Menengai and running with the herd

The subtle Art of Camouflage

If you want to run with the Zebra - you gotta blend in....smart hey?!?

Menengai Crater is a massive shield volcano with one of the biggest calderas in the world, located in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. It is the largest volcano caldera in Kenya and the second largest volcano caldera in Africa.  The crater is located on the floor of the Rift Valley. The volcano formed about 200,000 years ago and the prominent 12 x 8 km caldera formed about 8000 years ago. The caldera floor is covered with numerous post caldera lava flows. The Menengai volcano is considered one of the best-preserved Krakatau-style calderas in the world. Menengai has very little sediment in the caldera which is a thick mass of lava boulders and inaccessible ridges. Volcanic activity continues and is used for geothermal power generation.

Part of the happy hiking crew considering the enormity of the task ahead....down looks good but up the other side?

 We left early and drove the 2 and a half hours out to Nakuru, the 4th largest city in Kenya (population 350K about the same as Victoria) to get close to Menengai. It's a little beyond Nakuru and involves a 4 wheel drive (Which I love love love) climb up a dusty road to the lip of the caldera. From here an astonishing view of the expanse of the crater and on to forever. The hike down into the basin was relatively easy as was the hike along the valley. It's warmer within the caldera but given this is winter (5 degrees cooler than usual) it was not a distraction from the views. The hike up was a crawl at times where I got to see my first snake. All snakes are big -time danger in Africa but I'll leave this topic for a another and more thorough discussion later. She was going the other way...so all good. (And yes it was a she because the hissing reminded me of my Ex-wife)

The crew is a group from the Inter Nations community I joined a couple months ago. I have enjoyed  quite a number of hikes and other fun social activities with them. From all over the world, each comes with a unique perspective and a treasure trove of stories about their adventures and travels. 

Last Thursday was dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant (The Lip and Sip) where we drank (of course) and then had a communal dinner at a big round table. The food was only slightly upstaged by the company and the laughs we shared. I particularly loved the Injera which is served nech (white), kay (red) and tikur (black) and based on a sort of fermented sour-dough. It's like the offspring of a romantic interlude between a dish sponge and a crepe.....though more appealing from a taste perspective.

After the hike we drove back toward Nakuru and then 20kms down a dusty road into the park to a "bush House" where we would spend the night. Managed by a Giraffe conservancy group, there was plenty of space to bunk and a great kitchen along with a helper. The group quickly got a delicious lamb dinner together before settling around a fire to enjoy the simplicity of being in the wild, good cigars and single malt scotch (Bless you Chris for your foresight). And hats off to Andy for the mojitos - another basic necessity....

 Daybreak brought with it the opportunity for adventure in the park. Lisa and I set off early though only had to walk 200 meters before finding ourselves in a herd of perhaps 200 - 300 Zebra.  The Z's were a bit pissed to see us at first but quickly went back to their usual fighting, loving grazing or just looking into the distance thinking of the 3 other things they could be doing. It was surreal to be standing on the Rift Valley floor with the sun on our backs watching a scene that has existed for the ages. In the distance a herd of water buffalo we kept an eye on as we enjoyed all manner of birds swooping and greeting one another with their calls of joy or maybe like the Z's pissed that we were interrupting. Regardless it was both serene and superb.

 

I herd these guys were in the area.... nice to see them

  This week I had the unfortunate experience of witnessing extreme violence first hand. On a busy street at least 2 men were attacking another. The one being attacked was completely naked and was being whipped by one of the men. Our truck was at the front of the Que meaning that we had no choice other than to witness the event. Despite the number of people on the road, there was no move to assist , there is no 911 and there is no one coming to assist. It was a stark and brutal reminder of life in a developing country.

 

 

 

And they just keep coming

 South Sudan: Bentiu

Cooking at the airport in Lockichoggio.....over easy or sunny side up?

Pictured above is a Caravan; a versatile little plane that takes a decent payload, takes off with next to no runway and can land almost anywhere. You see lots of these in South Sudan as they really are the plane of choice for general supply.


Pictured below is Bentiu, South Sudan where we have seen IDP's (internally displaced persons) go from 35,000 early this year to just over 100,000 as of today. These people are victims of the conflict who leave their village homes for the safety of the UN compound you can see below. MSF's part in this project is to do emergency medical care and provide WatSan (Water and sanitation). As part of our work we'll be transporting 30- 50m rolls of 4 inch plastic piping. Given that the roles are 10 ft across the Caravan is not gong to be the best choice unless we install roof racks and that would make flying triiiiicky.

Taken by the Logistical Coordinator last week on his way in

Below is my favorite tree so far in Africa. It grows where nothing else can - it has super bendy branches almost like rubber, a massive truck, and the most beautiful and delicate flowers (and in this case if you look carefully, a young Turkana boy who just had to be in the picture. Please let me know if you know what its called. For now I'll just call it "the tree that comes with a boy"

On most mornings, at the crack of dawn I had the immense pleasure of running the dry river bed (there is no water here except for a short rainy season) on the outskirts of the village. Rather than the 35+ daily and nightly heat, the air is mercifully cool, the air smells sweet and at one corner in the river there is a flock of blue birds living in the river bank. They look a lot like a pale blue budgie but are larger and unfortunately more aggressive. I ran a bit faster though the spectacle was worth the dive-bombing.

Thanks for reading my Blog