Posted by: Jonathan
I arrived into Nairobi at three A.M., collected my bags, and waited until eight to catch a taxi to my hostel a few minutes outside the city center. I spent the day exploring Nairobi on foot and picking up a few supplies. Nairobi seemed perfectly safe during the day but I must admit it is probably the sketchiest place I have ever been during the night. I walked into a restaurant at sun set and by the time I left darkness had engulfed the city. The streets were frighteningly empty, no pedestrians, no traffic, no parked cars, and no open establishments. I traveled about a block on foot looking for a taxi when I realized that I was about to get the raw end of some unwanted attention. Four guys were standing on the opposite street corner holding pipes, rebar, and wooden rods. The foot chase was on, for five blocks my sandals have never carried me faster. Part way down the sixth block I saw an open club down a side street, the Edge Club. The bouncers at the door smiled and waved me in off the street saying hakuna matata which as I am sure you know (from Disney's The Lion King) means no worries. Which was probably the most comforting thing anyone could have said to me at that moment, especially since they were 6' 6", 300 lbs, cradling AK-47s, and had chains to german shepherds. Being the only white person in a local dance club in downtown Nairobi, Kenya is more than just a fish out of water, maybe more like a fish out of water on the summit of Everest. Luckily, everyone was overly friendly, offering me drinks, showing me the local dance, and even called a taxi to take me home.
First thing the next morning I hopped on the overland truck for my 42 day journey south to Cape Town.
I arrived into Nairobi at three A.M., collected my bags, and waited until eight to catch a taxi to my hostel a few minutes outside the city center. I spent the day exploring Nairobi on foot and picking up a few supplies. Nairobi seemed perfectly safe during the day but I must admit it is probably the sketchiest place I have ever been during the night. I walked into a restaurant at sun set and by the time I left darkness had engulfed the city. The streets were frighteningly empty, no pedestrians, no traffic, no parked cars, and no open establishments. I traveled about a block on foot looking for a taxi when I realized that I was about to get the raw end of some unwanted attention. Four guys were standing on the opposite street corner holding pipes, rebar, and wooden rods. The foot chase was on, for five blocks my sandals have never carried me faster. Part way down the sixth block I saw an open club down a side street, the Edge Club. The bouncers at the door smiled and waved me in off the street saying hakuna matata which as I am sure you know (from Disney's The Lion King) means no worries. Which was probably the most comforting thing anyone could have said to me at that moment, especially since they were 6' 6", 300 lbs, cradling AK-47s, and had chains to german shepherds. Being the only white person in a local dance club in downtown Nairobi, Kenya is more than just a fish out of water, maybe more like a fish out of water on the summit of Everest. Luckily, everyone was overly friendly, offering me drinks, showing me the local dance, and even called a taxi to take me home.
First thing the next morning I hopped on the overland truck for my 42 day journey south to Cape Town.
The idea is the truck drives through each country stopping in various locations for two to three days at a time and you have the freedom to venture from there to see or do what you wish as long as you find your way back to the truck before it departs . As the truck makes its way between big stops, we camp in tents and help the chef prepare meals. All the packing, unpacking, cleaning, food prep, washing, and tent pitching is divided up and done by those on the truck with the duties changing daily.
Our first day we crossed the border from Kenya into Tanzania and made camp in Arusha. The truck parked there for three days allowing us to explore the wildlife rich surroundings. Myself and five others took a jeep on a two night three day safari in Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. We woke early (5 A.M.), took our tents down in the pouring rain, and headed into the Ngorongoro Crater. Luckily as we drove down into the world's largest unbroken caldera the rain stopped and the clouds parted for our animal viewing pleasure.
Watching it on National Geographic is cool but seeing a pride of lions bring down a buffalo and fend off the hyenas while they destroy 1,500 lbs of meat in real life is beyond surreal.
I could have spent months watching all the different animals interacting and playing their part in the circle of life.
We left the crater that afternoon and drove deep into the Serengeti NP, whose name liternaly means endless plains.
We set up camp for the night in the middle of the Serengeti, no fences, no walls, and no bars separated us from the wild. Once the fire burned out (10 P.M.) we retreated to the "safety" of our fabric tents, clustered tightly together, and listened to the sounds of the wild. The hyenas got the closest and were the most vocal. Twice I woke up hearing them laughing just outside my tent. I flicked on my small torch to see several sets of glowing eyes starring right back at me. A lion came within a couple hundred yards of the camp and cleared his throat sometime past 3 A.M. I think everyone held their breath for the next minute consumed in fear, not sure whether to take a peak or be perfectly still.
The next morning we were up and game driving by sunrise.
The planes are so vast that it took more driving to spot animals but with Phil at the wheel we covered an insane amount of ground during the five hour ride. Phil had high octane fuel in his veins and an "if you aint first your last" driving mentality. No corner was taken without sliding the back end at least a little. After several hours of this, it was no surprise that we slammed into a rock the size of a basketball and got a bent rim and flat tire. Phil apolozied and vowed to drive even faster to make up the lost time in changing the tire...
Phil was actually an amazing safari guide. He would be tearing across these rough roads, not slowing for corners, all the while scanning the surroundings and pointing out wildlife we missed. He was even known to whip out binoculars and stare out the side window all the while keeping the jeep dead ahead.
That evening we waved bye to the animals and stopped by a Maasai village on our way back to reunite with the truck.
I was completely blown away by the number of animals and mesmerized by how close we were able to get as they went about their typical day.
Something I haven't mentioned was that we were assigned tent mates at the beginning of the trip (two people per tent). My partner was Sheesh, an Indian/Saudi Arabian English teacher currently living in Saudi. We got along just fine (besides his disdain for applying deoderant) but he was only on the truck for four nights before returning to work, making our partnership short lived. This worked out for the better once I met Alejandro (Alex) a Chilean wine barrel maker currently traveling the world. We were walking along a water hole near camp and saw a baby crocodile making its way to the water. The language barrier was not a problem, we glanced at each other and knew we were on the same page. Within seconds we had cut the crocs path to the water off and scooped it up. They are like one solid muscle and, believe it or not, are less than ecstatic about being handled. After a few minutes we released the croc on the bank of the water and at that point knew we were destined to be tent mates for the trip.
We camped another night in Arusha before beginning the long journey towards the Zanzibar islands.
We camped another night in Arusha before beginning the long journey towards the Zanzibar islands.