NAIROBI TO ISIOLO

We left Jungle Juntion on Saturday 25th June. It was a  nightmare driving through Nairobi. It seems that there are no traffic laws and the bravest goes first! Because of the traffic and the major roadworks, it took for ever to get out of Nairobi. Although everyone seems not to obey the traffic rules, all drivers are polite & do not get upset when another driver pushes in - something which we can learn. We were about 40 kilometres out of Nairobi when Rudi phoned to ask us if Mike was with us because Doug's bike had just died.. Mike wasn't with us but they obviously managed to contact him because we passed him going the opposite way back to Nairobi. Apparently a farmer across the road who was in a bakkie was going to get feed, Rudi saw him and asked him if he could help them. He agreed to take Doug back to Jungle Junction where Doug's bike was once again fixed. Charl & Mike went back with Doug but Rudi, Adri, Roger & Jo-Anne continued. We filled up with fuel & Cheryl attempted the toilet but decided that due to the state of the toilet that it was better to hold on for longer. We then turned into the Bantu cultural centre to have something to eat & to try the toilet again. This was a centre for youth to stay at as there was camping & basic accommodation. The purpose is to educate the youth about nature - there were nature trails, all the tree's marked with their names plus medicinal plants & their benefits. Truely a great set up of educational value. We asked if we could eat & were directed onto the expansive back lawn & waited for almost an hour for a cup of coffee & toasted cheese & tomatoe sandwich which arrived without the cheese. Nevertheless a very informative stop. Rudi, Adri, Roger & Joanne stopped for lunch at a trout venue where they ate on platforms in & around trees. We in the meantime had moved onto the equater where we paid $10 to have a guide show us how water drains in an anti clockwise direction & clockwise direction 20 metres south & north of the equater & how it drains straight down on the equater - it was amazing to see how the matches swirled differently within a space of about 40 metres! The country was very lush & hilly but then became very dry & arid. We arrived at Isiola & found our accomodation at Gaddisa rest camp. Our newly made friend's Brian & Leslie from Cape Town & their son Adam from London were waiting for us under a tree within the very dry "camp site". We decided that it would be better for all of us to stay in the basic rooms. This was & will probably be the last time that we arrived at our destination before the biker's so we made the most of enjoying a number of drinks on the veranda of Gaddisa before the Ladybrand bikers arrived - Doug, Charl & Mike only arrived in the dark after 8.00pm, much to our relief. Roger & Jo prepared a pasta for supper & soon after we all went to bed.