Travel and Personal

The Turkana Trip

By Dweep Chanana ⋅ February 11, 2006 ⋅  Email this post ⋅ Post a comment

I could not even make it to Lodwar, let alone Turkana – a combination of impatience, bad (or in this case no) planning, and bad luck. I went instead to Lamu (more on that later).

My attempt was based on the premise that you can get to Lodwar in 1 day from Nairobi. I know now that’s possible, but with many caveats.

I left Nairobi at 7am, arriving in Eldoret at 8:30am. The Eldoret International Airport, incidentally, would put Nairobi’s Airport to shame– brand spanking new, and obviously completely unutilized. Anyway, Ksh. 1000 and 15 minutes later, I arrive at the Eldoret matatu stage (note there was only 1 taxi at the airport, so no point haggling). From Kitale, I was to take another matatu to Lodwar, supposedly 5hrs further. That is when the fun starts.

After much cajoling, I hopped on a matatu ready to leave for Kitale (Ksh. 100). The road is good most of the way, so I hope to arrive as planned in 90 minutes. The matatu driver, as crazy as everywhere else, tries to beat his own record but fails, as does his matatu. I arrive in Kitale 2.5 hours later.

The best way to go up North from here is Eldoret Express which runs large blue buses regularly from Kitale to Lokichogio via Lodwar (Ksh. 600). The scheduled departures heading north are 8am, 9am, 2pm, and 4pm. However, the bus driver will not tell you the scheduled time. Should you ask, the bus will always leave in 5-10 minutes.

It takes 10 hrs for the drive from Kitale to Lodwar. That is about the same as from Kitale to Nairobi. I had known this place was far, but the scale only hits you when you get there and your attempts to move on are foiled.

I had planned on being in Lodwar by 4pm. By 2pm, it was obvious I would arrive at midnight. Anyway, I figured what the hell. A good night’s sleep in a bus never hurt anyone. Then, 2 hours out of Kitale my bus breaks down. Clearly, I was not getting anywhere. After careful procrastination over the facts – that I would spend 1 day in Lodwar, and 4 traveling, I decided to pack my bags and return. Accept defeat.

So close and yet so far.

It was an exhausting and pointless two days, saved miraculously by the company I had. The matatu driver that took me to Kitale – we chatted all through, stopping briefly en route so he could pass on a gift (a tie) for his child at school; the bus driver of the Eldoret Express, concerned that I was canceling my trip; the cab driver that took me back to Kitale airport – a production engineer who had worked for Petro in production and sales, and was now looking for a job; absolutely everyone that heard of my crazy attempt and laughed. Traveling like the common man is such a refreshing experience – though my ability to do so is fast diminishing.

On my return, I spent 30 minutes waiting for my taxi, and chatted with the guard at the Wilson Airport. He told me that NGOs regularly flew chartered flights to Lodwar from Wilson, and all I had to do was go to East African Air Charter to see if I could pile on. Now, if only I had known this before! Priceless information – given for free.