commented a few times how pleased we were that we had gotten the car
fixed in Narok, as this driving would have been killer on our radiator.
We got up onto a rise above the Masai Mara just as the sun
was setting and we stopped to check the level of moisture in a particularly
difficult passage. I was amazed by the surrounding beauty and at the same time
wondering where in the heck we were gonna end up! We continued on driving
driving driving, plunging over large pot holes, through mucky puddles and narrowing
passageways, where there was no one around. I said to Michael, “ well, we could
probably set up a tent around here and just sleep rather than driving at night.
“ I’m not sure he heard me because he did not respond and then a couple of
minutes later I saw an extremely large warthog by the side of the road and
thought, “well, actually, camping out in the open maybe isn't such a great
idea!” So we kept on. And on. And on. It
definitely was not 35 kms and even MG was exhausted and frazzled by the stress
of driving in such conditions and with little fuel, not knowing where we were
going to find any.
Once we got a bit closer to the town where the big road
supposedly was, there were people all over the place too…bicycles, children,
people carrying stuff, motorbikes, etc. And it was pitch dark. Not even the
little shops on the side of the road had any lighting. We
were startled several times by people hawking vegetables in the dark and found
ourselves wishing the roadside was wider at each turn. We did finally find the
main road, took it to the next small town and got some fuel, then on about 12
more kms on another pitch dark but fortunately paved road to a bigger town that
actually had a real hotel and a cold beer for the driver! So, another lesson
learned….driving at night here is not easy nor is it safe especially when you don’t
know where you are and you can’t be sure to get help! No AAA here for sure. We
do have plans for many more driving trips over the next 8
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| in the hills above the Rift Valley |
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| no getting around this guy as he was slippin' and slidin' |
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| first down truck we saw |
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| Masai village |
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| sunset over the Mara |
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| tea fields near Nandi Hills |
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