1st leg underway

Tropical Paradise

For the past 3 weeks we have been in survival mode – eat what you can when you can! 4 young men travelling through Africa arrived upon Turtle Bay (http://www.turtlebay.co.ke/), Kenya’s number one all inclusive holiday resort situated on the shores of the Indian Ocean next to Kenya’s internationally acclaimed Watamu National marine park less then 100km km north of Mombasa. Not having seen more than oats for breakfast, absolute hysteria and excitement broke out when the friendly helpful staff welcomed us and informed us of the fact that Turtle Bay was an all inclusive resort! Ie all our food and drinks would be taken care of!! We all looked like we had just heard our greatest dreams had come true!

We would be guests of honour in this beautiful resort where we could prepare ourselves both mentally and physically for our demanding adventures which lay ahead!

After being showed to our luxurious rooms, set amongst the resorts own 10 acres of exotic and beautifully landscaped gardens, by a smiling staff member we lay in owe of our fortune and couldn’t wait to see what else was in store for us, crystal clear waters rich in corals and other marine life, white sandy beaches, water sports and many other day time activities!!

One of the unique things about are expedition and the reason why we have been able to contact the local communities en route, which we are trying to provide a voice for and hopefully donate more than just soccer balls to, is our relationship with a very together and organised UK tour operator Toescapeto (http://www.toescapeto.com/ if you would like to visit anyone of these resorts we visit please contact them, they are the best in the business when is comes to personalised luxury getaways!) Their ambition to “revolutionise travel” means they focus only on the best resorts. Each one has been hand picked and their attention to detail is never compromised – their aim to provide each visitor with more than just a holiday but a life time experience they will never forget!

We would like to thank Toescapeto and all your resorts involved for your support and we will continue to promote and spread the word of your good work!

We arrived at Turtle Bay on a Sunday and therefore had a day to relax and catch our breath before the beginning of one of the biggest weeks for K2K! Our visits to the communities which Turtle Bay has been involved with would have to wait for our return, Chris the gentleman in charge was out of town.

How to get to Lamu?

After coming to terms with our good fortune and filled our tummies with some of the tastiest food we had eaten in a long time, it was time for action!

Our next goal was to arrange our transportation up to Lamu, our starting point of our paddle. For the past 4 weeks we were only making our way up to the beginning of K2K! The real adventure still lay in store for us!

We left Shayne and Aaron passed out by the pool with their chosen drink in their hands, we were off to Malindi, a slightly larger town 25km north.

The chaos of Malindi quickly engulfed us and it didn’t take long before we were speaking to our man – Abdullah – a legend in the making! The slickest, smoothest talking local we had ever met! “Ma frends wot kan I du ya for?”

We had already spoken to a number of local bus companies about our situation and that we had to get to Lamu with 3 large kayaks! They all told us that none of the Matatus (local mini buses) didn’t have roof racks and all the big buses going north would be able to fit our boats in their tight storage compartments.

Abdullah had a different outlook – his attitude was simple – “I’m gona to get ya ta Makowe Lamu!, I hav frends, I am fishman too, ya wont dhow, I can arrange!” There was no stopping this man he saw a big tip at the end of the line and knew that if he helped us he would be rewarded!

After telling us that he worked for a film company – Paramount Films, as their kind a couple of weeks ago, we knew this man was no stranger to the situation and we were in good hands. Remaining aware and not letting our guard down too much was also very much on our minds! Kenya was infamous with regards to its quick thinking conmen!

Graham grabbed our Canon XM2 (our digital video camera) and asked Abdullah if we could interview him? Well, well, he seemed to come to life his enthusiasm became even more punctuated, his words justed rolled off his tongue! Graham continued to fire questions at him trying to out smart him, but there are never a silence, this man was a born actor!

We were onto something good, after our little interview, we had arranged to return the following day at 9am to hear exactly what he had managed to arrange for us and the cost of each possible option! They were;
a)Lorry – hitch a lift with a passing lorry
b) Rent a car/truck
c) Catch a dhow
d)Take our own Mlevi (our trusted landy and get one of the hotels drivers to return it to Turtle Bay)

Being close to the Somalia boarder, this stretch of coast is notorious for bandits robbing any passing vehicle and therefore all had to be escorted by police escorts, which would ride along with you in your vehicle! Exactly what they would do if some bandits did chose your particular car as their target is something we didn’t want to think about let alone discuss!

Graham and I returned excitably back to the others telling them of our options and showed them our brilliant footage we had captured of Abdullah!

The dhow option sounded the most appealing in theory, not in hind sight! It presented the following opportunities:
See the coastline we would have to paddle down, a couple of days later
Learn to fish, local crew could have taught us the tricks of the trade
Got general idea of ocean currents, waves, tides and when it would be the best time to paddle etc.

The matter was discussed at length and we all decided that although it was the most expensive option, it would be an amazing opportunity!

We then decided to do a little more research into the whole matter and stopped in at one of the local fishing shops here at Watamu, the owner arranged for us to meet with a local captain, he told us that it was too windy and the seas too rough, the Kusi was still blowing to strongly and we should reconsider taking a dhow! Great, all our hopes were dashed! We didn’t really want to be stuck out in rough seas in a little dhow, but the other options didn’t really appeal to us!

