Kenya - Part 4

Where is that Nile Perch?

Monday, 26^th November,

yes, I know you were all expecting to see that picture of the Nile perch here but guess what? It turns out there aren't any Nile perches in Lake Turkana after all. Plenty of other fish like this little ugly thing Don managed to hook: It is called a Nile puffer’. Immediately after it comes out of the water it blows itself up into the shape of a small balloon but after a while it deflates itself again. It is inedible so we put it back.

The boys certainly tried their very best to find a perch. Yesterday we took a boat onto the lake thinking that might be a good way to avoid the crocodiles on the shore.

The little fishing boat was very old, and so was our captain actually, so we were relieved when he was joined by a younger deck hand, only to discover that the latter's job was to scoop water out of the boat with a plastic container which started to pour in as soon as the boat left shore. He kept pace well, so we didn't worry.

The lake is absolutely beautiful, it changes colour continuously, depending on the time of the day but is predominantly a rich jade. The part charcoal, part biscuit coloured landscape surrounding it forms a beautiful contrast. 

On the lake are three islands, the most interesting is 'central island' which is actually a 'triple volcano' poking out of the water. Two out of the three volcanoes are covered by lakes and are the breeding ground for the largest crocodile populations in Africa. The island can be visited by boat and if you ever happen to be here in March/April (just saying...) you can witness the newly hatched baby crocs running down to the crater lake.

Two hours into our boat trip it became clear that we weren’t going to catch that perch today.  To give the boys credit, our deck hand also had a line in the lake and he didn’t get a bite either. Tomorrow Don and Ian will try fishing from the shore if we can find a suitable spot.

Monday, 26^th November

Today the boys did what can only be described as ‘extreme fishing’. First we found a spot which we had been assured by people living in a local village ‘doesn’t have any crocodiles’. There was a little island about 200 meters in from the lake shore and Ian decided that he would wade there. WADE THERE!

Ten minutes later, the boys were first waste deep, then shoulder deep, fishing in the lake.

Don

Ian

Heather and I watched the whole thing for a while then Heather decided that if the boys can fish there then she can swim there, so in she went. Oh well, I guess that is the difference between being European and African; there was no way I was in the least bit tempted to go in. So I kept watch from the safety of the shore instead, trying to recall whether our travel insurance covered this kind of activity.

After about an hour or so Don caught the 'nile puffer' in the picture above. Ian hooked several Nile Tilapia and a tiger fish. So some result at least.

Tuesdy 27^th November,

Today we received the very sad news that our Granny B has passed away. She had not been well since we left her in July and had even suffered a fractured hip recently, so whilst it was a relief that she is no longer suffering, it is nevertheless sad that she is no longer part of our lives. Granny B was our kids’ last surviving grandparent so it also marks the end of an era for us.

Don and myself are pleased that we managed to spend some quality time with her before her stroke back in June and we have many fond memories of family holidays with her.

Monday, 3rd December

We are back in Nairobi after another two day journey south from Lake Turkana. The landscape and the track were very similar to the drive to the lake, with one major difference: it had rained and this time the river beds weren’t dry and empty; there was mud everywhere. Luckily we didn’t get stuck but we passed several lorries which were really struggling.

We are now back at Jungle Junction in Nairobi where we stayed twice before and it looks like the rain is going to continue for some time. Most of the camp is ankle deep in mud and we now need to plan our next move accordingly, since many roads become impassable after heavy rain. 

We have also made the collective decision that Don will fly to SA this coming weekend to represent us at Granny B's funeral. This means we will be here for at least another 10 days. Enough time to sort out our shock absorber once again (one of them was wrongly fitted in Addis!) and to catch up on lots of other things. 

Thoughts are naturally turning towards Christmas now and I heard my very first xmas carol on a radio this morning :(:(:( I think it will be difficult for the four of us not to be able to see the kids this year but to join up with them somewhere here would have been logistically impossible; even at this stage we still don't know where we will be.