Nyumba ya Mungu: Part III

We recently went to one of our favorite nearby "trips", to the man-made lake, Nyumba ya Mungu (Trip I,Trip II). I was a bit worried since there was heavy rain the night before and the road is either extremely sandy in the dryness or extremely muddy in the rain. It is never an easy motorcycle ride to the lake but depending on ones mood it can be quite fun and almost like motocross.

It was quite cloudy with lots of mud!

There were several pools like this; as long as I saw some tire tracks of a previous motorcycle, I just went for it. 

The road was definitely muddy though it is always a scenic ride. The acacia woodland was somewhat wetter with the recent rains and the landscape wasn't quite as arid as it is most of the year. The ride goes through a few small villages before emerging at the north end of the lake. Because the dam is on the southern end, a vast swampland is created with bountiful bird life, including over 100 spoon bills, black egrets, and various other storks, lapwings and other water birds.

Ana looks out across the plains. 

We also had a chance run in with some fisherman selling fish to a local woman. I asked the name of the small fish and they replied, "dagaa", which is the name of a simple and bland dish, and I couldn't figure out which came first, the name of the fish or the name of the meal. Either way I enjoyed watching them sort the fish and it certainly made me confident that the hundreds of birds could each get a decent meal.

Laying out the fish. 

Sorting through, removing bigger ones for "fisherman's choice". 

The rest of the drive around the southern end was as spectacular as usual. The lake is not very wide and you can see the opposite shoreline at all times. However, the lake is very long and there are a few peninsulas and islets that make the lake at times appear shorter than it is. Because of the man made nature of the lake, the surrounding area contrasts dramatically with the lush area immediately surrounding the lake. At times the road winds in the interior and suddenly there are only acacias and dry landscape.

We could always see a few big storms across the lake, which would have looked more awesome if it wasn't for the fact that we were heading towards those mountains. When we crossed over around the southern end it suddenly got very cloudy, the temperature dropped and we braced for some rain. In the acacia woodland there aren't exactly too many places to find shelter so we had to power through the rain until we reached the main road, about 20 minutes from the lake. We got to the main road, soaked but not too cold, and enjoyed a nice chai!

Water mirrors the sky with some motorcycle tracks. 

See that storm across the lake? Unfortunately, we were headed that way. 

Some nice birding on the southern end. 

Southern end pool.