We had the evening left to contemplate it and wait until the next mornings meeting with Abdullah to hear what he had to say!

The next day was spent sorting out our boats, unpacking our dusty vehicle, we had everything neatly laid out in the car park, we painstakingly separated items, to take and those we were to leave. Luxury items and those which were necessities! Limited to the capacity of our 3 boats (Go check them out at http://www.paddler.co.za/, they are Perception Kayaks, we have a Streamline, a Contour single and a double, kindly sponsored by Paddlers themselves.) we didn’t want to take anything which was unnecessary! Sleeping mats and the like were quickly thrown into the luxury pile!

While Graham and Aaron continued to pack, Shayne and I headed off in search of Abdullah!

It didn’t take long to find him, the next minute he was sitting in the back seat explaining all our options to us!
Lorry – was out, no passing lorry for the next couple of days
Rent truck – cost us Ks 20 000 (USD 270)
Dhow – Ks 25 000 (USD 333) Was still an option he has found a friend who was willing to brave it!
Take our own – becoming more of an option!

He told him that we were keen on the dhow option and that we wanted to speak to the captain and see if this was still an option! He took us down to the beach front and there under a large baobab tree sat a old looking fella, which turned out to be Captain Omar!

We sat with them for a while and discussed the issue, the reason for the high cost was that the crew wouldn’t be able to return back to Malindi for another month or two and therefore they would have to live in Lamu and wait for the winds to swing round! Great, this didn’t sound great for our proposed paddle in less than a weeks time!

We agreed to come back in the afternoon and speak to the other captains who were currently out at sea fishing. At least then we could get a couple more opinions and see their dhows, we weren’t going to agree to anything until we had the whole picture! Captain Omar’s dhow was resting on the sand and it didn’t look that large! Definitely not big enough to fit all our boats, plus 7 people, we didn’t recon that it was much longer than Kiboko! (Our double)

That afternoon Aaron and I were back there with one mission – to get ourselves the cheapest and safest looking dhow we can find!

We spent a good couple of hours searching the beaches, speaking numerous captains, inspecting their boats explaining our idea of wanting to get up to Lamu with three large boats!

It was a long hot day and eventually after not having too much success, they all wanted at least Ks 30 000 – 35 000 to risk their lives and live off for a month up in Lamu, Aaron and I decided that captain Omar was our man. He looked the oldest and most experience captain we had met, and the only one who would take us for a very cheap Ks20 000, boats and all! We tried to explain to him that our boats were big and that we might battle to fit them in, but he didn’t seem too concerned and mentioned that he could take over 2 tons in his little dhow! This was all obviously being translated through Abdullah and therefore we weren’t 100 % sure as to if he was telling him exactly what we were wanting him to say! He could have been telling him the complete opposite!

Aaron and I headed off to think it all through clearly before making our final decision! Once made we had to find Omar again, and after travelling deep in the village’s maize of little streets, with Abdullah as our guide we found our captain and agreed to pay him a deposit of Ks10 000, so that he could prepare for the voyage and pay his family something so that they could survive while he was away!

We agreed to meet him at 2 in the morning and plan to set sail at around half 3 when the tide came in!
10 – 15 August
K2K Launched From Kipingani Explorer, Lamu Island.

After our horrific dhow trip we were all very relieved to arrive in the most peaceful place on earth. Kipingani Explorer (one of Heritage Hotels http://www.heritagehotels.co.ke/, many amazingly unique private hideaways) is situated on the south side of Lamu Island. This first class hotel whined and dined our sorrows away. Everyone was amazed to hear that we had travelled up by dhow, only 2 weeks before a much larger dhow then ours had capsized going into the bay, and it took 5 days to pull it safely out of harms way. We had 4 magical nights, with 5 course meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. An amazing place to relax before what we all knew was going to be a very tough couple of days ahead.







We spent the days preparing for our journey Due South (Due South one of our key sponsors, they have provided us with clothing and some outdoor gear, the high quality of their products have been a necessity and have stood up very well thus far! http://www.duesouth.co.za/) Thanks guys.) Testing our sails, sponsored by Perception Kayaks (manufacturers of our sea kayaks http://www.perception.co.nz/) which we found to work amazingly well if the wind blew anywhere but directly into us.

One of the focuses of our expedition is the community interaction of these resorts we have been in contact with and will be visiting as we drift Due South. How have the communities been effected by the resorts, do they benefit from all the foreign money or are they ignored and never see any up liftment? How do the resorts help out and is it sustainable? There are many relevant questions which we will be trying to answer as we pass through them.

Kipangani Explorer is heavily involved with the local community, particularly the fishing village of Kipangani itself. In fact they are dependant upon them for their survival! The resort itself is situated on the dunes over looking a beautiful lagoon, all the walls of the banners (private chalets over looking the lagoon) and central bar/restaurant area is made out of tightly woven palm matting, which has to be replaced every couple of years. This along provides sufficient work for the local matters. The supporting beams are all mangrove poles and also have to be regularly replaced due to the harsh elements during the monsoon months!

