Dennis Kioko: My experience driving 12,000kms to Namibia and back

When Safaricom unveiled the ‘Twende Tukiuke’ tagline, she called on all Kenyans to start challenging themselves more. Twende Tukiuke became a call for Kenyans to break barriers, go beyond the norm, take a leap, and venture into the ground. This could range from taking new jobs, travelling more, embracing hiking, or even returning to school.

It is in this spirit that Dennis Kioko who works in PR and Communications department at Safaricom recently took the unprecedented journey from Nairobi to Namibia by road. This journey would take him through four countries in a distance of more than 4,212 kilometres one way.

Dennis, who is in charge of handling external communication says that he was looking for adventure outside Kenya when he decided to take the journey. “I had driven to the Coast, Diani, Watamu, Lake Turkana, Rift Valley, Nanyuki and Samburu. I thought maybe it was time to look outside Kenya,” he says. “Even though I have flown to Europe twice, I felt that I needed to tour outside East Africa.”

He looked up at Southern Africa and spotted Namibia. “Namibia really stood out for me. It was one of the few places where the desert meets the ocean and that was something that I found very fascinating. I also found that there were many places to visit in the country,” he says.

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To ensure he had a smooth journey, Dennis researched on the best way to move around in Namibia. “I found that the best way to move around Namibia is by car. The cost of hiring a car was Sh. 10,000 per day. If I added the cost of flights, this figure came to about Sh. 180,000,” he says.

He figured that he would be better off driving down instead of flying. “I realized that if I drove, I would have the comfort and flexibility of using my own means. I would also enjoy new experiences driving through Tanzania and Zambia” he says.

He got an extra tyre and rim, petrol jerry cans, and insurance. He then planned for stopovers and searched for strategic accommodations. On November 20, 2022, Dennis left Nairobi for Nairobi alone. By the time he returned on December 23, 2022, Dennis had driven 12,000 kilometres and used over 210 litres of fuel.

“It was a long journey, but worth every day. After the first week, it became routine. I would wake up and keep going to the next destination, looking for new discoveries. The thoughts ‘What am I going to discover today? What awaits me at the end of the day?’ kept me going,” he says.

Dennis says that his takeaway moment was his trip to the desert. “You get to a park where the dunes meet the ocean, and you get to drive up and down the sand dunes” he says.” The dunes are about 170 metres tall, and you drive in a pickup. It has to go very fast going up to gain momentum. Otherwise, you’ll get stuck. It’s quite a thrill.”

He recalls the surprise of realizing that the desert wasn’t as hot as he had been anticipating. “The Atlantic is a very cold ocean because of the cold currents, and it’s very windy. The beach is the coldest part of Namibia, so you need a jacket. At midday, you get temperatures of 20 degrees, while the temperatures in other parts of the country are in their 30s and 40s,” he says.