13/02/19 We left the camp site at 8am and
stopped by the great rift valley view point on the way to Maasai Mara. I saw
cute stone hippos in the gift shop but I think we will see more later so I
didn’t buy any.
We stopped later for bathroom and the gift shop nearby had nice items but not
the hippos I like. Our 3rd stop is the supermarket to get water and cash at the
ATM.
On the way, we passed many police controls who randomly ask you to stop for a
check.
After 4h of driving on tarmak roads, we started a journey of more than 2h of
tracks to reach Talek Bush Camp. Very bumpy ride at 30km/h, perfect for 4WDs
(Brice and Jono this one is for you!). Simon mentioned that there is another
road but it takes longer.
When we got there and took my luggage out of the van, they were covered in
brown dust. It has been dry for a very long time here, the rainy season should
start next month.
The camp is very clean including my tent (with private bathroom and mosquito
net around the bed ?)
and the restaurant. They also have a brand new fancy pool, very unexpected in
the middle of nowhere. They even have wifi! Even if it is currently not
working. The place opened a month ago as the team expanded from another camp
nearby.
I received a fresh towel and welcome drink on arrival in the reception building
decorated with Maasai fabrics.
They served me lunch, veggies with rice and some fruit for dessert. The service
and attention to detail were impressive!
I chilled for an hour and Simon took me on a game drive for 2 hours before sundown.
We saw cheetahs, lions, elephants, gazelles, buffalos and ostriches.
At dinner I met a young couple from the UK and a guy from Egypt.
14/02/19 This morning we went for another game drive but around 10.30am,
Simon’s nose started to bleed. He rested for a while but as the bleeding didn’t
stop, he drove up to a mini camping lunch area inside the park to lay down in
the shade. He kept saying that he felt fine but I could see he was not. I
offered to drive him to the health centre (luckily it was just outside the
park!) as I started to worry.
There Simon quickly saw a doctor and he gave him an injection to finally stop
the bleeding. I learned that it was due to high blood pressure, a condition
that his father also suffers from. Simon didn’t have breakfast in the morning
and as it was getting hot in the van the bleeding started. The doctor said he
would be ok but needed to rest so we went back to camp, cancelled the visit to
the Maasai village in the afternoon and Simon slept through until the next day.
We only drove for 2.5h but I still had the chance to see hyenas, hippos, a
silver fox, hut beasts and mangooses that I haven’t seen yesterday.
15/02/19 I offered to drive at least a part of the trip but Simon seemed ok to
drive so didn’t let me. We lelft Maasai Mara around 8am and drove back to
Nairobi. We stopped for a mini buffet lunch on the way and went back to Karen
camp where the previous driver dropped my jacket left in his car so we could
pick it up before going to the hotel I booked next to the airport.
The room is very clean and the bed comfy, but there is no seat on the toilet
and no mirror but it is no big deal. The staff is super friendly and they
offered to pick up some milk for me.
16/02/19 I took an Uber to get to the city market where I was hoping to find a
giraffe statue I saw in a gift shop before. Victor, the driver was very nice
and told me his story in the way. As I was not super confident to go there on
my own we agreed I will pay him to come with me to the market, stop by the ATM,
supermarket and drive back to the hotel. I am so glad I found him because the
people at the market were extremely pushy. Victor managed to pay a security
guard to park on a loading zone so we could easily and quickly go where we
needed to.
As I could not find the statue I was looking for, Victor took me to 2 other
markets without luck.
I was back at the hotel for lunch and chilled for the rest of the day.
17/02/19 The hotel driver took me to JKI airport in Nairobi in the morning. It
was weird because there was no traffic at all, very different from the rest of
the week. Madagascar here I come!
