Early in the morning we set out to explore Amboseli National Park. Right from the start, we were even more excited about this park than the previous ones – the signage was good, the paths quite ok except for a relatively short piece towards the end of our game drive, and since the grass and bushes were not as high as in Tsavo, for example, we were able to discover the enormous variety of animal species living here quite easily. And there was a lot to see here. Zebras, giraffes, buffalos and several bird species. It is always a pleasure to see the animals in their natural habitat and with their natural behavior – no comparison with the caged creatures in the zoo.

About in the middle of the park there was also a lookout hill from which one had a wonderful all-round view. Since it was once again very hot today, Mel stayed behind in the car while Andreas set out with the camera to climb the hill. On the way he met a Kenyan family – the father was very interested in the camera and the huge telephoto lens, so a small conversation developed about cameras, Kenya, jobs and our tour through East Africa. Once again, the reaction was pure amazement at the length of the tour in the short amount of time.

And once again the distant Kilimanjaro stares dangerously into our eyes.

Unfortunately, we had to leave the park at 11 o’clock to head for our next destination, Lake Nakuru. Again our way should lead us over the already known Mombasa Road in the direction of Nairobi. The traffic on this day was even denser and more chaotic than before and so slowly but surely a “nightmare” day developed in the car. Again, people were overtaking left and right, tailgating and wildly flashing their lights and honking their horns without any apparent ulterior motive. The Kenyans probably get their daily dose of adrenaline while driving. Mind you, we were on a “highway” without a median strip or barriers – one lane was often made into 2 or 3, oncoming traffic was constantly coming towards us in our lane, and lightly pushing away and just barely squeezing in were all part of the fun.

Shortly before Nairobi we had to take the Southern Bypass – more construction site than bypass. We were already late at this point – the “signage” and various detours caused us to get lost at least 2 times and our actual plan burst like a soap bubble. During a short rest at a gas station we rescheduled, organized a new accommodation and postponed the overnight stay at the actual destination Lake Nakuru – Mel is an organizational talent when it comes to the vacation.

Now our new, preferred, destination was the Masai Mara. Let’s get off this highway to hell, we thought, as we turned onto the B3 which should lead us along the Great Rift Valley. This should go well for a few kilometers, until we were stuck in a super traffic jam – nothing worked anymore. No forward, no back, no way to turn around and it was getting later and later and dusk was setting in. As it got darker and darker and the roads continued very serpentine-like (still in a traffic jam, mind you) Mel’s nerves were shot. There was a driver change – in the dark Andreas slid out of the vehicle on the left (careful not to get hit by a left overtaking maniac or fall into the abyss), almost dove over the hood and forced himself back into the vehicle on the right next to a truck, while Mel climbed gazelle-like over the center console. Andreas had had ample opportunity during the last 45min to admire the Great Rift Valley … and the 200-300m deep abyss without guard rails, which was right next to the road. True to the motto: “What I don’t see, doesn’t kill me” nevertheless again and again small and large vehicles pushed past on the left to press themselves further ahead again into the traffic jam.

So Andreas was also slowly feeling some tension – even when the traffic jam began to dissipate and we left the steep slopes behind us. The first night drive in 20 years (and despite the full moon it was pitch dark) and permanently blinded by oncoming traffic. Kenyans like to drive at night with full lighting – including fog lights, flashing lights and the felt 10 other headlights and colorful flashing lights that were additionally mounted on the vehicle. Street lighting is of course also not available and so we briefly missed the entrance to the hotel in Naivasha, where we finally arrived 21:50 – 10min before the gate was closed and almost 11 hours after starting our journey (for about 300km). The kitchen was unfortunately already closed and so we only had the memory of this trip to wash down with an ice cold beer. Cheers, meal!