Lake Turkana Day Three - Middle of Nowhere

After buying a small curio from a local we set off. I buy small curios from people that help me without expecting return or at least without pushing the "pay me" issue. This guy helped me try to find a freezer for our spoiling meet and so I bought a little container/drum from him. We never found a cooler and so our meet spoiled. About 40 dollars wasted!

We were on the road as the sun peaked over the horizon. It quickly became even more desert than before. I have great photos to share. You could look for 100 k's in each direction and not see another soul. We went this entire day without seeing another car on the road. Not one!

In the morning the desert has a cool breeze that feels perfect. By about 10 it is hot and sweaty. My left arm is really dark!

Besides the occasional shepherd that hangs out around the small rivers and water holes, we didn't see anyone or anything all morning. It was so much fun to be lost in the middle of nowhere in the desert of Northern Kenya. While looking at a map I realized how close I was to Darfur, Northern Uganda, and even a short flight from Iraq. It is strange to be so close to these places.

We arrived at the gate to Sibiloi around 1. Sibiloi national park is a large area of land made secure by Richard Leakey in an attempt to preserve the many fossils in the area as well as the diminishing population of wildlife in the area including Lions and Leopards. Elephants and Rhinos used to call the land home but poachers have eliminated them from the park.

The park is so far from civilization that no one ever goes there. So the gate guy was shocked to see us drive up as tourists. For the next 3 days, we would be the only visitors in the 100k by 100k park. The guard had to call his boss to figure out how to fill out the proper paperwork for visitors. The boss, a soldier, arrived with his South African model assault rifle. Nathan and him talked guns and military for a while. It was nice, even though I hate guns and the military. But it seemed to strike a chord with these two. It is so neat to interact with people that live such different lives than you do, especially when you find the common ground.

After an hour they finally wrote us a receipt and let us in to the park. We started seeing some neat wildlife like hippos and some beautiful antelope. We drove to Koobi Fora, the site of Richard Leakey's expeditions and I recognized some things from books that I have read. We paid 30 dollars for a tour of the museum that promised fossils from the site but to our surprise it was nothing more than small room with silly displays. We were soooooo pissed. The guy at the desk had no idea about anything to do with Koobi Fora. I would later lean that Richard handed the museum over when he went into wildlife conservation and that it would be taken over by incompetent idiots that can't get their act together.

As we approached the camp at Ileret where I would meet Louise Leakey, I became very nervous. I always get nervous with these types of things but especially now since I was exhausted, filthy, and showing up 2 days before I had said I would. We found the camp and told the guards (armed guards) that we should be expected by Louise and the team. They walked us down to the camp and there stood Meave Leakey and the team. She didn't smile but instead gave me this look of, who are you and why are you here. I told her that I was a writer and she said, very matter of fact, yeah, we were expecting you but not until two days. I just said, yeah, sorry, we got here faster than we thought.

When Louise arrived she gave us a quick tour but seemed very distracted and a bit annoyed. i wasn't sure if it was me or just with something else but it made me feel very anxious. The camp was made up of the smartest, most established scientists in the world. There were two students that were there as part of a grant. One a Masters program student from NYU, the other a PHD student from Harvard. Combined with Meave, Louise, Jim Ross, and others, these people were very accomplished.

We were warned about scorpions and snakes and then escorted to our beautiful canvas tent. Then told that dinner was in an hour. Were they really cooking dinner for us? I caught my breath in our tent for a moment and then went down to sit and chat with Sarah and Habiba, the two students, while waiting for dinner. Eventually we would walk down to watch the stars for a while. In the desert, the stars are better than anywhere I've seen in the world. We were joined by a joy of a man named Jim Ross. He is an old man that was there testing out a new method for dating rocks and fossils. But he was the only one of the senior crew to be so warm to us from the start. He was genuinely interested in who we were and why we were there.

Dinner was served and it was an elaborate meal. The Leakey's employ local workers to serve them, creating jobs and getting the local community involved. It is really cool the way they pay so much care to the Kenyan people and the people of Ileret.