All the fish eaten by guests (definitely some of the best we have ever eaten) is obviously purchased from the local fisherman. Due to the remoteness of the village and the distance to the closest school, the resort has been instrumental in the establishment and further development of the local school. We unfortunately were around during their holidays and therefore were only able to see the empty premises and donate a couple of balls to an individual connected to the school.

We hope our visit to your village and the footage we took of your stunning resort will reap some benefits for you in the future, we will keep you posted!

Thank you Heritage hotels, Kipangani in particular, all your kind and very friendly staff, you made us feel like honoured guests at your unbelievably beautiful luxurious hide away! We all agreed that this little spot is one place we would all love to return to and but next time replace our kayaks for loved ones!

We left Kipingani at 10am, the tied was high, which made getting over the reef a little easier. After the staff sang to us and wished us luck on our journey, all the staff and guests jumped on the hotel’s large dhow and followed us 4 kms out to the lagoon mouth, all the time singing and praising for a safe voyage! This definitely boosted our confidence and gave us energy to round the potentially dangerous point!




15 August
Hungry Masai

We paddled for 5 hours on the first day, getting 25km in. We landed on the beach without any issues near what seemed to be a resort as there where huts on the cliffs above where we had landed. We where approached by a very unfriendly looking massai, holding both a sword and spear. He spoke no English and clearly was not impressed with our arrival on his beach. On one occasion when the massai was standing staring at us, Shayne’s curiosity got the better of him and he asked the massai whether there was anything dangerous on the beach (there must have been something to warrant all his weapons), to which he replied “eYes!”. Shayne then asked what we should be afraid of and without hesitation he replied “eMe!” Aaron’s eyes grew as wide as saucers and he reversed into his tent like a hermit crab. Eventually he went and got an “mzungu” (Swahili for white person) who was the owner of the hotel. It turned out they are still in the development stage so he could not offer us a place to sleep. However he did let us camp on his beach, and told one of his guards to watch our stuff as hyenas usually roamed the beach at night. He also informed us that a week earlier on the very spot we where camped a male lion was roaming around…! No drama for us, our Serengeti experience would hold us in good stead, except there was no car, only boats and paddles to protect ourselves, and of course our friendly massai warrior. We ate some delicious canned corned beef with pasta and tomato sauce…with a side serving of sand!

Coffee with a different aroma!

After this delicious dinner we thought that a cup of coffee would be the appropriate end to an interesting evening so we pulled out a brand new tin of Tancaf, which we had been saving since Arusha in Tanzania. It did not take long for us to notice or fatal error – this was not instant coffee! As there was no chance that we had packed our coffee percolator we were faced with a practical problem, how to strain the coffee for the next week? Drastic measures where needed, as we all craved coffee and the thought of paddling in rough conditions and going cold turkey was not an option, Graham came up with an ingenious solution. We all drank our coffee happily but the smirk on Graham’s face and his sudden decision not to have any coffee should have let us know that something was amiss, like his sock…! K2K was well and truly under way!

Without the luxury of our 2cm foam camping mattresses our first night was to be long and sandy! None of us managed more than a couple of minutes sleep! With the thought of hyena’s, lions and the hungry looking massai around I’m not surprised!

16 August

We were up away without too much hassle, boats still heavily loaded and with a continuous head wind progress was slow but steady. Our target was a little fishing village called Kipini, just more then 30 km further down the coast.


Kibobo the Catapult

There was one little obstacle between us and our next place of rest, a point surrounded by reef jutting out 15km into our paddle. We decided to take the prudent approach and land just before it, grab a bite to eat and refuel. I was in one of the singles and said I would go in suss it out and from the beach tell the others when it was safe to follow. I had just pulled my spray deck off having landed safely and was going to indicate when Shayne and Aaron should come in, but it was too late! They were caught in no mans land and a huge wave picked them up and …….. flung them through the air, crashing into the powerful wave! At one moment I thought they would survive and manage to hold it, but the wave was too steep and Kiboko (the name of our double kayak, meaning hippo in Swahili) doesn’t like to go head first down any sort of breaking wave!

Shoes, water bottles, hats and sun glasses were dispersed around them, as they began to swim for the safety of the shore! I managed to grab what I could and help them safely onto dry land to catch their breath. All except a pair of sun glasses were retrieved and it didn’t take long before we were devouring our peanuts and resins, energy bars and some Herberlife shake. Thanks Horst and Billy for the shakes they have and will continue to replace our energy!

Point crossing

After refuelling we jumped back into the kayaks and where once again pounding through the waves trying in desperation to get beyond the breakers. Once through we navigated our way around/through the point and reef, where the water was a lot calmer and for the first time, the wind wasn’t directly against us. We had the luxury of having the swell pushing us south and therefore were able to surf a couple, which was far more enjoyable than the pounding head winds we had experienced earlier that day.

We paddled the last 15kms and landed on a remote beach only 50 meters from a troop of baboons. Armed with a well shaped piece of drift wood, Caveman Richard took off after the baboons with a hungry look in his eye, as though if he got the chance he would quite happily eat one. We set up camp behind the dunes and where ready for a good dinner, we ate Pasta, Tuna and Pilchards in tomato sauce, with a side serving of sand of course. We climbed into our tents and tried to ignore the sand that was flying in from every direction. There was no stopping it, and nothing could be done but attempt to sleep in a sandpit.

