About two weeks ago, I shared about my trip to Turkana in October. You can read about it here and here.

The trip was an 8-day one to witness the eclipse. Thinkers from around the globe had said Allia Bay on the shores of Lake Turkana was the best place to view the eclipse from and so we went.

We had camped at Koobi Fora Museum, about 50kms north of Allia Bay. Form here we could see Lake Turkana’s Northern Island, which is a breeding ground for Nile Crocodiles.

Some baobab-looking tree. It is no more than one metre tall. [UPDATE: This is known as the desert rose. Thanks Francusi for the info.]

Sibiloi National Park is considered the Cradle of Mankind, with fossils millions of years old found here.

I don’t know how this happened. Maybe a case of the Lake rising? It used to be up to 90 metres higher than it is today.

We had positioned ourselves to witness the hybrid eclipse when we saw a rainstorm approaching over Lake Turkana.

Before the rainstorm arrived, a sandstorm landed. This meant all equipment had to be shielded or packed away.

Yup!

Here’s a timelapse of us watching the eclipse.

And one of the eclipse itself. It was dark for about 14 seconds and then the sun shone again.

 

Sibiloi National Park is managed by KWS.

Some local we found marvelling at the eclipse, or what was left of it.

The sunset was glorious!

Part of what we managed to capture of the eclipse.

As we prepared to break camp the following morning, we took a walk around Koobi Fora Museum and spotted several Defenders like the one above. These are the vehicles that were used during the initial exploration of Sibiloi.

Sibiloi National Park is also home to Kenya’s only petrified forests. What you see above is an old log that has now turned into stone. Read about how this is even possible here.

Petrified photographer?

While at Sibiloi, I met a former college mate who is now working with the National Museums of Kenya. We hadn’t met since 1998!

On the way back to Nairobi, we stopped by an El Molo Village to experience the lifestyle of one of Kenya’s smallest communities.

This ‘boat’ is what the El Molo use when crossing the lake or going out to fish. Yes, it floats.

We stopped in Baragoi for snacks. As I walked through town, I spotted a disused petrol pump and clicked away.

As we approached Maralal, we got to catch a glimpse of Suguta Valley, a place I hope and plan to visit one day.