Thanks to the combined efforts and delays of Heathrow, British Airways, and Nairobi’s customs, we were never going to get much sleep. I did a bit better than Nicole, however, who estimates she got a solid two hours when the alarm went off at 6:02am. Luckily the Kwetu Hilton serves breakfast starting at 6 (included due to Nicole’s Hilton Honors Diamond status). We didn’t really take full advantage of everything it had to offer and just grabbed a few French-style pastries like madeleines and pain au chocolats.
Our driver arrived just before 7am. It wasn’t a particularly long distance to Hell’s Gate National Park, but it took us over two hours. We stopped off briefly at a “viewpoint” of the Rift Valley. It underwhelmed. For one, the colors of the landscape and sky were dulled on account of a thick overcast/pollution. Mostly we stopped so that our driver and guide could grab a tea and a cake as his kickback for dropping us off at a small shop. The owners were friendly enough, but we weren’t in the market for a tribal drum or animal pelt. Just a bit further down the road was where all the major safari jeep companies get their kickbacks as we saw dozens of them parked at similar looking viewpoints. We were in the preferred safari vehicle of a Nissan micro van that smelled like an armpit.
Eventually we arrived at Hell’s Gate Park, and tested out some bikes that we’d be using for the rest of the day. They were all in varying degrees of disrepair, but we settled on ones that were at least sized right. A rock formation known as Fischer’s Tower quickly came into view on our left shortly after entering the park. We made a brief stop to walk around and take in some of our first wildlife sightings. Hell’s Gate is unique in this regard. I don’t believe there are any other parks that would allow cycling or just general walking around. Needless to say, Hell’s Gate doesn’t have the serious predators like lions or leopards and instead has rather nonthreatening creatures like the Rock Hyrax seen below.
The cycling safari in total was 16 km, making it 6 km shorter than the Sendero al Fitz Roy we did earlier this year in Patagonia over much more unforgiving terrain. With that being said, the path is on a dusty, washboard trail, so it isn’t always the most comfortable ride as the seat attacks one’s buttocks and goolies. The plastic covering to my shifter was the first casualty, but there would be others …. Enroute we saw a few other groupings of animals including warthogs, zebra, giraffes, buffalo, wildebeest, and an ostrich.
The end of the path is at Ol Njorowa Gorge. I actually wasn’t expecting us to do anything there, but then the guide told us we were going to hike for about thirty minutes into the gorge. There was a time not long ago that a flash flood came and killed a bunch of people resulting in the closure of the gorge until escape routes could be added. Apparently some have been added and now at least part of the gorge is back open as of just last month.
It wasn’t anything special to look at if you’ve ever been to the American southwest. There were some areas with hot springs, but mostly we were just looking to get back on the bikes and head back to the Kwetu Hilton to relax for once. My derailleur had loosened itself until eventually it clattered off, riding the chain until it locked my rear wheel. Nicole lost a piece of metal framing from her seat. For the ride back, we were both on backup bicycles.
The sun went behind the clouds for most of the ride back to the park entrance which made it easier. The sun can get quite intense here despite a chilly grey morning. It’s basically L.A. weather. We then bounced around on the Kenyan roads for the next couple hours as we choked on fumes, dust, and attempted to pass innumerable slow moving trucks until finally getting back to the Hilton.
It was a cool experience, but a lot of driving for the payoff. We spent far more time in the Nissan behind trucks than taking in the animals and landscapes. I do wonder how I would have felt if this was my first “safari” experience ever. They offered to take us out on Lake Naivasha for an extra fee and see the hippos, but having seen them before in both Botswana and Tanzania, we were both more interested in recovering for our next adventure tomorrow than adding to our current one. Bricole, everyone’s favorite celebrity couple, can be a bit spoiled and out of touch. It is an inevitability that comes with celebrity.
For the rest of the day, we lounged a bit by the pool while enjoying some fries and a Bila Shaka local brew. We had dinner in a more protected area while it rained. We explored the rest of the property before settling in for another early morning tomorrow. Hopefully sleep finds both of us more easily tonight.
passports & pepto bismol 