25 Counties | 14 days: A Solo Road Trip Through Kenya
Kenya has such beautiful scenic landscapes and I was on a mission to explore as much as I could. A week ago, I took a two-week break to venture through my country, something that I had always desired to do but never had the guts to. With everything finally aligning in my favour, that is, means, time and courage, I packed my bags and headed for a solo road trip from Nairobi through Sori in Migori, Kakamega, Suam(past Kitale), Nakuru, Meru and back to Nairobi. A trip that exceeded 1,500 Kilometers.
The locations were selected based on:
- Proximity to nature body.
- Availability of airbnbs. The airbnbs had to be aesthetically pleasing, right price range and have great ratings and reviews.
(Here is an article that contains a summary of the tips and tricks and budget for anyone looking to venture on such a trip)
With everything planned, I left on 1st September set to return on 14th September.
Here’s an account of my trip, hope you enjoy the read!
Trip to Sori, Migori County: 1st Sept — 3rd Sept.
The drive to Sori was rather long (7/8hrs) but luckily the roads were mainly tarmacked, that is, up until the Rodi-Sori stretch which is a widely known deathtrap with articles dating as far back as 2012! The road is filled with potholes that run deep and wide forcing cars to drive on the side of the road. A stretch that can take one less than 30 min takes more than 1.5 hrs to traverse.
By the time I got to Sori I was exhausted, with the car bearing the brunt of it. On reaching the town, I lost all GPS and internet connectivity. Luckily I had saved my host’s number before I left Nairobi.
The Sori experience:
The Airbnb in Sori was huge! I had an entire bungalow to myself, which was slightly intimidating, but once I got over it, I revelled in the silence and tranquility. The area had no internet connectivity which made it ten times better!
Trip to Kakamega, Kakamega County: 3rd — 5th Sept.
As I enjoyed the lack of internet, I did not realise that I would not get internet and GPS reception until I got near Kisumu county. I had to find my way out of Sori, through the use of two options:
- Call a friend and ask them to give me the names of the towns I would pass.
- Ask around.
I settled on the latter because if it worked for my parents generation, it would work for me. I asked around and found myself in Homabay. Here I ran into a mini demonstration which I later found out was due to the death of a matatu operator. How I found out? Well, as I asked for directions to Kisumu from Homabay, the man I asked decided that the only way to show me the route was by getting into the car. It all happened so fast that by the time I noticed what had happened I had already let him in. I couldn’t help but laugh at myself as I pondered on how to wrangle myself out of this situation. We began to make small talk and that’s how I found out about the demonstration and more about the man seated next to me, Daniel.
Coincidentally, Daniel used to work as a chef in a place I frequent, which calmed me down a bit as conversation became much easier. As we passed through his home area, he introduced me to his wife and kids and gave me a bunch of bananas which I later gifted others along the way. I dropped him at his stop, Kendu Bay, as he gave me clear directions on how to get to Kisumu, from which I could easily get to Kakamega.
The Kakamega experience:
The airbnb was very scenic. They had a well maintained veranda and the houses though big, felt more intimate than the one in Sori. The staff here were friendly and helped me plan my hike to Kakamega Forest Natural Reserve the following day.
At Kakamega Forest, I hiked for about 4hrs as I learned more about nature e.g. the different types of mushrooms and roots such as buttress roots, aerial roots etc. I also learnt of a tree species known as strangler trees. These are trees that grow on host trees while choking the host to death, hence the name (I presume). The forest was quite dense, covers about 240 square kilometres and houses various species of bees (~240), birds(~400), butterflies(~400), snakes, indigenous trees (~380), climbers (~120), tsavo cats, columbus monkeys etc. The list could go on and on! It’s definitely worth a visit.
Trip to Suam, Trans-Nzoia County: 5th — 7th Sept.
One of the reasons for this road trip was to visit towns and places I had only heard off but never been. With this in mind, I chose to drive through Bungoma town, though it would increase my drive time by 1 hr. Luckily this trip was rather uneventful since I now knew how to strategically ask for directions:
Always ask someone headed in the opposite direction, someone with a bike or situated at a shop. Began to apply this after a man I asked for directions on my way to Suam from Kitale town requested a ride since we were, as he put it “headed in the same direction”. But on a positive note, these random instances did make for light-hearted experiences where I got to learn more about the area.
The Suam experience:
Besides seeing acres and acres of planted maize, I got to walk to the border of Kenya-Uganda with a local guide who works at the hotel I was staying at, Mt. Elgon Guest House. The locals freely get to cross River Suam, into Uganda, to visit their friends and family. If it was not for Corona we would have crossed over to Uganda for some Ugandan cuisines.
Trip to Nakuru, Nakuru County: 7th — 10th
I left for Nakuru at 8:00 am with the intention of taking a detour to Mt. Elgon National Park. Unfortunately, due to the heavy rainfall the previous night, my plans were cut short. The Kitale-Suam road is currently under construction and the foundation of the diversions were not well done. As we (the guide and I) headed out, we got stuck a few minutes from the guest house.
The mud was so thick that the bumper took a hit. Fortunately, bumpers can easily be put back in place.
The muddy road cost us a lot of time. A stretch that would ideally take an hr took us 3 hrs. The road to the national park was impassable with a lorry stuck on the path. We passed lots of grounded lorries along the way as they either waited to be pulled out or for the mud to dry up once the sun was out.
On arriving in Kitale town, I got the bumper fixed for less than Ksh, 300 and was on my way to Nakuru. (I later noticed a few issues with the car attributed to the mud fiasco and had to take it for wheel balancing in Meru which cost ksh. 1,200)
The Nakuru experience:
Nakuru is a town with so much to offer! Lake Nakuru, Hells Gate, Menegai Crater, Hyrax Hill Museum and 1hr proximity to Lake Baringo and Bogoria. This is a town that needs time to explore but I only had two days, one of which I used to relax. Luckily, after the day I spent relaxing and chatting with my airbnb host and his friend, they joined me on my tour of Lake Baringo and Bogoria the following day.
I had heard about the swelling of the lakes along the Rift Valley but seeing it made it all too real!
The state of the Lakes was devastating especially along Lake Baringo. Many people are currently moving out of their houses in fear of the rising waters, with others trying to salvage what they can. Here’s a video that can give a clearer picture.
Lastly, I headed to Meru (10th — 14th Sept) where I caught up with an old friend and took some time to rest.
On 14th, I left for Nairobi rejuvenated. My time on the road was full of reflections, laughter, encounters with new people, lessons and a lot of sight-seeing. I am now back in Nairobi, reminiscing as I write this article, promising myself that this will not be the last time I venture within my own country. And I hope as you read this, you feel inspired to venture on a journey of your own, whatever that may be!
#ChooseToThrive.
PS: Here is an article that contains a summary of ‘ all you need to know’ for anyone looking to venture on a similar trip.
