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We're on a rough, red road climbing over the Mau escarpment in
Kenya before it winds down to the Rift Valley, the cradle of
mankind.
And then suddenly Jonnes, our drive and guide, feels a tyre
burst.
We're thankful to tumble out of the cramped mini van to stretch our
legs and take photos, as local farmers bring stones to place under
the jack.
One of them is Francis, who explains he's visiting his sister who
has married a Maasai, whose land we are on.
We start to talk about Kenya and its recent calm since the
stormy politics following the election earlier this year.
"It's like your puncture. You're driving along smoothly and then
something unexpected happens," he says. You don't know what will
happen next.
"... But now we don't want to look backward, we want to look
forward."
Kenya, which had been a shining light for democracy, economic
growth and prospects for sustained growth in Africa, ran into
trouble after President Mwai Kibaki, a member of the Kikuyu,
Kenya's largest tribe, claimed a disputed December 27 election
victory.
Raila Odinga, his younger challenger and member of the Luo tribe,
claimed the election had been stolen.
And in subsequent violence fuelled by latent ethnic and land
disputes around 1,500 people died, while around 260,000 were forced
to flee their homes.
Kenya has a huge gap between the rich and the poor and the people
believe sustained and endemic corruption has led to this
disparity.
The initial ethnic violence mainly in the west targeted people
not traditionally from those areas who had come in and established
businesses.
Observers say Odinga had promised to redress corrupt behaviour,
which had in turn made the more prosperous tribes feel powerless
and fearful.
Tourism contributes $A1 billion ($NZ1.25 billion) to the Kenyan
economy and a tenth of the country's jobs - around 500,000 - making
the industry its best hard currency earner ahead of horticulture
and tea.
But after at least three very good years, the violence wreaked
havoc on the industry, leading to a huge slump in visitor numbers.
(Jonnes said he hadn't worked since last December.)
Just before this television, print and radio campaigns had been
selling the country's attractions and incredible wildlife,
resulting in a record number of two million people visiting the
country last year.
In fact when the troubles started the country was full of tourists,
says Jake Grieves-Cook, the chairman of the Kenya Tourist
Board.
But, despite the safari lodges not being affected, most tourists
soon left in the wake of the violence.
Throughout the coastal region, hotels and resorts that usually
operated at 85% capacity at that time of year were only 20% full in
January and February.
But in late February Kenya's rival leaders signed a power-sharing
deal brokered by former UN chief Kofi Annan, which created the post
of prime minister and two deputy prime ministers as a way of
appeasing the inter-tribal conflict.
"We took a big hit," Grieves-Cook says over a coffee in an artists
market in the capital, Nairobi.
But he says despite some reports no tourists were harmed and the
airport was open every day.
He admits the violence stemmed from people thinking the election
had been stolen from them, saying "the system allowed itself to be
tampered with".
"This country has been a lesson in democracy in Africa ... the
problems were short lived (but) very serious."
Kenyans were shocked by what happened and wanted to do as much as
they could to stop it ever getting to that point again.
While many tourists postponed their trips for the first half of the
year - the high season - the board has found that they didn't get
cancellations for the second half of the year. Bookings are now
picking up again and he's hoping that by next year they will be
back to where they were before.
The Australian security warning was one of the toughest, suggesting
people reconsider their need to travel to Kenya overall.
But it has now been lifted.
While the British flocked to the country's beaches, Australians
came mainly for the animals.
In 2006 Australian visitors numbered around 13,000 while last year
they had grown to 16,5000.
Many are also now coming for specialised holidays such as deep sea
fishing and even golf.
"We have a lot of golf courses here ... we're 6,000 feet above sea
level," Grieves-Cook says. "If you hit a golf ball it goes a hell
of a long way."
There's some advantages for tourists coming now, he says. While the
lodges and tours for the annual wildebeest migration in the Masai
Mara in July, August and September are usually booked out, there's
now space available.
Kenya being on the equator has a varied climate - the west is lush,
the north is dry and the south is savannah country.
There are 40 different ethnic groups and 2,000 white Kenyans
(mainly descended from the British) as well as Asians.
Growth is constrained by potholed roads, environmental degradation,
and fear of crime - particularly in Nairobi - but the stunning
landscape, animals and hospitality outweighs these issues for most
visitors.
The World Bank is funding major repairs of the main road between
Nairobi and the Masai Mara reserve.
"We want to make sure our tourists' safety is paramount,"
Grieves-Cook says. "Tourists are not a target - tourist vehicles
are unlikely to be stopped."
Kenya has suffered from a brain drain with more and more of its
Oxford and Cambridge-educated leaving for better-paid jobs in the
US and other countries, according to Abdillah Hilal, operation
manager at Pollman's tours and safaris ltd.
They of course are watching the United States elections closely,
with many Kenyans naming their babies after Barrack Obama.
Still the hotel chains are owned and run by locals - who he
describes as "the elite" - including the Serena chain and the
Safari Club.
"We are exporting our talents to Tanzania, Uganda and South
Africa," Hilal says.
"One thing we have here is the weather ... and if we grow I'm sure
there'll be a lot of people who'll come back."
At an exhibition outlining the history of the Benedictines in Kenya
at the National Museum, Father Florian, a German monk, tells a
story explaining the similarities and differences between
Christianity and Kenyan tribal values.
While thou shalt not kill and love thy neighbour are strong Kenyan
values, "they don't always love the neighbouring tribe," he says
with a smile.
"It's changing but it's a slow process."
