16/12/2022
KENYA CHALBI DESERT CAMEL EXPEDITION
12-22 March 2023
This is a chance to participate in a venture that only a handful of people have ever experienced – crossing Kenya’s northern wilderness on foot and with camels, in the company of Gabra nomads.
Led by award-winning desert explorer and author, Michael Asher, the expedition takes you through a constantly changing landscape of open bush, sand-sheets, old acacia forest, wooded water-courses, and lava-strewn hills, where Gabra manyattas, and the nomads’ camels, sheep and goats, are almost the only signs of human habitation. An authentic, ‘real thing’ adventure, without luxuries, travelling just as the early explorers did, this is a rare opportunity to connect with wild nature in a way not possible in a motor-car.
The trek, starting at Loiyangalani on Lake Turkana, and ending near Kalacha in the Chalbi Desert, lasts 10 nights and 11 days, travelling on foot, with camels carrying baggage, food and water.
Programme
(Day 1) AM. Arrive Loiyangalani by charter flight. Lunch at Palm Shade lodge. After lunch visit el-Molo fishing village on the shore of Lake Turkana. Later, by 4WD up the escarpment into the Chalbi Desert. Meet camels and camel-men near Gus village. Night camping in palm lugga.
(Day 2) Trek with camels across dramatic desert bush northeast towards Molobot Mountain, passing scattered manyattas of Gabra nomads with their flocks and herds. Night in the desert near Olla Ilman Koso. (20km)
(Day 3) We continue the trek towards Molobot Mountain, crossing country that alternates between rocky plains and sandy bush. Night camping in the desert not far from Molobot village, at the foot of the mountain. (20km)
( Day 4) We turn north, heading across the stony and sandy desert with our camels. Night camping in the desert near North Horr. (20km)
(Day 5) Trek with the camels northeast across open bushland and desert to the Lugga Bilal/C82 (desert track) intersection. Night in Lugga Bilal. (20 km)
(Day 6) Skirting the black lava fields, we head north up the sandy, tree-lined watercourse of Lugga Bilal, en route to Balesa. Night in the desert near the edge of the lava, where the lugga turns east. (20km)
(Day 7) We continue to follow the Bilal watercourse, in a valley between rocky plateaux, heading north of east towards Balesa. Night in the desert near Balesa village. (20km)
(Day 8) Passing near Balesa, we turn the camels south towards el-Gade, weaving our way on a narrow track through black lava country, inhabited by Gabra shepherds and camel-men with their herds and flocks. In the afternoon we see the sacred Yaa manyatta of the Gabra Galbo clan in the distance. We camp in the desert nearby. (20km)
(Day 9) – We continue with the camels south on the path the lava fields, emerging on a wide sandy plain where the village of el-Gade is situated. We pass the village, leaving it on our right, and enter the ancient acacia forest around Godacha. Night in the desert on the edge of the forest. (20km)
(Day 10) Today we trek through the acacia forest, halting at the deep well of Godacha where we may watch Gabra men watering their animals, singing as they pass buckets of water from hand to hand. We continue to the desert airstrip near Kalacha and spend the night in a grove of old acacias next to the strip. We say farewell to our camels and camel-men. (15 km)
(Day 11) AM Pack up personal equipment and move to the airstrip, where your charter flight picks you up for the 1 hour 40 minute flight to Nairobi.
Expedition Notes
On this expedition there are no prepared camps: we walk with the camels, help lead the camels, and the caravan halts where we halt: expedition members may also help with the loading and unloading. The expedition covers a total of about 200 km, around 20 km (12 miles) per day. This is roughly 7 hours of marching: we halt for about 10 minutes every hour, and for about 2- 2.5 hours for lunch, and stop for camp in the evening before sunset. Two-person tents and mattresses are provided (single supplement available) - or you may prefer to sleep under the stars. You are encouraged to put up your own tent, fill your own water-bottles, and take part in the organization of the camp. A professional cook travels with the expedition: we cook on charcoal and deadfall firewood, and the food is of a high standard – a vegetarian option is always available. Water is carried in jerrycans – water taken from desert wells is clean, but can be treated at the request of expedition members.
Everything we take with us is carried by camel – there is no motor-support on this expedition (though we do have a vehicle on standby for emergencies). We take no luxuries – there are no latrines, no shower-tent, no bar, and no camp furniture: we sit and eat on mats on the ground, often in the shade of trees. We do not carry enough water for other than a light wash and tooth-brushing every day (some might prefer to try a twig from the miswak or tooth-brush tree used by nomads). We do maintain hygiene, washing hands before every meal, but generally, expedition members should come prepared to live in ‘wilderness conditions’ for 10 days.
Conditions and Requirements
This is a journey of exploration: the trek has been run only once before by a small group of pioneers under experimental conditions. This second trek involves a different route, so the pioneering continues. For this reason, physical fitness is required, and a robust attitude including the readiness to march through hot winds, high temperatures, and dust-storms, walking on different types of desert surface.
Though you will not have to carry a heavy pack, a small daypack is recommended to carry water and other personal items. Simple recycled plastic water-bottles – 1.5 litres and 0.5 litres - are recommended, though some may find the ‘Camel’s Back’ type waterbags useful. I-phone access is available in a few areas, though expedition members are asked not to use their i-phones while marching or in group situations so as to preserve the gestalt of the expedition.
Finally, insurance. It is a condition of joining this trip that you must be insured against medical and personal accident risks. Expedition members are asked to sign a waiver, bearing in mind that abnormal conditions or other events beyond the control of the organizers can prevail at any time in such remote destinations, and that the trek might be subject to unexpected changes. In order to enjoy the experience you should be prepared to be flexible where necessary.
In brief
Included:
• Services of expedition-leader, Michael Asher
• All meals
• All transport, including charter-flight to and from Nairobi
• All equipment, including tents and mattresses
• Services of cook
• Guides, camels and camel-men
Not Included:
• International air ticket (if required)
• Hotel in Nairobi (if required)
• Transport to/from Wilson airport for charter flight
• Cost of international visa (if required)
• Personal equipment (list supplied below)
• Personal insurance
Personal equipment required
• Soft frame backpack or kitbag (no hard suitcases)
• boots, shoes, or walking sandals
• loose-fitting trousers, long shorts (loose fitting)
• pullover, fleece or sweatshirt
• hat/headscarf
• torch (head-torch recommended)
• Waterbottles carrying at least 3 litres (best: recycled 1.5 litre and 0.5 litre supermarket bottles or ‘Camels back’ type waterbag)
• rehydration sachets (ORS)
• pocket-knife
• sleeping bag
• day pack
• sunblock
• washing kit
• personal medication/ pocket medical kit
About the leader:
Michael Asher has been leading expeditions by camel over the past 22 years, in Morocco, Sudan, Chad, and Kenya. An award-winning desert explorer, he has covered more than one and a half times the circumference of the Earth by camel and on foot. With Mariantonietta Peru, he made the first ever west-east crossing of the Sahara with camels – a distance of 7200 km in 9 months. A distinguished writer, he is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, the author of 24 books of various genres. His most recent book, The Oasis of the Last Story – Tales from the Desert (2022) – is available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oasis-Last-Story-Tales-Desert-ebook/dp/B0BHL15VDY
