Day 2: 30 July 2002, 10:30 pm
The group, that will be spending 77 days together, meet for the first time and set off for Lake Naivasha.

First day of the trip and our group met up at 9:00 am to pay for the kitty. This is meant to cover all our camping and foot costs.

Word of warning - Natasha had got US dollars from the U.K. post office and 6 x $100 of the dollar bills were counterfeit. Remember to check that dollars have a watermark and feel the quality of the paper. Also, remember to bring dollars printed 1990 or later. They will not change pre-1990 dollars in Ugandan banks (we tried and failed later in the trip).

We loaded up the truck and climbed into comfy seats next to roll up canvas blinds on the sides. The truck can carry 600 litres of drinking water which is very useful. We set off up the A104 to Lake Naivasha in the Rift Valley. Considering this is meant to be one of the major roads in Kenya (they even charge a toll for the privilege), we merrily bumped over the potholes. If this is meant to be a good road, I hate to think what a bad road is like. The road sign "Speed that Thrills Kills" made us laugh as we were doing 40mph tops. A crew of workmen were spending an eternity to fill a tiny pothole in the road - it seemed so pointless.

We passed shanty towns of corrugated iron and mud bricks. Each shack had a painted sign of some sort but I can't say that "Traveller's Hotel and Butchery" appeared inviting. You probably checked in and never checked out again!

Lake Naivasha is one of the wealthier parts of Kenya. Hundreds of green houses line the road. All types of flowers are grown and exported mainly to the Netherlands. The most visible sign of wealth is a TV aerial on the top of each dwelling.

At Fish Eagle's campsite, we were given a tent demo and split into cooking, washing and truck cleaning groups. Unfortunately, couples are split up in these groups which I complained about. I was told that it would spoil the social dynamics of the group in the evenings if couples were kept together in the groups. What the hell does that mean? I was annoyed but what can you do?

The campsite is right on the lake's edge and we were warned not to approach the water as hippos were extremely dangerous and do not like their territory invaded. There are probably more people killed by hippos each year in Africa than all other animals put together. There is an electric fence across the campsite next door to stop the hippos from coming in.

Far from having to live on ugali, the food is the same as back home. We get three meals a day, that is paid for by the kitty. The loos and showers were not as bad as I expected - we even had hot water!

So, what do I think of it so far? It feels rather unreal to be here and I don't feel as if we fit in yet, but I don't know if anyone else feels like this as well. Just to put us at ease on our first night, our tour leader told us all about the medical emergencies they had had on different trips. We had the full rundown: malaria (incubation period 8-10 days), bilharzia, tapeworm, dysentery and festering wounds, not to mention people having limbs torn off by hippos, blacking out on rafting excursions and being attacked by Nairobi ants. These red ants have acidic bodily fluids and should never be squashed against the skin. Just the sort of stuff you want to hear before going to bed.

Postives: where else in the world can you drift off to sleep listening to the hippos in the background?

Negatives: not sure about the 'social dynamics' yet - have we made the right decision to come on this trip?

Questions?
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