Safari254

New Year greetings to all, I’m back from the Christmas break and looking forward to another great year of travel and blogging. Let’s get the ball rolling …

Eliye Springs, also known as Ille Springs, is a remote village on the western shore of Lake Turkana in Kenya, near the mouth of River Turkwel. It is located 50 kilometers east of Lodwar and 40 kilometers south of Kalokol.

The local springs for which it is named produce lush vegetation along its section of an otherwise barren lake shore, and support a community of about 5000 people with fresh drinking water.

Vegetation in Turkana

 

I happened to visit Eliye Springs on the same day we were almost arrested (You can read about that here), so going to Eliye Springs was the best thing that happened all day.

We had been on the road and working all day and Eliye Springs had not been part of the plan. Once again, one of our location scouts had let us down, despite letting him know in advance what we wanted. When confronted he conveniently got ill, the transformation was so sudden that I was tempted to laugh. It was after a short discussion that  we decided to drive down to the springs.

 

 

 

 

By the time we arrived it was about 5pm and by this time all I wanted to do was relax. The atmosphere was very conducive; the doum palms surrounding the resort ensure that I was protected from the fierce Turkana sun plus there was also a slight breeze from the lake. I was at peace

 

 

 

I spent most of the time seated at the beach. I dropped my phone in the water while trying to take some photos but I saved it thanks to some quick thinking .It is still functioning well.

 

 

 

The location is very remote so if you do decide to stay at Eliye Springs long term, pack wisely. The closest town is Lodwar and even then if you forgot to carry some essentials you’re not guaranteed to find them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A word of advice, do not use the swimming pool. The water was very murky, you are better off swimming in the lake. I would have loved to but sadly I didn’t have any other clothes to change into.

The pool is to the right of the picture

 

 

 

Network coverage in the area is patchy so do not expect a fully functional phone.  There is not much to do around the resort except lay around and relax. You can however take a trip to Central Island; it is quite a distance from the resort and would make for a nice day trip. There are boats available for hire at the resort

View of Central Island from Eliye

 

After relaxing by the beach for a while it was time for us to have a late lunch. I may be exaggerating but it was one of the best meals I had on the whole trip. I have to say that I had not had a proper meal to eat all day and at that point I would have eaten anything.

Restaurant Entrance

 

We had requested to be served our meals by the beach but we ended up eating at the restaurant since their were only 2 waiters available.

 

I chose to have the fish and chips. I highly recommend the fish,  It was done just right and I knew it was fresh as it had probably been caught in the lake that day.

 

My companions chose to have Ugali and fish and Rice and beef

I don’t remember how much my meal cost but it was definitely <kshs1000 ($10)

Most of the items listed in the menu were not available, so the first thing I asked the waiter was to list for me what was unavailable. Given the remote location this was understandable.

 

We ate our meal as the sun set and soon it was time to head back to Lodwar.

 

 

 

 

How to get there: Easiest option is to fly to Lodwar then drive from Lodwar to Eliye. The drive will take about 1.5- 2 hours. I would advise against self-driving. The roads in the area are in terrible condition and there are virtually no signs. You can hire a car and a driver from Lodwar.

To find out more about the resort, here’s a link to their website.

This week Safari 254 links up with;

1. Reflections enroute #wkendtravelinspiration

2. Adelina’s Pack Me To in  #SundayTraveler

Please visit the sites for more wonderful photos and posts.