17 August
Kipini, in search of water and supplies!

Fresh water is obviously one of our major issues and something which we soon realised would be our life line in this remote part of the world! Between cooking and drinking we consume about 16 litres a day between the 4 of us. Drinking being the most valued, which we purchase from local shops “Mineral water please?” most of them don’t seem to stock it and it takes a couple of visits before we find what we are looking for. The locals drink the water they retrieve from their village wells, our tender stomachs are however not quite ready for that, although we do use it for cooking.

We store our water in a number of different collapsible water containers, some of which appear on our “Worst buy’s list” as the valuable liquid seems to escape faster than we thought possible through the “sealed” nozzle!

Having been on the water for 2 full days and Kipini being one of the last major towns we would see for a while, we thought it wise to pull in and restock our water supplies. Graham and Shayne set off with a local guide to show them the way, while Aaron and I maned the boats and were entertained by the local fishermen, children and who ever passed by our stretch of beach.

The locals were all very fascinated by where we had come from and what we could carry in our boats, their eyes lit up every time we opened our hatches to get something out, as if we had magical craft, “where is the engine?” they would all ask, and we would point to our biceps “I’m the engine!” would be the standard reply!

Kipini was situated on a river mouth which was inhabited by hippos and crocs, the locals told us that if we would have camped there that night we were sure to have a couple of over sized visitors wanting to snuggle up! Fortunately all we saw were a couple of birds, including a beautiful male fish eagle devouring its prey!

Camera’s…………….hmmmmm yes, where is that water housing?!

It was a heavy day’s paddle, “pole, pole!” has become our motto while on the water – “slowly slowly!” When on the water you often don’t think you are moving forwards, in fact you feel like you are going backwards, not the greatest feeling and the only thing indicating your forward motion is the sight of the blue bottles drifting slowly past! Then again is that not just the current?!

It was getting late and we were nearing our 4 pm cut off, arms were tried and all we could think of was the delicious rice with tomato sauce, and don’t forget the pitch of sand, waiting for us! Shayne was having a tough day, not having done too much paddling prior to the trip his shoulders were taking strain, understandably so, we had been on the water for the better part of 3 days and we hadn’t been taking it easy!

Graham was off in his single a couple of hundred meters ahead, it was Aaron and I in the double and we were coasting along beside Shayne, when all of a sudden I heard a high pitched squeal coming from just behind us?! It was Shayne, a freak wave had broken just in front of him and his tired body didn’t have enough energy to avoid the crashing wave which tumbled him like a washing machine on long cycle! To add injury to insult, a tag team of blue bottles attacked him with great precision, one on the forehead while the other tied his hands.

It didn’t take us long to turn, rescue him, empty his boat and get him back into his cockpit. Needless to say, Shayne was not a happy paddler by the time he was back in the boat. All this time our Storm Case, which housed all our camera equipment, was being towed along in the bobing surf!!

By the time we arrived on the beach for the night the sea water had got the better of our two very precious cameras! We took two cameras along with us for the first stretch, our still Canon 350 D and our Canon XM2 video camera! When purchasing the Storm case we were told that it was indestructible – water tight / shock proof / dust proof and it would even float! We were planning to have special water housings for both cameras but unfortunately they had not arrived from the US in time before we left and therefore had to take the risk and do without them for the time being!!

Was it worth the risk? Well, we will keep you posted!

Not wanting to cause any further damage we removed the batteries and memory cards, dried them as much as possible and decided to wait until we arrived in Turtle Bay (Kenya’s number one all inclusive resort http://www.turtlebay.co.ke/) before we braved it and tested to see if they worked!

Tana Delta

From the water we spotted a number of thatched roves perched on top of some high dunes, something usual along this totally deserted part of the world!

We instinctively knew that these were not local dwellings and that they might lead to something else! While Aaron and I were discussing the possible loss of our cameras and which one if any would ever again work, Graham and Shayne headed off up the dunes in search of some “mzungus”!

They returned about 30 min later with empty beers in their hands, proclaiming their great discovery of an amazing hide away over looking the most beautiful delta and that there were 3 young lads who were related to the owner of the establishment who would love to have us for the night!

After explaining to them the potential tragedy of our wet cameras, they seemed to not care too much; obviously the beer had been good and was in full flow through their blood stream!

It turned out that this stunning spot, called Tana Delta, perched right on top of the highest dunes in the area is a private resort owned by a number of partners, the 3 guys who invited us in are currently on a gap year and were putting their feet up for a couple of days, fishing and on basic detox! Well, I don’t think there is a better place in the world to do that!

There are a number of beautifully designed rustic chalets dotted all around the hill side, some facing the wide open river delta and others over looking the warm Indian Ocean. We were all very impressed by the tranquillity of the place and the kind helpful friendly staff.

That evening our rice and tomato sauce, much to Aarons disagreement, was put on hold and we were cooked the most delicious fish, potato, rice, veggie and salsa dinner we had eaten in a long time! Kipangani Explorer seemed such a long way away!

We were given the highest chalet to rest our weary bodies and boy did we sleep well, not even the most beautiful view of the delta below could keep us awake!

