We entered the North East Province, also called the Northern Frontier District, where the intense heat clung to us, like a hot, damp cloth. Donkeys carrying yellow plastic containers of water, twig-built dome houses covered with straw and beautiful children line the sides of the road. Soon we reached Garissa, quiet in the afternoon heat.  Everyone sighed in delight at the lovely, cool Nomad Palace Hotel.
Because of the 40-plus temperatures, we waited until late afternoon to visit the giraffe sanctuary.  There we found a fence now blocked the natural migration route of the giraffes.  As we walked along the Tana River, quite high with water, we viewed countless giraffes, other animals and numerous species of birds.

The first of a series of punctured tires began here. Driving back into Garissa the consensus was strong that we needed to find the one and only place where we might get a cold beer in a Muslim town. Successful in our hunt, we savoured our Tuskers in a tent during a dramatic thunderstorm, which broke the heat for a moment.
The next morning, after breakfast, we stocked up with food, water and juice in bustling Garissa for the long, hot day of driving along the

Tana River to Kipini.  The road soon disintegrated into tarmac sections.  Our van had a mechanical problem but thanks to Colin who had brought his car tools with him, the roll bar was soon fixed. After this, the road became car tracks through red earth.  Driving was very slow under threatening dark clouds.  We tried to keep in a convoy but three vehicles became separated and fell behind the others.  They ran into heavy rain.  The red dirt turned into slippery mud and one car became stuck, leaving all three cars stranded until the rain stopped and the mud dried. After yet another flat tire, they set out to reach the first group.

The first group of four vehicles had gone on through the dirt and reached sporadic tarmac followed by dirt and gravel road.  There was little evidence of any highway and the only other vehicles traveling the so-called major highway were large container trucks.  Some were jammed with cattle – with two men, each in a hammock, swinging over them.
Due to the lack of a real road, all traffic moved at a very slow speed, about 30 Km/hour. It took us ten hours to cover 200 kilometers.  When the first group of cars stopped for a roadside picnic lunch at 3:30pm, a trucker stopped and said it was too dangerous to be here without a guard and that we needed to keep moving.

The final three vehicles caught up with the first group drinking Tuskers and sodas in Garsan – a basic market town where goats and cows with long horns wandered the dusty hot streets. Now united, we drove along the Tana River to the Kipini’s Tana River Lodge.  It was dark when we arrived so after showering the dust of the day away and resting, we had an elegant lobster dinner.

Next morning, over breakfast, we talked about the special features of the lodge.  Nine cottages with outdoor verandas perched on a hill overlooked the clay-soaked, fast-moving Tana River. Each cottage was done in the Lamu-style Arabic furniture.  Bougainvillea climbed everywhere. All the while, the swishing rhythm of the Indian Ocean filled the air and dhows keeled over in the strong winds.

Our three days were idyllic – walking the shores of the river, an open boat ride down the Tana River, very heavy with clay, and then stopping at a small village where we had fresh coconut milk, visiting the nearby 15th century Arabic city ruins, called Ungwana, getting to know each other, and experiencing a game drive at Kipini Sanctuary, with yet another flat tire for one car.
After the peaceful interlude at the Lodge, we were ready to hit the road again.  The news that the Tana River had burst its banks that day, killing sixty people, made us all aware that we had missed this danger by only a few days.
After a short four-hour drive over good roads, we arrived at Coral Keys Beach Resort on the outer edge of Malindi.   Our time passed quickly in the swimming pools, sunning on the beach, attending the Malindi Festival, visiting the Sabaki River Delta and some sand dunes, and dining at fine restaurants.  

An uneventful drive, with no flat tires, brought back us back into Nairobi before nightfall. Given all the variety of experiences and places, we all agreed that this fine trip was an Easter holiday of a very different kind – one to be always remembered.