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Let’s bring Sauna into AfricaLet’s bring Sauna into Africa
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Let’s bring Sauna into Africa

December 2019 - February 2021
South Africa to Germany – at least a try. Read more
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4x4, Camping, Friendship, Nature, Photography, Self discovery, Solo travel, Vacation, Wilderness, Wildlife
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  • 429days
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  • Let’s bring Sauna into Africa

    Trans East-African Highway

    January 14, 2021 in Kenya ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    The right of way is clearly defined on the Trans East-African Highway. I am very surprised because I expected something apocalyptic like the busy, crappy highway from Dar-es-Salaam to Zambia or the Mombasa-Nairobi connection. Instead, I find a wonderfully wide road in superb condition with no traffic at all! It reminds me of cruising from Cape Town to Namibia with Wurstdaniel or the greater northern Swedish highways where you can cruise with 100 kph for hours and just enjoy the landscape. Such a contrast to my last weeks. Clear air, great view of approaching mountains. This is where I’m heading to. Again, mountains!Read more

  • Let’s bring Sauna into Africa

    Bush camp

    January 14, 2021 in Kenya ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Wild camp when turning off the gravel road into a dry, wide riverbed. I do not recommend camping in riverbeds even though they might seem to be dry for years. Flash-floods coming from heavy rains in distant mountains are not uncommon. Just a few days ago bad things happened in southern Namibia around very idyllic, river-side camping spots. Choose an elevated spot wisely and be conscious of your surroundings. Which way to retreat, just in case? Then you are ready to enjoy the riverbed. I find plenty of dead, dry fire wood. This is mostly dense, hard, heavy acacia stuff. Just a few medium sticks burn as long as a whole Schubkarre full of common northern European wood. I am greeted by warthogs and small bush bucks and surrounded by elephant poop. But no big animals in sight. I am in Samburu territory. The next morning I see my first camels next to the road! The bush- and scrubland gets drier and they exchanged cows for camels :pRead more

  • Let’s bring Sauna into Africa

    Mathew’s Range/Ol Doinyo Lenkiyo

    January 15, 2021 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Again I decide to take the “rough road” instead of doing the easy way. Yeehaaw! It turns out to be 4x4 paradise as I turn into the Mathew’s Range (Ol Doinyo Lenkiyo) from Wamba, north of the Samburu National Reserve. Great landscape! Hills, mountains, barren land, dry, thorny bushes, getting less and less as I progress further north, giving way to scrubs and more camels and goats. I cross dozens of luggas (small, dry river beds in dry season), manage steep descends and ascends and have to drive around 80 km in low range gears. I have to admit that having an automatic gearbox could be advantageous in this situation. My manual 6-speed is far from
    being as smooth as a VW Passat's one ... It is just a slow progress but full of experience and impressions. North in Mathew’s Range the path is so bad that it actually is no difference of driving next to it or not. In my paper map it is marked as “seasonal” and this is why: parts of the track are in big, dry riverbeds. Towards the afternoon I have to cross the wide valley of Ngire River with an eye-filling view of Ndoto Mountains in the north. The riverbed is still muddy and wet in parts but it is crossable without any problems. Awesome! I just came in the right season. My night I spend just a few metres off the road, approx. 30 km south-easterly of Baragoi, on a small hill between scrubs and stones with the view of both the sunset and sunrise as well as the hilly landscape all around. Yum yum! Later I get approached by two young villagers who tell me that camping here is dangerous because of the rivaling tribe from Baragoi which comes here to steal their animals. They would also high-jack cars and I should better come to their village. But I am lazy, tired, currently preparing food and it is almost dark. Have a peaceful night though with a golden ball rising over the mountains at 06:35.    Read more

  • Let’s bring Sauna into Africa
    1

    Approaching the desert

    January 16, 2021 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    From Baragoi I drive north after lunch and a long chat with a teacher. The landscape turns into blueish-grey, the stony, rocky soil into sand. Before reaching South Horr I turn east and while speeding through the smooth sand track in direction to Illaut I encounter two motor cross riders from around Nairobi who came here on their 250 ccm machines for some desert adventures south of lake Turkana. One has a broken clutch cable and I assist with some tools. The guys tell me about fancy remote tracks which are not on my maps (yet). Ohlala, this is going to be an adventure because I probably will be unable to resist further challenges =)
    My car drives east/south-east while I keep my gaze south-west into Ndoto mountains. The sun is setting over the mountains with epic scenery. Ok, the desert has to wait as I spontaneously turn to Ngurunit.    Read more

