Walking around the village
Narok to Naivasha and Hell's Gate National Park, Kenya, Africa - 5th November 2010
The next leg of our honeymoon in Kenya takes us back up the unbelievably-potholed road to Narok and Mai Mahui and then left towards the town of Naivasha, or more precisely the lake nearby. Apparently home to the largest expat population in Kenya, as well as hungry, hungry hippos, it's a popular stop on the regional safari circuit. We spend just one night there, but cram in a boat trip on the lake and watching hippos graze at night. The next day, Will gets hold of a bunch of bikes so we can cycle around Hell's Gate National Park, just up the road from the lake and one of only two parks in Kenya where walking or cycling are permitted. Nosher's bike barely makes it up driveway to the park entrance before the chain snaps, and so an alternative bike is sourced. From there, it's a nice cycle around - although the bike is too small - and we get to see a bit of the local wildlife: giraffes, warthogs, gazelles and numerous birds. We park the bikes at the ranger station and then head off for an energetic but rewarding hike through the gorge and generally get shown up by the hordes of school kids out for a ramble who clamber up and down the rocks and trees like there's nothing to it. At the end, we return the bikes and drive back to Nairobi.
next album: Long Train (not) Runnin': Tiwi Beach, Mombasa, Kenya - 7th November 2010
previous album: Maasai Mara Safari and a Maasai Village, Ololaimutia, Kenya - 5th November 2010
People look like they're off camping
A load of washing on the line
Sheep are herded past a pond
A herd of donkeys
A woman in the bush
We're back on (or off) the road
A goat herder
We stop off at a 'truck stop'
Souvenir belts, and bananas for sale
Isobel gets a coffee in the café
The Cactus Bar
Bundles of road-side wood for making charcoal
A street scene in Narok
Outside the Narok Highway Pharmacy
A petrol station by the Meeyu Bookshop
Construction work in Narok
A lorry park in Maai Mahiu
An ancient car sits on old tyres in Maai Mahiu
The Musafi Hotel does chips, apparently
Shops in the rain, Maai Mahiu
The bucolic Fisherman's Camp by Lake Naivasha
A view out over Lake Naivasha
Isobel and a bottle of waiting Tusker beer
Isobel in a pizza café
Nosher and Isobel
Isobel and Will stride out to the boat
Will and Tony: a study in orange and green
A random dock-side stall
Isobel surveys the lake
Nosher, with a stubble thing going on
Tony, Isobel and Nosher
A heron perches on a flimsy tree
Pelicans hang around
A pelican takes to the air
Floating lily pads and spindly trees
A blurry hippo
More floating lilies, and a calm Lake Naivasha
A hippo out to graze, only metres from the bar
Our cabin's facilities
The bathroom 'sink'
Isobel sorts out the ever-present mosquito net
Our cabin
Another view of our camp
Isobel heads off
Our luxury apartment
A Splendid Starling pokes about
A side street overlooking the lake
Will cycles a rented bike towards Hell's Gate
Isobel and Will on the dusty road
We cycle into Hell's Gate
Cycling around near Fischer's Tower at Elsa Gate
Isobel pauses so we can catch up
Isobel nearly misses the giraffe in the trees
A large eagle or falcon surveys the scene
Isobel by a picnic spot
We clamber down in to the gorge
Perfect layers of sedimentary rock
The going is tricky and wet in places
Will and Isobel walk along the dried riverbed
Isobel stops for a moment
Years of graffiti carved in to the sandstone
Will and Isobel in the gorge
Isobel pauses with a group of school children
Another 'school photo'
Nosher and Isobel wait to climb down
A crowd of schoolgirls waits for us to pass
One of the boys has taken a shine to Isobel
A lad fills his bottle with hot water
Isobel takes an impromptu shower
Inspecting the warm water
Nosher and Isobel back on top of the gorge
Will is overwhelmed by dust from a passing van
Another pause on the bikes
Authentic roadside grub at Maai Mahiu
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Walking around the village
Walking around the village
People look like they're off camping
A load of washing on the line
Sheep are herded past a pond
A herd of donkeys
A woman in the bush
We're back on (or off) the road
A goat herder
We stop off at a 'truck stop'
Souvenir belts, and bananas for sale
Isobel gets a coffee in the café
The Cactus Bar
Bundles of road-side wood for making charcoal
A street scene in Narok
Outside the Narok Highway Pharmacy
A petrol station by the Meeyu Bookshop
Construction work in Narok
A lorry park in Maai Mahiu
An ancient car sits on old tyres in Maai Mahiu
The Musafi Hotel does chips, apparently
Shops in the rain, Maai Mahiu
The bucolic Fisherman's Camp by Lake Naivasha
A view out over Lake Naivasha
Isobel and a bottle of waiting Tusker beer
Isobel in a pizza café
Nosher and Isobel
Isobel and Will stride out to the boat
Will and Tony: a study in orange and green
A random dock-side stall
Isobel surveys the lake
Nosher, with a stubble thing going on
Tony, Isobel and Nosher
A heron perches on a flimsy tree
Pelicans hang around
A pelican takes to the air
Floating lily pads and spindly trees
A blurry hippo
More floating lilies, and a calm Lake Naivasha
A hippo out to graze, only metres from the bar
Our cabin's facilities
The bathroom 'sink'
Isobel sorts out the ever-present mosquito net
Our cabin
Another view of our camp
Isobel heads off
Our luxury apartment
A Splendid Starling pokes about
A side street overlooking the lake
Will cycles a rented bike towards Hell's Gate
Isobel and Will on the dusty road
We cycle into Hell's Gate
Cycling around near Fischer's Tower at Elsa Gate
Isobel pauses so we can catch up
Isobel nearly misses the giraffe in the trees
A large eagle or falcon surveys the scene
Isobel by a picnic spot
We clamber down in to the gorge
Perfect layers of sedimentary rock
The going is tricky and wet in places
Will and Isobel walk along the dried riverbed
Isobel stops for a moment
Years of graffiti carved in to the sandstone
Will and Isobel in the gorge
Isobel pauses with a group of school children
Another 'school photo'
Nosher and Isobel wait to climb down
A crowd of schoolgirls waits for us to pass
One of the boys has taken a shine to Isobel
A lad fills his bottle with hot water
Isobel takes an impromptu shower
Inspecting the warm water
Nosher and Isobel back on top of the gorge
Will is overwhelmed by dust from a passing van
Another pause on the bikes
Authentic roadside grub at Maai Mahiu