Thank you so very much Tana Delta for you hospitality, this is one place we will all hopefully return to sometime in the future!! Toescapeto (http://www.toescapeto.com/) this is definite must see, something you guys need to add to your next product trip!!

18 August
Kamikaze Duke

It was my turn in one of the singles, we have 3 boats (thanks Paddlers http://www.paddlers.co.za/) two singles and a double, the singles provide more freedom and can potentially be quicker through the water, if the wind is blowing in the correct direction. We have sails for all three boats, but due to the direction of the wind for this first section we made a strategic decision to leave the doubles sail behind and only take the two single’s sails. We had been using the single’s sails on most days and could just pick up the strong continuous Kusi (name of the trade wind which blows from the south) if angled at the right direction.

So off I flew, loving the little bits of wind I was able to catch, however to spice up the ride and increase the adrenalin, I began paddling just on the edge where the breakers broke and could therefore surf the odd swell as it came rolling in! I was loving it, paddling had a new dimension and the tiring old pumping into choppy water was a thing of the past, no longer was I looking at the blue bottles as they slowly drifted past, but I was on the look out for the next big swell, timing my paddle stroke so to position myself in exactly the right place on the steapening swell!

After cursing along for a couple of hours, with the others battling it out, amongst the heavy wind and choppy water, Graham and Shayne (in the double) dubbed me Kamikaze Duke (Duke – my nick name from Uni) due to the fact that I was paddling a fine line and was going to come short sooner rather than later!

They were right, a couple of near misses led a couple of direct hits! If my timing was slightly out the rolling wave would finish me! Over I went for the second time! Seeing their frustration I decided to call it a day and stay further out and escape the wrath!

Kiboko ploughs beach

Again it was time to call it quits, we had made good progress and with 30 km under our belts it was time to find another protected spot to lay our tired bodies!

We spotted a large tree and headed directly for it, however due to the steepness of the bank and the fact that the tide was up, the waves were at their fiercest! Kiboko (Graham and Shayne) was up first, in they went choosing their line carefully!

After bracing strongly into one wave the last little wave picked them up and carried them high into the air! Graham at the back had a birds eye view of the closely approaching beach as the nose of the boat began to dig itself deep into the sand! Shayne thought it was over, there was no way he was going to walk out of this alive. Moments from his and Aaron’s initial beating came flashing back!

Miraculously they held on and with all the weight in the boat, the sand gave way and they ploughed their way safely up the beach!

19 August
K2K blown into disarray

We were up early, as was becoming usual for us, and tucked into yet another tasty breakfast of oats and, well, oats! The sea was dead calm and the launch posed no problems on this occasion. Everyone was feeling really strong and we did 10km before the wind got up, but boy did it make up for its late arrival! The flat sea turned into a cauldron of angry waves, all out to get Shayne and me yet again. Our early average of about 6km/h had been reduced to 3km/h largely due to Richard and Aaron thinking that they could paddle slower in a headwind and still go faster (that’s a tailwind guys!). After drifting about 5km in the wrong direction while we waited for them, Shayne thought that it was time to have a stern word to them about the situation. This had the opposite effect than desired and had near dire consequences.

In the distance we could see Ngumeni which was a peninsula with big cliffs, mangroves instead of beaches and, most noticeably, two big missile launching platforms perched in the sea in front of it. Somewhere at the base of the peninsula there was meant to be Ngumeni village which was our target for the day and where we were going to spend the night (unless Richard and Aaron had it their way, in which case we would probably have slept further back up the coast than where we had spent the previous night!).

I had one of our Garmin sponsored GPS’s which had already led us safely and accurately through 7 countries and around numerous dangerous rocks and reefs. I had no reason to doubt it and Richard and Aaron should have had no reason not to listened to me but they were obviously still upset about Shayne’s earlier comments and were not interested in listening! My instruction to them was “Aim WELL to the right of the towers” which they interpreted as “Keep the towers well to your right and head as far out to sea as possible and don’t worry if you can’t see the land anymore.”

We headed straight for the village while the other 2 took the alternate route and did the opposite to us on every turn. There were some big reefs to navigate around and we took the route per the GPS while the other 2 headed off to sea, ensuring that the towers were well to their right and thinking that the boat with the navigational equipment must surely be wrong. Shayne and I, knowing that it was not a good idea to split up, kept waiting for them but gave up on that when we could see only their sails occasionally bobbing above the horizon. Both we and the wind had now changed direction which made the use of the sails (single boats only) possible and they were now paddling parallel to us but much further out to sea. Waiting was therefore no longer any help and just meant that they were getting further and further away.

We could have either paddled out to join them or could have continued to the village in the hope that sanity would prevail. We chose the latter after we had decided that it would firstly have been about 5km in the wrong direction and we would probably never have caught up to them, secondly, that it was them that was off course and not us, thirdly, that surely one of them would come to their senses and decide that the boat with the GPS would probably have been in the right place or they may even decide to look at the map, and lastly, that we would not be able to help in any case if they were being blown out to sea (unlikely considering that the wind was not blowing out to sea!) and, if this were the case, we would be of more help on the shore where we could get a boat to rescue them (and where we could enjoy a hot meal in the local restaurant while we waited!).

