WILD CALM WATERS
“WE PLANNED TO CATCH A BOAT RIDE OUT TO CENTRAL ISLAND NATIONAL PARK TO INSPECT THE THREE CRATER LAKES THAT PROVIDE A BREEDING GROUND FOR THE WORLD’S LARGEST CONCENTRATION OF NILE CROCODILE. WE PENCILED IN A POSSIBLE KITE THERE, TOO.”
Our decision to set up Quest Kiteboarding kite school in Diani on Kenya’s south coast in 2014 was based on our mutual love for the country and the passion we share for kitesurfing. Kenya is undoubtedly one of the richest countries in the world in terms of ecology and biodiversity and we decided that for our final trip of 2019 we wanted to avoid the more commercial tourist travel circuits and destinations, deciding to instead head off the beaten path in search of somewhere new; the distant shores of Lake Turkana.
Formed roughly 4.3 million years ago during the tectonic upheavals that created East Africa’s Great Rift Valley, Turkana is the world’s largest permanent desert and alkaline lake.
Well known for the brutally dry south-easterly katabatic wind that is generated by the Chalbi Desert, the lake is also prone to sudden violent storms that are created as the water cools down more slowly than the semi-arid shrub land surrounding it. We wanted to ride there and also catch a boat ride out to Central Island National park to inspect the three crater lakes that provide a breeding ground for the world’s largest concentration of Nile Crocodile. We penciled
