Nairobi to Elsamere

This post was written by Aby Morley yesterday following our arrival at Elsamere

Wednesday 24th June
We left the YMCA and Nairobi today. Changing scenery as we travelled to Naivasha on the ‘Easycoach’ bus. We quickly moved out of the more developed areas and into the surrounding parts of the city; where the poor and rich seem to live side by side. Slum like areas of corrugated metal and self made houses pile on top of each other next to small erected stalls and market stands which appear metres away from wealthy new buildings and developing areas, where wood scaffolding hold the new buildings together. Crops are being grown right next to the roadside, as cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys and chickens graze. Some being herded along, as others stand tethered to the ground. The streets get dirtier and the roads worsen as we leave the city. It is still a beautiful place though, we soon passed vast areas of countryside, leading for miles up to the Kenyan mountains, the view down into the famous African Rift Valley was incredible and rolled on and on. All of a sudden we were in Naivasha and were collected from a petrol station by Joshua who drove us to the Elsamere centre. We passed many more stalls and street sellers, as well as huge flower farms that cover the roads leading the way. There are fifty two of these farms surrounding Lake Naivasha providing income, yet using the water resources from the lake.

We are currently in Elsamere where we were very warmly welcomed, our cabin-like accommodation is very comfortable and clean; and it really seems like a community here. A wonderful lunch was provided for us in the restaurant, and everyone is very hospitable. The restaurant, like most of the place overlooks the lake and forests. Giraffes and tortoises can be seen out of the window. A tour of the grounds was given to us, and we were able to see the museum and home of George and Joy Adamson, where the centre is able to get tourist trade. We also walked down to the lake which seems to stretch on forever. We had tea and coffee on the restaurant balcony, watching the giraffes as they had moved even closer, Howard managed to get within fifty feet of them! We are now back at our cabins having a rest and looking forward to the days ahead at Elsamere, as hopefully a boat trip and visit to some local schools awaits us tomorrow!

(Photos to follow)