<b>Wednesday 7th September 2016:</b> Leave the Ark Lodge - very small rooms here- on the way out the front vehicle has a leopard cross in front of it, but we don't get to see it as the shrubs are very dense on the sides of the road. We are 600k"s from the coast here and the lushness quickly changes to dry in the rain shadow of Mt Kenya and then back into wet green. We cross the equator, so are now in the northern hemisphere. We stop for a comfort stop at Nanyuki at a modern shopping centre with a lot of security, it is one of the oldest towns and has an army training unit. Back into rural with hop crops, dozens of covered hot houses growing roses (some possibly for our hotel in Nairobi, they had fresh flowers in all rooms and bathrooms) and then into cropping. We are going from 2760m down to 760m at Shaba, so shouldn't be cold. The land changes so quickly around here, the land is now poor and stony and this is where the tribal huts and villages are. We are travelling on a new asphalt road - we have seen the aggregate for the roads being made by hand - and there are speed bumps made of concrete, four strips across the road about 2 ft apart as well as spikes that you need to zigzag around in places, so they don't want you to speed. Where we are going there are 3 conservation areas, Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba. We turn off the main road and go on the worst road - I thought we had experienced that a couple of days ago - but this is just rock and in and out of creeks in the driest of conditions and then we come upon this oasis in the desert, The Sarova Shaba Game Lodge set on the Ewasonyiao River which means 'dirty river' and it is very muddy, but there is a natural spring above the Lodge and they have it running right through the Lodge in little streams with bridges and stone crossings. They have also made use of the stones for walls, paths, garden beds etc. there are crocodiles in the river and elephants to be seen on the other side of the electric fence.
 
After a late lunch we go on a game drive at 4pm In to Buffalo Springs. On the way out over that rocky road we see children walking home from school, all dressed in school uniform, they all wave, but then tend to put their hand out for something. There are a lot of schools and education seems to be important and these are proper buildings, not huts. I'll let the photos tell what we saw.
Kenya's money is the shilling, but we are managing with our travel money card, much better than having bits of money left over - you wouldn't be able to buy at those little side stalls, but we aren't stopping at them - good places to stay away from.