Across the Equator and into the Great Rift Valley

 We left Samburu after an early breakfast knowing that we had a long day of driving ahead of us. We did take advantage on our drive out to stop for some more animal encounters, and luckily the roads around this part of Kenya have really improved over the last couple of years. 

I wanted to break up the drive a bit so I had planned some fun and educational stops along the way. Our first stop was at the equator. We crossed from the Northern hemisphere to the Southern hemisphere in a town called Nanyuki. If you are wondering what the light blue water pitcher is doing in the picture above then you are about to find out, just like the group.

A local gentleman came over to the group and offered to do a little demonstration. He asked if we had heard about the toilets flushing in different directions once you cross the equator. He told us to watch closely as we walked from one side of the equator to the other. He pored water into a small bowl with a tiny hole in the bottom. As the water drained out he dropped a match into the water and sure enough it spun counterclockwise north of the equator and clockwise when we walked south. The real kicker was when he did it again, below the sign, on the equator and the match didn't spin at all. 

Thomsons Falls
Next stop was a bit of a tourist trap but still a wonderful sight, Thomsons Falls. We paid $2 each to walk out to a platform overlooking the falls. There is a massive development adjacent to the falls and there are quite a few touts trying to get you to spend money but the view is pretty breathtaking. Several locals dressed in traditional west African dance regalia latched onto Erica and David, while Chris tried is best to fend off a chameleon that had been thrown onto his shirt and was starting to crawl up towards his head. 



  Our final stop before our destination of Lake Nakuru National Park was at the rim of the Great Rift Valley. This incredible geological feature stretches for over 3,000 miles. It is where two massive tectonic plates are spreading apart. Earlier this year a brand new crack opened up down in the valley. We drove right across the crack which had opened right through the middle of some farms. Many of the famous early human fossils have been found in the rift valley. Several soda lakes and many volcanoes are found in the rift valley. After taking a good look from the escarpment we jumped back into the car to wind our way down to the floor of the rift valley and to one of the most famous soda lakes, Lake Nakuru.

Overlooking the Great Rift Valley

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