Sibiloi National Park and Lake Turkana National Parks

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Sibiloi National Park

   Sibiloi sits on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana, which is one of the most remote places in Kenya, and getting there is an expedition rather than a day ride. The park was created to protect fossils. This stretch of shoreline, around Koobi Fora, has produced some of the world's richest finds of early human ancestors, from about two million years ago, and teams led by Richard Leakey, Meave Leakey and their colleagues dug here for decades. Petrified trees lie scattered across a fossil forest in the dry ground, and bones of ancient crocodile and hippo turn up in the sediment. It is a place where the story of humankind is lying in the dirt, and it still feels raw.

   Read the complete Sibiloi National Park write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Sibiloi National Park is where the day begins. Next is Central Island.

2. 2. Central Island

   Central Island is a volcanic cone in the middle of Lake Turkana, a small rough dot of black rock and red earth rising out of green water, and there is no road to it. Reaching it takes a boat from the western shore, which is a matter of local arrangement and good weather, because the lake can turn violent in minutes when the wind picks up. The island holds three crater lakes, and the largest is a vivid, quiet pool where Nile crocodiles breed in big numbers. It is among the strangest places in Kenya, steaming and barren, with cormorants nesting on ledges and the smell of sulphur on warm days.

   Read the complete Central Island write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Central Island comes up about 837 km into the recorded legs. Next is Lake Turkana National Parks.

3. 3. Lake Turkana National Parks

   Lake Turkana is known as the Jade Sea, and when the light is right the name is obvious: a long, narrow expanse of green-blue water lying across the desert, with black volcanic hills on one side and pale sand on the other. It is the largest permanent desert lake in the world and the biggest alkaline lake. The Omo River in Ethiopia supplies most of its water, and what flows in has nowhere to leave except by evaporation, so the lake is salty. Upstream dams on the Omo have raised concerns about how the water level will behave in the future, a worry that fishing families here follow closely.

   Read the complete Lake Turkana National Parks write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 1742 km into the recorded legs you reach Lake Turkana National Parks. Next is back through Central Island.

4. 4. back through Central Island

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Central Island write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Central Island, late in the day. Next is Sibiloi National Park.

5. 5. Sibiloi National Park

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Sibiloi National Park write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Sibiloi National Park. That is the ride.