What do you get when you cross two African border towns that have no love lost between them?? A daily melee between Kenyans and Ethiopians where the Mzungu's (that's us) are the star attractions.

Our border crossing day was no exception, complete with a full cast of characters from the kingpin & his goons, the touts, the cattle truck drivers, the spectators, the cattle, and a wide variety of passengers with only one means of transpo. The standard fare allows you foot space on the roof rack while white knuckling through the night to avoid a fall into the already cantankerous herd. To our pleasant surprise, those who pay a little more, get to sit in the cab with the driver. We opted for the premium seats.

Just when we thought we were getting away in a spacious new cab, the door was abruptly opened and a baby emerged from the mob-scene into Neil's hands. The mother, brother, nephews, and aunts were soon to follow...in the end, we left with a cozy 6 in our cab for the next 30 hours to Nairobi.

Our journey took us through some of the most remote parts of Kenya (the Northeast). The first evidence that we were boldly going where few Mzungu's had gone before were the looks on the children's faces when Robin emerged from the loo. A mere 'boo' from her, had village kids scattering in all directions.

At the next stop, a major conflict ensued between the truck passengers and an entire village. We soon learned that our truck had run over someone's chicken and the villagers were not impressed. After a very lively exchange, and a subtle monetary slight of hand, we were back on our way. At the next stop one of our cab-mates said 'oh no, not again' to which Robin replied 'not another chicken!', but this time the tensions were more tribal than fowl.

Our first sunset en route provided the unexpected pleasure of an incredible crimson glow off the red-dirt road complete with wild giraffes cantering freely along the roadside.

Despite the lack of any of the normal conveniences, the mud-hut hospitality and road-side tea stands made our cattle-truck ride our favourite journey to-date. Even though apparently, we were buying meals for the whole truck...at every stop.

We arrived in Nairobi for a night's sleep only to catch a bus at dawn to take us on to Uganda. We would return to Nairobi at the end of this leg, but for now Kenya was just a journey not a destination.