Departing from Lake Nakuru at 07:00, we set out for Maasai Mara National Reserve. The drive was not quite 300 km, yet it took us nearly seven hours. This was partly because of the Mystery Machine's governor, but mostly because of the road from Narok to Sekenani Gate, where we entered the park.

When even the park's own web site admits that "The road has really broken up and is NOT good at all [...] It has a lot of pot holes and special attention is needed," you know you're in for a bit of an ordeal. Still, I was not expecting nearly 80 kilometres of this:

I attempted to capture our experience of this road in the following videos. As you watch, bear in mind that I'm trying to keep the camera as motionless as possible.

Do I need to warn you against going on this type of safari if you're prone to carsickness? This road was by far the worst - yet it's smoother than some of the trails within the parks themselves.

Livestock also slowed us down on this leg of our journey. Young boys herding cows, sheep and goats would drive their animals into the road before us, hoping to slow the Mystery Machine enough that they could approach us to ask for money or candy. But we did not stop: with horn and bumper, George kept us moving without harming any animals. To the young herders, George would speak a single, scornful word of Swahili. Later, when we asked him what that word was, he replied: "Naughty!"

I have another, similar story, though I have no photo to accompany it:

We had pulled over to check on a vehicle experiencing mechanical difficulties. A young cowherd - a boy not yet a teenager - drove his animals into the road, and I photographed them. Immediately the boy thrust out his hand and, in passable English, demanded payment because I had taken pictures of his animals without his permission.

I had two twenty-shilling coins in my pocket, so I decided to play along. But as he pocketed my shillings, the boy shook his head: "One dollar".

I rejected his demand, but magnanimously added: "I will delete the picture, because I did not have your permission, and you may keep the coins."

Did this statement surpass the young cowherd's grasp of English? Or did he simply choose to ignore it? In any case, while I deleted the photo, he continued to repeat "One dollar" until George - returning from his inspection of the disabled vehicle - gave the boy a telling-off in Swahili. The boy withdrew, and we went on our way.

I asked George what he'd said this time. Said George: "I told him: Be off! We don't need your permission! You own nothing! Those cows are your father's!"