Having spent two nights at the camp on the shores of Lake Nakuru it was once again time to board the wagon and drive on to the next destination - Lake Naivasha. Finally a campsite of luxury - showers (although not always hot) a restaurant and a bar - where we spent the next two evenings drinking tusker and playing card cames - as well as learning a few kenyan songs I seem to remember...

Although I personally did not head out onto the lake, a couple of the group came back with some absolutely superb pictures of Hippo, but while they were doing that, the rest of us were cycling through Hells Gate national park - right past zebra and Giraffe. The rock formations within the park were very impressive, shear craggy rock faces stretching skywards, and although the always looked huge it was not until one got up really close that their shear size was really appreciated. One picture I took shows their size very well, with three women stood down at ground level - remembering that they are still a fair distance from the rock face!

The day was hot, and the track dusty - it made going rather difficult on bikes which had almost all seen better days and not quite the right size for anyone. but not being ones to complain we headed off into the unknown anyway to see what we could find. Eventually we happened upon 'Lower Gorge' right in the centre of the park. A gorge carved out by the boiling hot spring water which comes to the surface at this point. And there beside the gorge, sat a park ranger with a chiller unit running off a generator - full of coca-cola. I wonder how much trade he does when a group of ten tourist on bikes don't show up on his patch... He could probably try to talk to the baboons, they most probably steal his sandwiches everyday - they did ours!

On climbing down the slope into the gorge we found a number of boiling hot waterfalls and rock pools, as well as plenty of local bushes and a snake too! It was all fine until our guide ran a mile at the sight of it - he then said it was a young one and its mother would be close by - we all ran then too (apart from one person who tried to kick it, and got a sudden shock when it darted for her foot....?!?!?!?!!!)

Before long it was time to leave the campsite and drive further west towards the Maasai Mara. Gone were the warm(ish) showers and the cold beers in the bar. Gone was the restaurant and comfy stools - back to the pot-hole ridden roads, crazy drivers and clouds of dust! We did however stop off in Narok on the way through, and just outside it, when we stopped for lunch we had a brief encounter with a group of young African kids - (see pictures)

The Mara was getting nearer!