It’s been over six years since I was last in Nairobi – on a solo celebration of my 40th with a safari out in Laikipia – and it’s good to be back. Good to be back in Africa again after last year’s adventures.
I stay at Wildebeest Travels & Camp. Advertised as an oasis in the heart of Nairobi it lives up to its billing – an old, circa 1935, stone house set on 2 acres of gardens off Ngong Road (and an easy walk into the CBD) owned by an Australian couple who were backpacking their way home from working in the UK when they hit Nairobi and decided to stay a few years back. They’ve kept the house pretty much as-is and live on the top floor; guests stay in swank-safari style tents set out across the lawn. It’s a great idea, except for the lack of sound-proofing canvas delivers, so with guests arriving in from flights as late as gone 2 and others departing for safaris as early as 0430 it’s not the most restful of places - but certainly better than any hotel option in town.
I’d no option on the flight over: to use points there was only one day, the 16th, and when I looked into it only one seat going; which all worked out fine when my truck was due in on the 21st ; but then it was the 25th, and then the 29th , before finally settling on the 27th so it’s been a bit of a stretch hanging about waiting. However, it did afford me the opportunity to meet Simon, a local man who as a young high school student had been sponsored by my parents through Save the Children; their funding allowed him to complete his schooling and so go on to earn a place in university and graduate with a degree in Accounting, which he now practises as a profession in his own firm. They still remain in touch yet have never met in person so it was a wonderful opportunity to meet a family legend. He took me out to meet his elderly parents on their farm outside of Naivasha; one of 16 children, they are rightfully very proud of his accomplishments and full of praise and thanks for the assistance my parents had provided for him, without which, he says, he would never be where he is at today: “no chance.” It is all-too-easy to be cynical about charity, especially when it is as disconnected as a donation on one side of the world intended for someone needy on the other (but does it ever really get there ...?), so a wonderful story to see it having truly made a difference.
Finally underway I book the train across to Mombasa – now only running twice per week so am in luck when the call comes notifying me of the amended arrival date for my ship and there is an option in 2 days time to get me into Mombasa on Saturday morning for the Monday arrival. Have always kicked myself for not having taken it 6 years before, listening instead to my safari camp owner, a white Kenyan, lambasting the train service and assuring me I definitely did not want to take it. A total train anorak I’m very disappointed and take the bus instead when off for the Zanzibar leg of the trip – and concerned again when a young American staying at Wildebeest reiterates all I’d been told those years before and declares it an “awful experience” ... But I’ve ridden trains all over the world, circled India with stints in local class included – how bad can it be?? The fact is that it’s not; in fact, it’s a wonderful trip across. Having upgraded at the station to First Class (7GBP more than Second, which is a shared cabin of 4 berths) I am afforded my own private cabin and white linen service in the Dining Car for a pretty darn good dinner and breakfast thrown in. Bag of Tuskers and a few snacks, feet up on the sink and I happily while away the miles watching the world pass by – unfortunately mostly in the dark, but still ... My couch is made up with clean sheets and pillow and while sleep is not easy with the train bouncing all about the tracks (and prior warnings playing in my head that the carriages do frequently jump the rails if the driver gets up too much speed) still, I wake to stunning vistas out my window of savannah cloaked in mist and miles of open space. Left on time, arrived on time and, overall, an unbeatable way to pass 15 hours ...
So now it’s the waiting game in Mombasa. I’ve met with the shipping agents, arranged a game plan for when the ship arrives (I am insistent on being there for the entire process even though they are to act on my behalf, which takes some negotiating but is finally agreed to) and have plenty of small and medium currency in both USD and Kenyan Shillings in gild some palms and (hopefully) ensure the process goes smoothly ...
Nice one!!! Good to see pic of Simon and the girls xx
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