When this road trip story came about, it started as  a joke to visit one of my friends who lives in Kisumu.  For someone who passes by Kisumu almost every other time on my way to Vihiga County, this wasn’t anything out of the ordinary but there is always something about road trips that excites me even when using the same road many times as there is always a different and new experience each time.

Now one thing on this western route, is that if you want to have a good drive, you better leave early.  Somehow nowadays there is always traffic on this highway, which can be quite tiring.  We set off from Nairobi at around 4am, and I must say drivers at that time seem the sane ones.  Most have courtesy, especially trailer drivers, and the communication signs with the drivers at such hours is impressive, making it easier to drive on the highway at this time.

By the time the sun was rising we had reached Sachangwan and it was indeed beautiful. The advantage of using private means is that you get to stop anywhere and capture the beautiful moments at your own pleasure.

The plan was to get to Kisumu at around 9am and then catch the 11am ferry to Rusinga Island the same day.  We did get to Kisumu by 9, but we got a bit too relaxed and we were definitely not going to make it on time to the ferry so we decided to drive to Rusinga.  For me this was another chance to explore new routes that I have not been to before. Every time I am on a road trip i just want to gaze outside at the beautiful landscapes and capture moments but sometimes that is the disadvantage of being the driver at this point, but not to stress as we would stop anywhere.

To get there we used google maps, and made turns and turns and we just kept going until we reached a dead end.   There was an elderly lady who found us at our dead end and said she saw us and wondered which road was this we were taking as there was no through way.  She was kind enough to ask the boda boda guy who had dropped her to her destination to take us all the way till Rusinga Island Lodge as we drove behind him.

We got to Rusinga Island Lodge at around 3pm in good time for some bitings before we ordered our meals which would be served later.   I could not wait to move around the place and the views on both the lodge and the lake were amazing.

Rusinga Island lodge is a beautiful place with awesome facilities which  make it a perfect place to stay for someone who wants a good getaway from the norm.

 

As the day broke, we sat by the lake and waited for the sunset, and the beauty that we saw in the skies was just breathtaking

And the beautiful skies did not disappoint ending what would be an awesome day, opening up the weekend to an adventurous one that we were on to the following day.