Ten months of pandemic-induced anguish ended with a night at the Kitich campsite, in the foothills of the Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy, found at the end of dusty/rocky track a couple of hours from Isiolo. The irony of this jaunt was that I was technically on holiday, but little was I expecting that it would turn out to be a work trip instead.
For twenty years I’ve been conducting research in Africa, from Sierra Leone in the west to Somalia in the east—focused on a ream of topics under the general umbrella of armed conflict and firearms. And while there are plenty of firearms in Nairobi, or in another take-your-pick capital in East Africa, I haven’t spent much time thinking about urban crime and violence, but instead turn towards the peripheries, the borderland regions of Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, etc.
On my way to the Namunyak Conservancy I was looking forward to going somewhere I’d never been and interacting with people I knew little about, the Samburu. While I still have a lot to learn about these good folks, there was a certain familiarity with the few Samburu I met that I appreciated.
Pastoralists throughout the four-corner Karamoja Cluster region of Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia are similar in many ways, linguistically and culturally, while also quite different, linguistically and culturally. Apart from livestock, something linking these groups together is a need for self-protection, of their communities, and, of course, their animals. And is often the case out in the open plains and bushlands, the best defense is your own defense, and having a firearm can be the difference between prosperity or poverty. Of course, firearms aren’t for self-defense only, so like it or not, that’s the way it works.
The guys passing through the Kitich campsite with rifles were happy to chat. AK-47s and 56s, a G3, and a couple of well-decorated single-bolt action sharpshooters. Pretty standard stuff among herders in Kenya, but it’s the way in which pastoralists embellish their firearms to blend as extensions of themselves that I can appreciate most. Anyway, I’ve written elsewhere about these conversations and won't rehash them here, but suffice it to say that the conservancy dynamic and its bearing on the life of youth can be a complicated one.
Not far from the Kitich campsite and where pasers-by were generous with their time, is the glam-camp of Kitich Forest Camp, where you can burn $600 a night and expect to pay extra for the chilled champagne. The Kitich campsite I’m visiting is outside of the boundary of the conservancy, and thus, it is—as it the conservancy itself (but that’s a different conversation)—Samburu land. So don’t be an asshole and keep your crap out of the stream.
On maps.me there are two campsites in the area, ‘Kitich campsite’ and ‘Kitich campsite #2’. It’s the unnumbered site where I spent the night, next to a crystal clear stream with an occasional elephant (well, dung, as I noted, anyway), vervets, and a range of birds… a kingfisher’s paradise it seems.
From the A2 going north from Isiolo, the turn is a few kilometers on the far side of Sereolipi village, a left turn onto a soft track meanders for about 20 kms until a lazy climb upward into the conservancy.
Around 1h 30-40m from the A2 you will reach the campsite. It’s pretty much a one-track road all the way there, with a few stream crossings and some bumps, but nothing overwhelming. I lost all phone reception once I entered the conservancy, so be prepared.
When you reach the conservancy HQs, you’re almost there. Just keep going. Any doubt of what's happening, there's someone at the HQ to help.
When you hit this road marker, follow the arrow, and from here, you’ll drop down to a stream crossing, the only test for whatever you’re driving, particularly if it’s been raining. But the water’s clear enough you can avoid the larger submerged rocks.
Once across the stream, keep the engine going until you hit this sign. Follow the arrow if it’s that champagne you’re after, otherwise, turn right at this sign into the thickets if it’s the stream-side campsite you’re opting for.
Your track from here looks like this.
Eventually, you pop out of the bush and there you have it. Your camp spot, and swimming hole or bathtub, whatever you prefer. The camp spot is atop the sandy bank on the right side.
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