kenya 1959 - out in the bush in the garissa – wajir area a good-class road in the bush – no need...
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KENYA 1959 - Out in the bush in the Garissa – Wajir area
A good-class road in the bush – no need for speed cameras here! (Perhaps!).
KENYA 1959 - Out in the bush in the Garissa – Wajir area
A family of giraffe on the run.
KENYA 1959 - Out in the bush in the Garissa – Wajir area
A herd of wild camels.
KENYA 1959 - Out in the bush in the Garissa – Wajir area
A curious ostrich observing the intruders on his privacy – us!
KENYA 1959 - Out in the bush in the Garissa – Wajir area
The outskirts of an African tribal village.
Astro fix point between Garissa and Wajir – Kenya May 1959
As the searing heat of the day …
Astro fix point between Garissa and Wajir – Kenya May 1959
… gives way to the balmy warmth of the tropical night …
Astro fix point between Garissa and Wajir – Kenya May 1959
A typical Astro Fix crew consisted of three surveyors, three drivers (one of which would be a mechanic if possible) and three vehicles (a Land Rover, a Morris one-tonner carrying compo rations and a Bedford RL three-tonner carrying drinking water and petrol in 4½- gallon jerry cans and perhaps 44-gallon drums. An Astro Fix (determination of latitude and longitude at the point where the observations to the stars were made), would last on average from three to four days, with observations over two or three nights of about 5 to 6 hours a night. The computations were carried out during the day. (Now, someone who knows nothing about surveying, let alone astronomy, armed with a GPS costing a few hundred pounds, can achieve a far more accurate result in a few minutes.)
The crew would stay in the bush for anything from a week to three weeks before returning to base camp for rest and replenishment.
Field trip to Garissa, Wajir and Lamu - May to June 1959
Fort Wajir, a Kenya Police Post not far from the border with Somalia. It reminded me of the 1940’s Gary Cooper film ‘Beau Geste’ about the French Foreign Legion and I was told that more than one film-maker had used Wajir Fort as a ready-made film set.
Field trip to Garissa, Wajir and Lamu - May to June 1959
Fort Wajir, a Kenya Police Post not far from the border with Somalia.
Additional photographs
Additional photographs
Additional photographs