Half an hour later we paddled straight onto the beach in front of the village (thanks yet again to Garmin!) and climbed a small dune to see if we could see the 2 runaways. After a couple of concerning minutes we spotted them finally heading towards us (a nice change!) having done a good couple of extra km’s! They somehow still try to argue that we should have followed them!

There are always two sides to a story!

Thanks guys for your side of the story! Very entertaining reading indeed, for someone who wasn’t there it sounds like you were heroes and that without Garmin you wouldn’t have a clue as to where you were going!

Graham and Shayne: That is probably true, but we DID have a Garmin GPS and you didn’t so I will leave it up to our readers to decide who did or didn’t have a clue.

I’m not going to cause a stir, but we had you in sight all the time, the reason for the split in the team, which shouldn’t have happened in the first place, an important lesson for all of us! If you would have considered the team you would have waited no matter the circumstances, for those of you who don’t know a double is far quicker through the water than a single, which makes sense two paddling one boat! I think the soar back and shoulders must have been too much for the other two and all you wanted to do was to get to safety, fair enough, but don’t then think you were so courageous and wise! I do recall that it was the two of you who couldn’t possibility paddle any further and who had to keep popping Nurofen to survive!

If you cannot take the story like a man and admit it when you are clearly wrong and your only comeback is an attempt to make us sound like weak cowards through irrelevant comments then that is fine, but lets put it in context and see if it holds water.

We have not anywhere said anything about being either wise or courageous. I do believe that it was Garmin who we gave all the credit to. You are quite right; a double is faster than a single. That is a fact, unless the single has a sail helping it along (as was the situation here) in which case the single is much faster especially in strong wind. Also, surely if we were so sore and injured you should have had no trouble in keeping up? And then maybe you should have been closer to the sore and injured in case they got into trouble*. And you still want to go on about the team? Ok. Do you recall when the TEAM had been in the sun for hours and Shayne was in pain, but you wanted to play in the waves? How much longer did the TEAM have to be on the water? I don’t need to go on.

You are right, we probably couldn’t have paddled too much further right then. I had hurt my back on the way in to the beach (end of the paddle) and Shayne had very sore shoulders because he had only got into a kayak for the first time in his life a few days earlier and had just paddled 180km over 6 consecutive days. We should be applauding the guy, not attacking his character. Where did you want to paddle to anyway? We had arrived at Ngumeni which is where we had planned to spend the night. After the Matatu trip (see below) we decided to paddle to a beach which was away from sticky fingers. I was in serious trouble with my back at that stage but, for the TEAM, Shayne and I got back in the kayak and paddled through a large set of waves which finished Aaron off. This meant that we had to return to the beach to stay the night. When Aaron opted out the next day, Shayne went with him (so as to not leave him alone ie TEAM!) and Richard and I were left to paddle the 40 or so kms to Watamu. My back was no better but for the TEAM I took Nurofen to ease the pain, gritted my teeth and paddled the 40kms.

So what was your point about our characters? Did us taking Nurofen the following day get you lost? Or was it Shayne’s sore shoulders?

* To the reader, once a single has been capsized it is possible to turn it over, empty it on your own and to get back in, but the double needs two single kayaks to help do this. It cannot be done by its 2 paddlers’ alone due to its size and weight.

For the record the towers were to our left, and all we did was continue in a straight line, “Head for the towers keeping them on your left.” Was what our navigator told the team, which is precisely what we did! Having the map with us we knew exactly where we were and keeping a careful eye on our injured duo we had things under control.

The word “WELL” makes a big difference to our instruction, but there was probably a large amount of sea sand still in your ears! Ah yes, the map. The one strapped to the back of the boat which came out when? At the missile towers? Wasn’t 25kms into the paddle a bit late?

Matatu joyride

Having finally reached our destination, Ngomeni, all in one piece and the team re-united we had a decision to make. Either we settle in for the night and paddle round Ngomeni Point the following day, or we opt for the Matatu (local mini bus) joyride and hop over the point with all our gear to another little fishing village and continue with our paddle.

Not very happy about the first option as I was worried that if we do it once it will be easy to do it a second time etc., we are here to paddle but the team is what counts and should be our number one priority. We were however looking worse for wear, Graham had serious back troubles, Shayne’s shoulder was killing him and Aaron had been stressing about the point crossing for the past couple of days. So we clearly weren’t mentally and physically prepared for what lay ahead!

While the others relaxed and recovered, Aaron and I headed into the village to find our staple diet of water and bread. You can be assured an escort when ever visiting one of these little spots, there is always one guy who sees you as his income for the day, your man, someone who will take you to where ever you want to go, and hopefully negotiate the best price for you!

After telling him that we needed a Matatu, to take us and all our gear over the hill, he said “No worry my friend I will organise!” He told me not to worry about the price and that due to the time of day there weren’t many passengers around and that any Matatu driver would jump at the extra bob!

When we returned to our boats, a dilapidated Matatu sitting very low already was parked waiting for its next joyride! I played the usual, “Sorry my friend we can only afford Ks 500!” and walking away a couple of times, standard procedure with everything over here, the west’s pricing system is far less tiring! “Our man” not wanting to lose out on all his hard work, came coming running back “ok, ok, they take you!”