Meave sharply asked me, "So, what is... why are you here?" I was on the spot. I knew that meeting these people would be intimidating but it was something I wanted to put myself through. So, choking up, I began. I explained that I was a screenwriter, from Hollywood, and working on a story about human evolution. I explained the rough idea of the story but I am afraid it came out much less focused than what I really have laid out for the script. But they all seemed fairly interested. All of these people are scientists, and academics. Like most academics, they are a bit quirky and not the easiest to talk to. They often speak very matter of fact and employ a very scientific vernacular.

I would grade my effort that first evening as a C-. There were a few awkward moments and I did not do a good job of making myself seem worthy of being there. But that is the pressure I put on myself.

As I laid in bed that night I couldn't sleep. I woke up every 5 minutes, eventually falling into a panic attack. It was the first time that I have ever had this happen. I had this painful feeling of anxiety and this fear of making a fool of myself. It was undoubtedly spurred on by a number of things. For one, I was aware that I was by far the least intelligent person at the dinner table, something I have never felt. Second, I blew my opportunity to make a strong first impression. While I didn't do or say anything awful, I didn't inspire anyone or gain anyone's interest in my story. Lastly, and probably most importantly, the medicine that I've been taking for Malaria prevention has a side effect of anxiety and depression. The entire night would be filled with sweat and heavy breathing and this knot in my heart like I was a kid that had been crying so hard as to wear myself out.

Lake Turkana Day Two - The Volcano field of Mt. Kulal

We woke up before sunrise and debated whether we had enough petrol or not. We had a full tank and 60 spare liters in containers in the back of our SUV. Since we still had about 700 kilometers before we would be able to fuel up, we weren't sure if it would be enough. We went to the petrol station to see what they thought and they let us know that we had a flat tire. Sure enough, the back right tire was very low and needed repair. So much for leaving before sunrise. It was a bit of a blessing in disguise.

2 hours and 3 dollars later we had a repaired tire when a guy asked us where we were going. After the killings the night before, I didn't want to tell complete strangers our whereabouts so I said to Nairobi. He said, "too bad you weren't going to Lake Turkana cause there are 2 French rastas that need a ride." We said, "Sweet, we will go that direction then!"

These two French Rastas (one guy had dreadlocks) came walking over and sure enough, we headed our direction. They could offer about 15 dollars a piece for the full day drive. We would enjoy the company so 15 dollars would be enough. Plus, extra people means more safety.

The day was great. No further problems. The landscape slowly became more and more desolate. The entire day we would see about 6 vehicles. We passed through a huge valley that stretched for as far as the eyes could see. It reminded me of south park Colorado. In the valley we saw wild ostrich, which, along with the camels we would see later was really funny and interesting to me. Wild ostrich? No way!

Further and further and it became more desert. One of the highlight of the trip was the feeling you get when you are hundreds of miles from the nearest town or village and you come across a Samburu, dressed in red paint, shukas, a spear, a mohawk, countless beads and decorations, just walking his ground. It is so strange and wonderful to see these people, completely different than anything you can imagine. I am told that young Samburu boys will go out and tend camels or sheep, alone in the desert, for weeks at a time. I can only imagine how lonely it must be.

We came to a small town, the last one before our night stop in Liongolani, and to our surprise there were old women waiting by the road with jewelry. Only 4 or 5 cars per week could pass through this remote village and yet these old women would wait by to sell things.

After this village it would be 100 k's and 4 hours before we arrived. The landscape became Martian as volcanic boulders the size of bowling balls began to liter the fields. The road was covered in sharp volcanic stones and it was a bit worrisome to drive through the hot desert thinking about a puncture. Finally, we got our first glimpse of the lake. It was beautiful. They call it the Jade sea but at this moment it was blue surrounded by a giant desert. Old volcanoes formed perfect cylinder around the lake.

