1984 - Solo to Kenya and Seychelles: Nairobi day 1

This is one of the relatively few trips I did without Rab or Matt. From a business point of view it was important to start establishing contacts with African organisations and other African insurers since this had not been possible during the War in Rhodesia. There were two conferences to which I had been invited – one in Nairobi, Kenya and the second in the Seychelles. At that time it was not possible to get into Kenya with a South African passport or, indeed a South African entry or exit stamp in any other passport. I had acquired a British passport which had never been near South Africa, but Rab and Matt still had South African passports and were therefore barred from entry.

Monday 23 April 1984 – Nairobi

Off again! Somewhat sooner than I thought since our next trip was planned for December to the Far East. Unfortunately Rab and Matt are not with me, which I must say depresses me – or perhaps it is just that I feel guilty leaving them behind. They are actually in Durban all this week and are probably having a great old time, so I don’t know why I worry, but I do.

We have all had a flying visit to RSA. We left on Wednesday 11^th and went down to East London to see the family. We stayed three nights at the Dolphin in Nahoon which was very good value and saw all the family except Johnnie and Petra and Shirley. Sal and her kids were there too so we had a grand reunion. From there we went down to Cape Town to stay with Pad (minus Kathi) and see all our old friends. The weather was great all the way - most unseasonable – and Matt and I had some most enjoyable swims. Of course we ate too much and drank too much with the result that I am now at my greatest recorded mass – only by one kilogram it is true, but something will have to be done.

 

Trek fishermen hauling in their nets at Fish Hoek beach, near Cape Town

We all left Cape Town yesterday morning (Easter Sunday). My flight due to take off at 08.00 and Rab and Matt were on the 08.20 to Durban via Port Elizabeth and East London. We were a bit concerned because it was pretty foggy when we left Pad’s flat, but it was not that bad at the airport and there were no delays.

I had an uneventful flight – via Bloemfontein unfortunately – to Johannesburg but had a bit of a problem with my feet and legs. We were on a 727 with no room in the lockers and very little room between the seats. My flight bag was full of the usual ‘imports’ – booze, batteries etc and weighed about 20 kg. I couldn’t put it in the hold because the rest of my baggage weighed in at about 31.5 kg. so I just had to sit with a couple of inches of leg room.

I had a couple of hours in Johannesburg and phoned Steve and Jen to wish them Happy Easter. We took off on time for a change and I had a pleasant German couple sitting next to me. They had no English, so we chatted away in my pidgin German. Quite an interesting session. I nipped into the office to do a bit of work before going home to a rapturous welcome from the dogs. They weren’t very happy when I left this morning though.

We took off from Harare at 11.20 this morning, me travelling Executive Class on Air Zimbabwe. How nice! Given the ban on the local payment of First Class fares, they have converted the 2x2 setup to the standard 3x3 but with plenty of leg room and a slightly greater rake on the seat.

Extra services are provided – French champagne on take-off, free drinks, including German wine, and a choice of main courses, all served on crockery. I chose Duckling a l’Orange for the main course and very good it was too; the starter was smoked salmon with a slice (very, very small) of crayfish. There was also imported cheese – French Camembert and English Cheddar. All in all a splendid meal (It may seem odd commenting positively about such mundane items, but at this time in Zimbabwe the only cheese available was local cheddar – OK but not in quite the same class- and bream caught in Lake Kariba.) I had intended not eating too much, but the temptation was too great. I have atoned somewhat tonight, just having a steak sandwich in my room.

 

First view of Nairobi from my hotel room

Kenyatta International Centre

We landed dead on time – 13.00 local time – and I had no trouble getting through Customs and Immigration. I was met by a Mr Mwemi from Kenya-Re who escorted me through to the hotel – the Hilton. It is a very nice hotel indeed and my room is comfortable. The service seems to be good and the staff pleasant. The Kenya Safari Rally was finishing this afternoon, so after watching a bit on TV while I unpacked I took my camera and headed down for Kenyatta International Centre where the action was.

There were thousands of  people there of all hues and nationalities, the majority of course being black Kenyans. Everyone was cheerful and enjoying themselves. I took a couple of shots of the rally cars for Matt and then headed back to the hotel via a circuitous route to see a bit of this end of town. It looks quite pleasant so far, rather like Harare, but scruffier. I didn’t think it was really dirty though – at least the bits I saw.

I bought a couple of bits and pieces for the family but decided not to buy Rab a turquoise necklace (only $210) as she had given me strict instructions not to spend too much. After I bought an elephant hair bracelet (for 75c) from an itinerant vendor I was very surprised when he offered me dagga/marijuana or cocaine. I wonder if tourists in Harare are made such offers?

I was being pestered by a couple more salesmen – also offering bracelets and dope when I had a rather unpleasant experience. A tall, Kenyan well dressed in a suit and speaking rather well fell in beside me and, having shooed the peddlers away and proceeded to tell me what a terrible Government they had, how tribalism prevented him from getting a decent job – and so on in similar vein, raving somewhat. He didn’t smell of booze, but his eyes were very red and his nose was a bit runny. My guess is that he was high on drugs so I was a bit wary about telling him to push off, especially as he was a very large man. I managed to get a good position at the corner to the hotel and just shot through at the first available opportunity.

I must say would not feel as safe at night here as I do in Harare. As it was beginning to get dark, I just explored the hotel for a while and then headed for my room. There was nothing very interesting on TV – Flamingo Road after the news - but there was a film – The Eiger Sanction - on the in house channel so I watched that. Very disappointing.

So that’s the end of my first day in Kenya.