If they can! Having travelled over 8 000km we had seen many, many Matatu’s and believe me this was definitely not one of the better looking ones! The roof structure was in serious disrepair, not too mention that there weren’t any roof racks! Where exactly were they going to put our boats! Our request for them to flatten the seats and slide them inside, was totally ignored and before we knew it there were 3 large Perception Kayaks stacked precariously on top of this crippled Matatu! I wish we had a working camera!

We were under the impression that WE had hired the vehicle! Well well, hiring a vehicle in this part of the world means nothing more than the driver has a guaranteed income and that any additional passengers he can squeeze or squash in the, fatter his margin! Sitting perched up in the front on all our gear I was amazed to see how many locals disappeared behind me, at almost every corner we would screech to a holt, the door would fly open and another couple of weary travellers would jump in, without anyone ever getting out!

The journey couldn’t have been longer then 15km but seemed to go on forever! We all held our breaths as we flew recklessly along, bouncing over potholes, dodging stray goats, bicycles and pedestrian’s! My nerves would be some what calmed when the door man / tariff collector would jump out and do a quick inspection to see that our boats were still attached and all the ropes, tied onto what ever extruding object was available, (window fasteners, rear view mirrors, handles etc.) were still tight and hadn’t rattled lose!

We eventually arrived at our destination all shaken up, very happy, and amazed to see our boats still in one piece attached to the concaved roof! Was that little episode more or less risky than the point crossing?! We will never know all we can say is that we will definitely think twice before opting for another joyride in a Matatu!

Video tapes drown

We arrived in Mambrui safely, all in one piece, still not too sure how we ever made it! Our next problem was where were we to spend the night! With about 30 local kids surrounding us, each one of them eyeing out something they could only dream of getting their hands on, we naturally decided that where we were was not going to do. Either we find a resort or safe haven where we can get away from the local community, or we jump back in our boats and head a little further down the coast to a remote spot away from the village!

The decision to paddle a little further south was taken and Aaron set off into the large surf! As he reached the final breakers his luck ran out and the back breaker crashed over his boat and left him swimming! Boat being washed toward shore, he grabbed what he could and tired to swim after. The one thing which he had in his possession was a dry bag full of used video tapes, which were tightly sealed in a cooler box. All our footage we took of our stay in Lamu, one of the most highly valued items we had with us, the cameras could be replaced but the tapes and the events captured on them definitely couldn’t!

Aaron said to me when he finally returned to the safety of the beach – “all I was worried about was our tapes, the boat could be replaced but not the tapes!”

Lets hope that they are not ruined and we can still use them in our documentary which we are hoping to produce of our expedition! Another valuble lesson – do not carry anything which is of high value within your cockpit, or even in your boats unless you are 100% sure it is protected against water!

Town elders guard K2K

After Aarons little fall out, he told me that there was no way that he would be able to get back out there again and that he would drag his boat along the shore if he had to go anywhere. The seriousness in his tone told me that there was no way I was going to be able to persuade him. With the others (Graham and Shayne) having safely made it out bobbing amongst the swell, I decided to give it a bash and tell them there was no way we were going anywhere and that we better look for a place to sleep where we were.

They had no choice and therefore we all returned safely to shore. There was a resort a little further up the beach which looked promising and we were sure that they would be so kind enough for us to pitch our little tents at the back of their huge property, out of harms way!

Well after speaking to them for about 1 hour, Graham and I eventually decided that there was no use, the Italian management were useless and definitely not going to help, they wouldn’t even give us reasonable discount, we were up against the Euro and therefore didn’t have a chance!

One of the local guys understood our frustration and began making a plan, he called a couple of his mates and it wasn’t too long before we were talking to one of the village elders and a local custom official. They said that we were more than welcome to camp at the local school, but this proved to be far too far and we decided to camp right on the beach outside the resort! This was nothing new for us and we happily pitched our tents amongst the dune under growth. The two gentleman told us that this was not a safe place and that if we slept there unguarded we would be boatless by the time we woke up!

The town elder was prepared to guard for a little fee, but again they told us that one was not enough and that we needed two guards! Not wanting to cause too much trouble with the locals we eventually agreed and felt far safer having the town elder and his sleepy mate watch over us as we rested our tired bodies!

20 August

Aaron opts out – K2K team reduced to 3

We woke bright and early, paid off our “awake” guards and prepared for a day on the water! The tide was out, and there, not more than 20 m away was the exposed reef! The reason for the size of the breakers which finished poor Aaron the evening before! The shear depth, width and jagged teeth of the reef meant that we couldn’t paddle for the time being and had to wait for the tide to rise before we were going anywhere. The frustration amongst the team was evident and stress levels began to show. All we had been doing for the past week was paddle, paddle, paddle we didn’t understand the concept of rest, our rational thought process was impaired and that is exactly what we needed – rest!

While Shayne and I had gone off into the town to pick up some water and bread for breakfast, Aaron had spoken to his mother and got the details about his bothers terrible motor bike accident! He had fractured his spine and would have to be in a cast for a couple of months.

