CHAPTER VII 



ALONG THE RIFT VALLEY TO BARINGO 



" Upaci, upaci, 

 Hatta Baringo. 

 Mbali kidogo 

 Tukafika Uganda." 



(Hasten, hasten, 

 As far as Baringo. 

 But a little farther 

 Then we're at Uganda. ) 



Zanzibari Alarching Soug. 



During the march from Naivasha to the Gilgil we had risen 

 slightly in elevation. The lake stands at the level of 6200 

 feet, and in the two marches we had only ascended 200 

 feet. After crossing the river the ascent became more marked ; 

 and, at the height of 6710 feet, we reached the summit of the 

 ridge that separates the basin of Naivasha from that of Lakes 

 Elmetaita and Nakuro. To the south was a long slope, covered 

 with turf and loose " lelesha " scrub {Tardionanthes caviphoratus), 

 and in the far distance the crater of Longonot. To the north, a 

 cliff descended abruptly to a plain on which lay Lakes Nakuro 

 and Elmetaita, leaden-gray in contrast to the intervening tracts 

 of glistening sand and salty desert. We scrambled down the 

 cliff, leaving to our left a group of extinct volcanic cones, and 

 made our way towards the southern end of Elmetaita, where 

 we camped. There, on the banks of the Kariandusi river, we 

 found a powerful caravan under Major Eric Smith and Captain 

 (now Major) Williams, R.A., who were returning to the coast 

 after the evacuation of Uganda by the British East Africa 

 Company. They gave me a great deal of most valuable advice 



