Final Days in Africa

Well it's been a great few days since my last post in Jinja but this will be my last post in Africa. Currently sitting in a internet cafe in Nairobi reflecting on my time in the Dark Continent.

Last blog post I was in Jinja, having been white-water rafting me, Ben and 3 others from our group when quad-biking. The course was around an area just outside of Jinja. We biked through many villages which was great fun but then a little off-putting because I couldn't help feeling like I was being a public disturbance. I reckon some of the fee we paid for the quad-biking went to the villagers (at least I hope it did). The evening was fairly uneventful, just packing and getting ready to leave Jinja.

Sunday we left Jinja and Uganda and went to Kisumu in Kenya. We didn't have transport like in Uganda so we caught a public bus. However we weren't sure how we were getting to the bus station. Next thing an entire fleet of boda-bodas (motorcycle taxis) arrived, one for each person and a car to take our luggage. So there was us on 11 boda-bodas riding along to the bus station a few minutes outside of town. Was quite a sight. When we arrived at the bus station we waited for the bus to arrive. However when it did we were told that there wasn't enough space for all our luggage. The solution being to wait for another bus a few minutes behind and load our luggage onto that. We were a little worried about that but we went along any way. We then had to deal with the border crossing which was a fairly painless affair. Just a bit of waiting around for those who hadn't sorted their visas beforehand, then it was off to Kisumu. After arriving in Kisumu (thankfully our luggage made it as well) we checked into the hotel and went on a tour of the market (Kisumu means place of bargaining). Very interesting tour of the market which wasn't directed to tourist so it was a genuine place. We did get hassled by someone constantly trying to befriend us and get money of us but he left when he realised that we were heading toward the police station (according to our guide he could get 30 years prison for hassling us, have to say I didn't believe that). The evening was spent chatting in the hotel restaurant.

Monday morning was spent on a boat tour around Lake Victoria. We were told a lot about the local fishing villages and even got to visit one. We also went through some swamps and saw more wildlife. We had lunch at a local restaurant which was a very nice place but they often ran out of things. Ben didn't receive anything he initially wanted, the funniest example being when the waitress misheard his request for Lasagne as Tanzanian Fish Curry. He wasn't best pleased when his dish arrived. In the afternoon me and Ben wondered round Kisumu but to be honest there wasn't much there so we went back to the hotel and relaxed there. In the evening the group went out for dinner. Had a fantastic waiter who was very funny (he pretended that he'd misheard my order).

Tuesday was spent driving to the Maasai Mara. After some very interesting roads (I say roads) which resulted in us fishtailing many times and one truck getting stuck we arrived at our campsite. We had lunch and went out for a game drive. We managed to see our first Lion of the trip but it was slightly ruined by some of the other tourists (there were a total of 25 safari vans around these Lions, there were 7 of them). Still managed to see loads of animals.

Wednesday was a full day spent in the Mara. We left our campsite at 6.30 for an early morning game drive and spent 6 hours out in the park. The afternoon we visited a Maasai village and were shown around and shown the traditional dances etc. The evening we went on another game drive. We then had dinner with another tour group that had arrived. New animals we saw in the Mara included Impala, Lion, Thompson's Gazelle, Topi, Eland, Black-Backed Jackal and Bat-Eared Fox.

Thursday morning we had another game drive which was made memorable by two things. First we spotted two Lions and managed to get extremely close without having any other vans around. The second was seeing two ostriches mate. One of the funniest things I've seen. Can't really describe it here so contact me if you want me to. We then departed the Mara and drove on to our final destination, Nairobi. After a few stops including a church built bu Italian POWs we arrived at our hotel at around 4. We then showered etc and prepared to go out for our final dinner. Destination - Carnivore.

For those of you who don't know Carnivore is a restaurant that predominantly deals in meat. You go in and for a set price can eat as much meat as you can. Usually they have lots of exotic and different meats but the government is clamping down on people illegally providing game meat so the choice was a little limited. At the final count we had 6 different animals. The price also included soup starter and dessert. The restaurant itself is huge with an awesome atmosphere and we all had an incredible time there. We then said our goodbyes to the people who were leaving early the next day.

That brings us to today. Me and Ben are spending the next two days in Nairobi before flying back home tomorrow evening. It's been a great trip and we've met loads of people. Unfortunately we've also had to say goodbye but these things happen.

Just realised how much I've written. Hope you enjoyed it and till next time.