LAKE TURKANA (LOIYANGALANI)

Lake Turkana Safaris

The Northern part of Kenya has diverse cultures that remain quite intact due to little interaction with civilization and also the fact that they really adore their cultural practices. Traveling North from Archer’s post in Samburu presents a serene wilderness coupled with unique  rock formations and hills that make your trip enchanting  yet lengthy. The road is smooth all the way to Marsabit town and by extension  Moyale. It is hard to believe that some years ago it was a dirt stretch that was characterized by breakdowns and armed escort. Nowadays, what travelers need worry about is the Strong Crosswinds but the road signs are clear and common along the road to warn you of this phenomenon.

A journey to Lake Turkana need not to be hurried. From my experience, the trip can be planned this way:

Day 1

Arrival and a night in Nairobi but in case your flight arrives early you can explore the National park for a couple of hours or else visit either the Giraffe Centre, Karen Blixen Museum or still do both but there are various places that one can do short visit to:

This may include:

• https://museums.or.ke/nairobi-national-museum/
• https://nairobiarboretum.org/

Day 2

After an early breakfast,depart the city for Samburu Game Reserve, you will get here for lunch and after some rest in the pool due to warm weather you can take a nap and set out to explore the park in the late afternoon. The reserve is popularly known for the Somali-biome species of mammals and birds.

Mammals of interest here include:

–Reticulated Giraffe, more unique than the rest two(Rothschild and Masai)

Beisa Oryx, a beautiful antelop with astonishingly  long and sharp straight horns: Back in the years a young of this species was surprisingly adopted by a lioness  in Samburu Game Reserve, a phenomenon that nearly became a global wonder. It ended in the calf being devoured by a Lion. https://samburunationalreservekenya.com/information/lioness-adopts-baby-oryx-in-samburu/

The reserve is surrounded by scenic hills apart from the Uaso Nyiro river (ever muddy-brown) which cuts across it dividing the reserve into two managements based on the  two different counties (Isiolo and  Samburu), The Isiolo side is now know as Bufallo Springs while the other side remain as Samburu Game reserve. The tussle between the two counties sometimes make it difficult for one to visit both sides with one ticket as it use to be.

Other mammals include Lion, Leopard, Striped hyena, Caracal,Porcupine, African civet , Gerenuk (Giraffe-neck) and more

Day 3

Early breakfast and wander around the park until lunch time when we come to the lodge and later take rest and perhaps an afternoon session in the park.

Day 4

Early breakfast and depart Samburu for Marsabit hoping to get there for lunch at Jirime hotel in the outskirts of the town. After rest we will leave the hotel for Marsabit National Park which is not far from town. The park is in a forest a cool forest,there are few mammals to be seen here which include Cape bufallos and Grevy zebra, Common Bushbuck etc. The scenic Lake Paradise from the rim of the caldera is intriguing. For bird lovers, it is a place to easily see the Boran Cisticola and numerous wooded vultures as well as Booted eagle. We will be back at dusk in the hotel.

Day 5

After breakfast we can drive towards Moyale town, mid way the stretch allows interaction with the desert communities in Bubisa village, Kampi ya Nyoka, the scenery is interesting especially for photographers,talk of Dida Galgalu desert, the home to desert larks including Thekla and Crested as well as Masked lark, this is great for birders. Not far away from Marsabit town is the beautiful Choba Crater.After lunch we will rest in the hotel ground till night falls.

Day 6

Early breakfast with snacks, set out through Kargi town into the endless scrubs and grasslands and eventually the rocks shortly before the Jade Sea comes to view. It is an area I compare with with Mars. Along this stretch we will come across herders from Gabras, Rendiles, Samburu and Turkanas.

There will be Turkana manyattas along the road which follows the shoreline to Loiyangalani. The road is very rough but with good 4X4 and good driving skills  it doable. Loiyangalani is a laid-back  village comprising of majorly Turkana, Rendile and other tribes working here for government, NGOs and businesses. The goverment has just recently connected it to the national grid and this may spur development in this little remote vilage. Let its remoteness not fool you, it is endowed with good basic accommodation like Palm-shade  hotel, Oasis and others. It is popular for the annual cultural festival

We will spend our night at Palm-shade hotel and enjoy the delicious local fish.

Day 7

Late breakfast and then viist the pool at Oasis lodge given the heat here. After lunch we will visit the Desert Museum, you will remember that Lake Turkana Basin is the Cradle of Mankind.We will be able to see various traditional artifacts and learn about their origin.

After lunch, we will visit the Elmolo villages in the shores of the lake and on one of the islands, these are : Layeni on the mainland  and Komote on the island. The Elmolos live on fishing and are related to Dassenach tribe in Ethiopia. Interestingly there is nothing like El molo tribe, they speak Rendile and Samburu, the dialect may differ a bit from the rest as per one of the guides I interacted with.

DAY 8

After breakfast take a boat ride to the Southern island to see crocodiles  and interact with fishermen and see their catch,the lake has various fish. Some shores of the lake has flamingos and other various waterbirds including African Skimmer. We will come back for lunch and after rest we can set out to see Rock Art around this area.

Day 9

Early breakfast and depart Loiyangalani for Nanyuki for overnight stay.

Day 10

Early breakfast and with luggage explore Ol-pajeta conservancy for various mammals as well as the Northern White Rhinos and the Chimps. Afterwards lunch in Nanyuki and a drive to Nairobi for an evening flight.