  • Let’s bring Sauna into Africa

    Island in the desert

    January 17, 2021 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Quickly I decide to stay two nights on a locally owned campsite. With me two Germans from around Bremen arrive with a Kenyan friend. I get assigned my sandy spot under the trees by Joel, a 13 year old Samburu, the brother of the manager. Joel is still in primary school (they have 8 years) but already a professional. He will not need to visit any tourism academy, he can start as professor directly. I share my dinner with him. He is smart! Asks many questions, sucks in all information. The next day he is my guide around town and I have lunch with him and Peter the manager in their home village. We have rice with milky-sweet tea. Joel's dad has five wives. They own 6 camels, 20 cows and 10 goats. With the cattle they pay the school fees for the children. Later we hike up into one mountain valley to bath in some natural ponds where there are also "slides" in the river. It is Sunday and the locals slide down the mossy-glossy rocks into the ponds. What a fun! :D The whole pack of people freaks out when two innocent, green snakes appear in the nearby bushes. There is a small metal pipe bringing water from the river into town but most of the people get their water from water holes dug into the dry river bed. Pretty much of effort to stay hydrated ... This is also where the cattle gets the precious water.Read more

  • Let’s bring Sauna into Africa

    Kaisut tut gut

    January 18, 2021 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    According to my paper map the road I take leads between the Kaisut Desert (south of it) and the Kaisut Plateau (north of it). There are no other roads. Am I in this Kaisut Desert now? The internet is not very informative on that. But I want to be in a desert! Damn. Ok, at least here my impressions: Between Ngurunit and Log-Logo the landscape changes from yellowish sand with many greyish scrubs and wide bushes to reddish sand with less scrubs but fancy thorny green-greyish tree-like things which even seem to be in blossom. Also somebody scattered many dark volcanic stones all over the place. The colours are pretty strange and impressive. Could stay here longer. I don't meet many human beings, just two very interestingly looking tribesmen with colourful beads and long spears. I am frightened as shit and proceed as fast as I can! ;-)

    Now I have some questions for you. In Tanzania little children come running at you and very aggressively as for money. Every day they will be coming. Thousands. Would you give them any money? In central Kenya little children come running at you and ask for food. Would you give them any? I travel with at least 20-30 bananas but I cannot feed the nation. Still, I loose some here and some there. Here in northern Kenya little children come running at you. Only few but they don't run, they rather fly because their long capes swing horizontally as they move! The sun burns perpendicularly on their capes. So, they come flying at you and ask for ... water. What would you do? Happy mindfuck.    Read more

  • Let’s bring Sauna into Africa

    Mars? A bit!

    January 18, 2021 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Kaisut Desert or wherever I have been is at around 500 m above sea level. I gradually climb to Marsabit on 1300 m and expect a stressful, crazy, ugly town, being located so close to the border. But no! I am damn surprised to find a very calm city with a peaceful atmosphere. And the people look totally different! Wahoo, my small culture shock compared to the last days. And this just happened within one third of a day. Friendly they are, communicative and discreet. I have to digest this day.

    Mount Marsabit has been a Volcano once. Just look on the aerial/stellite images. This might also explain how these big dark rocks came to Kisut Plateau ;)    Read more

  • Let’s bring Sauna into Africa
    11

    Chalbi Desert

    January 19, 2021 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 42 °C

    The night was unexpectedly cold and windy and I start with a sour throat. After descending from Marsabit down to around 500 m I choose an alternative, rarely used track parallel to the main road C82 which gives me additional 45 km of Chalbi Desert beauties. It is around three weeks after the last rains and I still encounter 2-3 muddy but short sections. Speeding though with 60-80 kph works well but I do not want to know how it would look like in fresh mud here in the middle of nowhere. Temperatures rise up to 42 °C. In the middle of the desert my air condition stops working. Haha! The evening in Kalacha is dry, hot and windy. I hoped for a calm evening but at the campsite I am disturbed by three different parties all coming to me and asking for money. School children, a drunk "head of security". One other guy stays the whole evening, pretends to be my best friend and each 20 minutes he invents a new story why I should support him. In the end we discuss over 100-1000 $ in order to support him finishing his studies. Sure, just take my soul.Read more

  • Let’s bring Sauna into Africa

    Oasis

    January 20, 2021 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    Before fleeing from this dry heat I pay a visit to Father Antony in the church, a German who came here several years ago and who also is a passionate overlander. He shipped his Land Rover to Namibia some 5 years ago and travelled all the way here using a similar route as mine. Freya, his German helping hand, comes here for 15 years mostly for three months during European winter and is currently preparing cinnamon rolls for some guests who will arrive in the evening. I have a very nice chat with her and learn a lot about the local mentality and about their way dealing with the people. They send me a few km back from Kalacha to the oasis with a natural spring and abandoned lodge which still has water in the pool. I ignored that spot yesterday because it was just full of camels and I did not see anything. This would have been the better camping spot for sure! My aircon works again. I think it just does not like the low altitude and desert heat :pRead more

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