Kenya: Dry North gives way to a tropical climate

For the last 400km we fail to realise you drive on the left because there are no roads and no traffic.

A bus just drives on sand tracks next to the actual road

Tarmac!!! Just.. Which explains why the traffic prefers going off piste

Usual 1pm break in the shade to wait for the hottest part of the day to pass. The solar panel I carry manages to charge everything in this sun!

Desert. Although there’s a huge lake, it’s salt water so can’t be used for irrigation. Even the ground water is salty. There’s no soil, only sand. All in all there is not much that can be done with this land

Very unpleasant surface for cycling. The road network in this part is like bad acne of the face of Kenya. This is what links a provincial capital to the rest of the country?!?!

Soon some altitude lowers the heat and mountains generate some rainfall. We have left the desert behind. No more nights trying to sleep dripping in sweat –  it’s just really itchy

There’s gold in the water..

In a moment of traffic chaos Aurelien must fight for his space on the road

What look like main roads on the map turn out to be not so main

The most common breakfast is chapati.

Vervet monkeys. They stole one of my mangos.

Aureliens fan club. It’s made up from the entire contents of a school that spotted him and poured out to greet him, very vocally. It’s the teachers I feel sorry for!!

Alleluia says my derriere.. A real Road at last after 800km of sand / gravel / potholes / rocks / clay..

Intex, the Indian construction company responsible for the road. The project manager on my right, Jagdish, flags us down and invites us to the construction compound for the night. On arrival we are given quarters and share curry and conversation with the other Indian engineers. A memorable evening.

Lake Baringo

Wild Ostrich, shutting around like it owned the place.. The are really big!

Road rescue.. In the wrong place at the right time.. (what you don’t see is the BBQ we built just outside this picture)

First crossing of the famous line..

This is what it looks like on GPS

What it is and why they grow it.. We never found out. Answers on a postcard..

What Kenya is also famous for… Tea. The sudden green comes with a gain in  altitude and proximity to Mt Kenya. We cycle past the mountain but can’t see anything due to the rain and cloud

It’s the Tina Turner bird!! Also known as the ‘East African Crowned Crane’

How do I know this???  They have trained the same specimen to stand very still in the Nairobi museum..

Clay roads are a pleasure to cycle on… Until that is, it starts to rain. Then it’s a pain in the arse.

Countryside on the outskirts of Nairobi

Weavers tending their nests