Graham and I had been joking with Shayne and Aaron from the beginning that their malaria tablets, Lariam (widely known as a depressant), would push them over the edge at some stage, but our jokes backfired when Aaron actually decided to go home! It could also have been the fact that the far wiser and older Graham and I had won a bet with the 2 youngsters which meant that they would have had to be our slaves for our stay at Turtle Bay Resort. Aaron, Shayne is working hard attending to our every need, and don’t think that it is actually me who is typing this!

K2K is down to 3 again!

The Italian Job

After debating our options for a while the decision was made to chill out, rest and gather ourselves. Aaron would arrange for the car to pick him and Shayne up and take them to Turtle Bay, while Graham and I would regain our strength for the paddle ahead. We would paddle together and meet them in Turtle Bay in two days time.

The Italian management’s attitude problem hadn’t changed much since we last spoke and continued to see us as more of a nuisance than anything else. The local guys were the opposite and loved discussing the future of African football, Kenyans current lack of structure in the game and were just generally very intrigued as to where we had come from and where we were going! “Where is the engine?”, “How!” and couldn’t wait to see us navigate our way through the surf!

Luna landing

After seeing our beloved Mlevi (our Land Rover) for the first time in a long time, Graham and I decided to paddle for an hour or so that afternoon, and have less to do the following morning, kms in the bank would be good!

After covering 6km we decided that would do and pulled up onto a totally remote wind swept beach! This place was incredible, it was as if we had landed on the moon, there was no form of live to be seen, the only movement was the sand being swept wildly along the flat low lying beach! With the light disappearing quickly we pulled our boats up the beach and starting sussing out the place, looking for a spot which would protect us from the continuous gale! We managed to find a dune not too far from the waters edge, which was as good as any, not much higher than 1.5 m it didn’t give us too much protection but would do for just one short night!

We gathered some drift wood and had a roaring fire going within no time, using the boats as a wind shield down the one side of the dune we were able to create a some what sheltered space!

The shear nothingness of the place was amazing; it felt like we were the only people on the planet, the flat open sand stretched to the horizon, highlighted by some higher dunes. The only thing reminding us that we weren’t in fact the only surviving humans was a young shepard herding his 50 strong head of cattle over the distant dunes! The scene was surreal!

The fact that we could paddle along, stop and pull our boats up onto the beach where ever we wanted, collect fire wood and spend a night without seeing, or hearing anyone else is something amazing, and what has made the last couple of days so incredible and appealing! The absolute remoteness of this stretch of coast has been unbelievable!

21 August

Flat turquoise water for a change!

For the past couple of kms the coast line had taken a dramatic change for the better, the turbulent, dark murky water had given way to calm, turquoise tropical waters! Picture perfect, postcard stuff, golden sand, palm fringed beaches! There was also another little addition to make things that much more pleasant, a reef positioned just off the coast protecting us from the ocean swell allowed us the luxury of flat calm waters. The reef runs down the majority of the coast about 300 m from the shore, if the tide is at the right height we will be able to paddle within all the way down to Tanzania!

Swahili night classes for K2K

Graham and I landed on a little beach just north of Watamu, called Mayungu Beach where we would rest before heading into Turtle Bay! The restaurant which we arrived at agreed to have us for the night, after explaining to them that we were heading down towards Mozambique in our little canoe’s they were all very impressed and told us that we were very welcome and that their guards would take great care of us!

After the restaurant closed and the waiters were replaced by two very inquisitive guards our Swahili lessons began! We took out our Swahili phrase book and explained to them that they had to teach us. They couldn’t have been there longer than 5 minutes and Graham and I were seated over looking the cool warm Indian Ocean with not one but two focused teachers attempting to teach us there “very simple” language! After hearing the 10th phrase our brains were full, we hadn’t had to concentrate for longer than 5min for the past couple of months and knew there was no hope of us remembering anything our new found teachers were telling us! Their eagerness to help and their broad smiles whenever we repeated a phrase correctly was humbling!

My tummy started growling and the thought of our left over dinner began to play on my mind! I asked one of our new friend’s if he had eaten dinner yet, it had just turned 8pm, and he said no, “We have no money!” Do you believe it or not, do you take it as a loaded question and try and not be taken for a ride or do you provide them with a meal! After having learnt that Bread = Mkaze, or Superloaf, my tummy began to churn even more!

The next thing I was off, Soldier and I were off to the closet shop to find ourselves some Superloaf! At Ks12 per loaf (R1.2) I requested 6 from the young man hiding behind the gaze netting pulled across some protected bars. It made for a fulling meal, left over spaghetti stuffed into half loaves of Superloaf! Soldier and his mate’s bright smiles showed their appreciation! It was a cheap price to pay for 4 hours of dedicated Swahili lesson!

Hammock in the wind or flea infested bed?

These were the options, either a flea infested mattress, which our teachers had managed to dig up from some where, or our hammock stung between two palm trees! Graham had been in search for a spot for his hammock ever since we found them in Arusha, now was his chance to test the beautiful green beast!

I opted for the potentially itchy and longer lasting option! Tucking myself up behind a low wall to escape the cool breeze! I fell sound asleep within minutes! I had a very peaceful bite free sleep!

Graham, well he had a different story, being exposed to the on shore wind meant his night was far less restful. The constant flapping of his hammock reminded him that he hadn’t quite reached the comfortable bed of Turtle Bay!!