LAKE BARINGO

After six months of work without a day-off, other than our preparation day we decided to take a three day trip to Lake Baringo. The lake is not one of the big spots for tourists, that was good for us and the cost was appealling. In the northeast direction from Eldoret one can locate Lake Baringo in the Rift Valley. From Eldoret we passed through Iten, Kabnaret and lastly Marigat. The terrain varied from heavy agriculture, mountainous and parched to dry desert. Throughout the trip we passed village after village. The evidence of water was hard to find, some streams flowed at a trickle and a couple of rivers were , flowing well. Many people as well as donkeys were carrying water for long distances.

At any rate, our journey to the lake was scenic and interesting. We were glad the Nissan performed well and that the air-conditioner did not fail. As we left the main Kenyan highway we were on local road from Marigat to the lake. It is still hard for us to understand that driving off the pavement surface can be better driving than on the pavement. This road was another constructed by the British and never maintained since. There were washes where the rivers had deposited rock and debris on the hard surface but never removed.

We planned to stay at the Lake Baringo Club and it was great for $95 USD. This included three meals and maid service, but not hot water, I think it was a llittle warmer than cold. No air-conditioning but did have a ceiling fan and a mosquito net. The resort was known for its 420 different bird species, though we did not see that many there were many and interesting variety. The hotel had some fifty rooms and we shared the facility with a Brit or two and some Frenchmen. Tuesday afternoon after lunch we wandered around and discovered many people ‘fetching water’ out of the lake on the east end of the hotel. We walked down to visit with them, most were children, and as usual we were celebraties. One young man and I talked and agreed he would guide us around the lake on a tribal-village boat Wednesday morning. He employed an operator of the seven meter boat and we were off. Our plan was to see some wildlife besides birds. I walked around the shore in hopes to see a croc sun-bathing, it was in vain but did see a few monkeys and a three and a half foot monitor lizard, he was very fast on his feet.




As the boat darted in and out of heavy grass we finally located Hippos bobbing up and down, they being somewhat shy did not allow us to get too close. Eventually, we came upon a Njemps fisherman riding a small little boat smaller than a life raft made of Ambatch, simalar to Balsa Wood. With help of a couple other like fisherman they were running a gill net and hauling in a days catch. We purhased a few fish for the African Fishing Eagle. We were still looking for a crocodile but eventually our able guide swished his fingers in the water and a five-footer came over to the boat. He seemed to like the fish we had just purchaded. After seeing a few more birds we were off to the island in the middle of the lake. We were told that there was a ninety-two year old Afrian man living on an adjacent smaller island who had five wives and 25 children. The children all paddled to the larger island each aday in an Ambatch for school. The last born of this man was nine years old. I inquired as to what the secret to his virility, I was told he drank Kenyan beer frequently. We continued to motor to the Northwest end of the lake to see the African Fishing Eagle and as we neared a big tree at the edge of the lake the operator of the boat whistled and through a fish in the water. The large bird snatched the fish out of the water close to the boat. Then the second eagle performed likewise. The birds were big and spectacular in their grace and ability. The island was very dry and we saw a man in an Ambatch hauling some branches with green leaves to feed his goats. Our next destination was the Hot Springs on the side of island.





Finally, we saw a few people at the hot springs waiting to greet us. As we walked from the boat we saw a few goats and some lean Africans. We received a tour of thera some six to eight bubblers producing sulfur smelling gas and learned about the miracle healing of malaria and other ills from the moist vapors. As the short tour concluded some other Africans had layed on a cloth on the ground a few food carrying gourds and some necklaces. We bought a few gourds and a necklace or two. Then it was off to our hotel, a twenty minute ride that made it a three hour event.

An African ant hill!




Felix, our guide offered his services again to find a few monkeys and a baboon or two later in the afternoon. As we wandered around next to a very steep and sheer escarpment we saw a family of perhaps twelve black face monkeys crossing in front of us. We put the binoculars on them and took a few pictures. They seemed curious and moved through the brush towards us. They were interesting. Next, to see a baboon, we found a family up 250 feet or so on the edge of the escarpment with eight or so baboons moving around. Their ability to come down the vertical cliff was remarkable, they held on to cracks and branches until they found a relative flat resting spot. We were in a state of disbelief to have seen there movement decend this precipice so quickly. I estimated the big baboon to be 250 lbs.

We went back for dinner and retired for the evening. Thursday morning we got up and headed for Lake Begoria an alkaline lake to see thousands of flamingos, a few hot water geysers-bubblers, and a few gazelles.