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Land Yachting in the Wild NDF

Land Yachting in the Wild NDF

Date: 2016-10-14
The Kingsley Holgate Foundation team as recently returned from A Journey to Chew Bahir Expedition - it's a story best told from the scribbles in Kingsley's expedition journal

Land Yachting in the Wild NDF

Samburu warrior captain Dipa joins our convoy of two Landy Disco's nicknamed Phokot and Turkana (after two warlike tribes of the Northern Frontier District) and the big 130 Heart of Africa Land Rover Defender nicknamed Ndhlovukasi (the great She-elephant).

We travel North through the Wild NDF - that's what it was called in the old days, the Northern Frontier District and it's still a bit like that today. Wild-looking nomadic tribes, cattle and livestock wars, dramatic sometimes empty landscapes where you can so easily die of thirst, too many old rifles and Kalashnikovs traded from South Sudan and Ethiopia and bought with cattle and camels.

We reach the Chalbi Desert where we try out the landyachts. Late afternoon runs into moonlight - booms, sails, batons, tyres, steering mechanisms, ropes, pulleys and the bolting on of the seats.

And then we're off - racing across the desert crust, the thrill of the wind in the sails - the adrenalin-rush as you fly a wheel and the squeal of the tyres as you make a flat-out turn into the wind - transfer your weight to the opposite seat - tug on the main sheet and you're off again, heading for the pin-prick of light that marks the distant campfire.

And so with Landy back-up, we sail the Kaisut, Karoli and Chalbi deserts - But ahead of uslies an even greater adventure. A world-first land yacht crossing of Chew Bahir, the great Salt Ocean in south Ethiopia.

At a middle-of-nowhere fork in the northwest track to the Omo Delta in the north of the world's largest desert lake - Turkana, we say goodbye to our Samburu friends. They have added much colour and culture to our humble Living Traditions expedition to Chew Bahir and Beyond!