Uh-Oh! Van Malfunction!

The safari van is constructed to be a pretty sturdy piece of machinery. It has to be - it spends its days going through the game reserves and on the terrible roads in Kenya. I've never seen so many potholes! So, when one of them caused us to almost flip off the road, we were able to drive on a bit before stopping to fix whatever was dragging underneath the van. When we finally did stop, tons of people who were hanging about came up and offered to help. I was surprised at how many of them fit under the van!

They finally figured out that the tough metal case that protects the oil pan was disconnected and needed to be welded back on. A couple of other safari vehicles that we were travelling with came and picked us up and we crammed in to make it to our hotel on time. Otete took the van into the nearest town and it was fixed by the time we went on our morning game drive.

While we were waiting, we met a man named Jericho, who entertained us with stories of crocodiles and goat herding. We got a little worried when he started pulling out weapons, but then he proceeded to explain their uses. The long stick was for herding the goats. The short stick with lead on one side is used against animals and if you hit the back of a person's neck, it will probably kill them. Then he pulled out the sword and explained it was used for protection against animals, as well, though he seemed to indicate that it could also be used to protect the goats from humans. I wouldn't suggest messing with a goat herder in Kenya - it could be a fatal experience!