We climbed slowly down the volcano field toward the lake. There wasn't a single tree anywhere in sight. As we got lakeside we saw a few Turkana people (they look similar to Samburus) pulling in nets and doing their daily things. The women go topless, and cover themselves in red paint. Some started running after the car asking for food or money. It was very sad. I have no idea how anyone can survive out here in the desert. There is very little to sustain them. We would later learn that the staple foods are camel milk and camel blood.

We gave 2 Turkanas a ride into town, about 10 k's. One, a woman that was topless. I have a great photo of our French guys in the back seat with this topless Turkana woman. She didn't speak any English except "give me money." I gave each of them a piece of bread which they devoured. The girl left paint on the back seat of our car. They both smelled horrible.

We arrived in the tiny town of Liongolani, a small village surrounded by palm trees. It was a tiny oasis in the desert. We would stay for the night but not until buying petrol at double price that it was in Maralal. Lesson learned, never cut it close with petrol. We would part with the Fenchies and thh next day would be all alone in the most literal sense.

Lake Turkana Day One - The beginning of an adventure

At 6:30 AM we left the comfort of our dingy hostel bed for the open road en route for Lake Turkana's North Eastern shores. We left early because we wanted to make good time, possibly arriving in a town called South Horr by nightfall. We didn't know what to expect of the road that we would take, only that it was going to be remote, difficult to navigate, and potentially dangerous. Our car rental salesman, Hallelujah, was convinced that the car we had was safe, the equipment that he rented us worked, and that we would have no problems. Of course, I never believed him.

The first several hours we spent on a tarmac road through some fair but not breathtaking scenery. The highlight was coming across the Great Rift Valley, a giant rift that overlooks a seemingly endless valley below. With hardly any traffic on the road, Nathan and I cruised out of town and into the more remote areas of Southern Kenya.

By early afternoon we reached the small town of Rimuruti, where the tarmac ended. It would be 5 days before we saw it again. We were greeted by a giant step back in time as the villages became more traditional and the people more colorful. The road was decent for a dirt road and every half hour or so we would see another car passing by. It was such an exciting and wonderful feeling, being in the middle of nowhere in Kenya. Little did we know that each kilometer would bring us further and further from civilization, and further from safety!

About 1:30 I noticed some large animals on the left side of the road about 200 meters out. We stopped and saw that they were Zebras! We had seen them before in protected parks like Kruger, but to see them out on the range in the wild, in this unprotected area really gave us the feeling of being in Africa. We would see hundreds of giraffes, zebras, antelope, and other animals walking right on this deserted road in front of us. It was amazing.

Near 3:30 we ran into a school bus that had braved the dirt road. This 50 year old bus carrying dozens of teenage girls somehow made it this far on the rough road but had broken down in need of some minor repairs. We offered our tools and the driver thanked us. The he told us to wait for him. He said that just hours before a group of "Texas cowboys" had raided the village ahead and killed 16 people, including children, stealing goods and cattle. The fear in his eyes was very real. "We will be safer as two than as one," he says. Our excitement quickly became fear. Later we would learn that the slaughter was a clash between Pokot and Samburu people and that it was a tribal thing, never ever directed at tourists.

When we arrived in the town of Maralal it was approaching nightfall and we decided that we would stay here for the night, not wanting to drive at dark. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. No not thee Hard Rock Cafe. Just some tiny disgusting restaurant that served some type of unidentifiable meat, either a reddish fish or a pinkish beef. In Africa, you always see stores that have popular names like "Wal-Mart" even though it is just a small local hut, or "Applebees" even though it is just the same as every other restaurant.

We camped out at the safety of a place called Yari Camel Club, a nice hostel 3 k's from town. There we met some local Samburus, one of the many traditional groups of people in Northern Kenya. Most were getting wasted at the bar. Samburus are like Maasai in that they are tall, skinny, wear red and traditional decorations. But the Samburus seem even more traditional. More wild.

For 2 US Dollars we were able to sleep in our tent, outside beneath Billions of stars and the sounds of Northern Kenya's plains. It was a full day of beautiful drives and no problems! That would quickly change.