Kenya to Ethipia near Lake Turkana possible?

[Grecy]

Hi All,


I'm wondering about crossing from Kenya into Ethiopia in the North West near Lake Turkana.


Has anyone done that?


iOverlander shows someone crossed a kind of border 3 years ago on the West side of the lake. I'm wondering if anyone knows if it still works, and if there is a crossing on the East side of the lake?


How's the safety situation in that part of Kenya?


Thanks,
-Dan

[roamingyak]

A well worn path with solid overlanders....

East of the Lake (full of Croc's btw!)
Highly recommended. Semi adventurous people have been doing it for years, established routes, quite a few ways to approach it - or at least used to be, haven't keep up with recent developments. Good fun, if it rains expect to get stuck on higher ground, I was for 4 days in the last settlement before Ethiopia. Take plenty of fuel and food etc.
Search on here and in google, lots of blog posts, a few interesting places to stay etc
Security situation had been volatile/dodgy for a long while, but not usually at foreigners. Police killed, Somalians encroaching on natives lands etc etc
Easier I think to organise boat trips and island visits etc. Also was a research centre towards the top that I visited.

West of the lake
This area and up to South Sudan was very volatile in the past, government warnings on Kenya seem to be softer than they should be, but UK FCO advice says it's ok now(?). Can't be any worse than Nairobi!
Less established route, some have done it....
https://www.4x4community.co.za/forum...e-now-possible

https://nomadic-by-nature.com/traver...ana-road-trip/

Have fun, cracking area!! Take your time...
(There was a nice community campsite just out of Omorate from memory - best not to bush camp much in Ethiopia, people's attitudes vary wildly between super friendly and hostile/stone throwing/hate and drive super carefully)

[Grecy]

Thanks for the info!


Yeah, sorry, I should have searched before I posted, not after.


Appreciate the info on the safety situation, that's what I'm trying to get a handle on now.. hard to get up to date info. I'll see if I can find someone to convoy with at JJs.



-Dan

[roamingyak]

Thats ok mate, I'm sitting here with a 5k screen and 300meg fibre to my house and know how exciting yet relentlessly tiring it is to keep researching about the next place to explore after a long trip like yours (I've done the same trip more or less previously over 3 years) so happy to chip in a bit.

Lake Turkana area was one of the few 'Africa east coast' places I really enjoyed, felt more remote and slightly adventurous, more like the run down the west coast.... Some of the smaller settlements like Maralal and Loiyangalani are quite nice to hang out in for a few days as well...

When I do it again I'll zig zag up the east side to the border, then zig zag back and then go up the west side.... if you have the time why not.... It's the last country before you hit Ethiopia and then North Africa which are quite different...

I look forward to your youtube video on it :-)

[Grecy]

Originally Posted by roamingyak

Thats ok mate, I'm sitting here with a 5k screen and 300meg fibre to my house and know how exciting yet relentlessly tiring it is to keep researching about the next place to explore after a long trip like yours (I've done the same trip more or less previously over 3 years) so happy to chip in a bit.

Lake Turkana area was one of the few 'Africa east coast' places I really enjoyed, felt more remote and slightly adventurous, more like the run down the west coast.... Some of the smaller settlements like Maralal and Loiyangalani are quite nice to hang out in for a few days as well...

When I do it again I'll zig zag up the east side to the border, then zig zag back and then go up the west side.... if you have the time why not.... It's the last country before you hit Ethiopia and then North Africa which are quite different...

I look forward to your youtube video on it :-)

Cheers!


I just talking to a guy who came down the West side 3 days ago on a 1200GS - he was stuck in the sand many, many times.


It sounds like the Eastern Route is better roads and "easier" while the Western route is worse roads, more remote and "harder".


... It sounds like the Eastern side is stunning and I'm not certain if the West is equally beautiful. I'll keep researching


-Dan

[Wazungu]

The eastern side of Lake Turkana is more beautiful than the western side. The western side into Ethiopia has only recently been possible with the building of a bridge over the Omo River at Omorate.

Whichever way you go, this is a tough and remote part of the world. Go loaded up with fuel, water and food to last over 1,000 kms. People die out there if things go wrong.

The roads up the eastern side are still challenging - although the track has been upgraded a bit due to the Lake Turkana Wind Power project south of Loiyangalani. Further north from there it is still a remote, hard, challenging track.

There are no Kenyan border controls on this route and immigration and customs has to be done in Nairobi prior to setting off to Lake Turkana. I have read of some overlanders who managed to clear immigration and customs in Eldoret, but don’t bank on it. The Ethiopian side has immigration and customs but you will need to have got the Ethiopian visa beforehand.

I have posted a trip report on our trip down the eastern side of Lake Turkana in 2013 on both this forum and on the 4x4 Community forum. This was our third trip to Lake Turkana having first gone there in 1978.

[Grecy]

The Eastern Route was absolutely stunning, and I enjoyed every second of it. I can see why many say it's the highlight of East Africa for them.


It was great being so alone and remote again, like Namibia.


Stamping into Ethiopia in Omorate was simple and took 10 minutes. 60 day TIP issued for free. (I don't have a Carnet)



I drove 580km from the last gas pumps on the A2 in Kenya (location in iOverlander) to Omorate in Ethiopia where you can buy gas and diesel from barrels. From there it's another 200km to Jinka, the first place to have "real" gas and diesel pumps.


Have fun to those who follow!


_Dan

[Wazungu]

Originally Posted by Grecy

I drove 580km from the last gas pumps on the A2 in Kenya (location in iOverlander) ...

Ah, I see you took the easier route following the road from Laisamis recently upgraded due to the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project...

If you had taken the Maralal route, your last reliable fuel would have have been in Maralal (although we have in the past found no fuel in Maralal ... but that is another story).

[Grecy]

Originally Posted by Wazungu

Ah, I see you took the easier route following the road from Laisamis recently upgraded due to the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project...

If you had taken the Maralal route, your last reliable fuel would have have been in Maralal (although we have in the past found no fuel in Maralal ... but that is another story).

Nah, I saw that new road and it looked boring as hell, so I stayed well South and West of it. I didn't actually get on it until about 10km before the wind turbines.


-Dan