The ‘Subaru Couple’ Who Drove From Kenya To Namibia In Six Days

Motoring in Kenya has a huge share of fans and Subaru brands have even a bigger fanbase in the East African country.

Over the last one week, there was a lot that was said about Subaru after a white, well-maintained Subaru Forester bearing Kenyan number plates was spotted cruising in the streets of Namibia.

The jocular talk on social media streets was that the Subaru Forester missed a turn along Thika Superhighway – a modern four-lane highway leading to Kenya’s capital – and found itself headed to Namibia.

This is a big joke! It is incomprehensible but was figurative in that it described what the speeding Subaru was capable of. The car is revered on Kenyan roads due to its supersonic speeds and general performance in handling rugged terrains.

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But as it would be, a Dutch couple, Stephan and Lyn were the two lovebirds behind this craze.

In their YouTube channel, the Dutch couple said that they had never owned a car before until recently when they came to Kenya and thought of moving around. While in Mombasa – a top holiday destination for tourists – they scouted for a four-wheel-drive vehicle for hire but the prices were exorbitantly high.

Not in a hurry and soaking in the beauty of simplicity, Stephan and Lynn used public transport means to move around Mombasa. If you are a visitor to Kenya and you have not used public means of transport in the capital of Mombasa; you will have a feel of it in an addictive way when you start using one.

In Mombasa and Nairobi, the public transport sectors ooze vibrancy as much as crookedness in lack of respect for basic laws governing the sector. The 14-seater minivans referred to as “matatu” overlap in traffic jams and have a reputation for playing blaring music although not all. Most of them play some nice music though.

Back to Stephan and Lyn.  The couple decided to take another vacation in a different country since the rainy season in Kenyan has begun. It was inconvenient to use public transport during this season. It is time to head to Namibia where the sunshine is the order of the day, unlike East Africa which is experiencing a heavy rainfall pattern.

They contacted a local car dealer in Mombasa who got them a used but well-maintained Subaru Forester SG5 naturally aspirated. They fell in love with the pearl white ‘beast’ and they bought it at a reasonable price.

The next step was having the car readied for the journey ahead. Through a trusted local mechanic, Stephan and Lyn had their first car fully serviced to handle the journey ahead. It got a customized foldable roof rack to carry more personal items, sleeping tents, water and food. It was just about a daring road trip through Eastern Africa to Southern Africa by road.

First in their itinerary was touring Kenya’s famous national parks and game reserves. Their wildlife escapade started at Tsavo National Park halfway the distance between Nairobi and Mombasa. Stephan cites that it was an exciting trip to Tsavo from Mtwapa and they had their day in the bush watching wild animals.

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Stephan and his lovely wife then rode from Tsavo, cruising through the plateaus of Ukambani, the highrise buildings Nairobi’s Central Business District to beautiful sceneries of the Great Rift Valley. Finally, they were in the heart of Maasai Mara watching lions stroll and zebras forage. Stephan and Lyn also visited Amboseli National Park.

After their Maasai Mara escapes, they left Kenya for Namibia through Tanzania then Zambia and finally made it to Namibia. The journey was exciting but tiresome, the couple confessed with a minimum drive of 14 hours daily and sleeping out in the bushes. Finally, they got to Namibia after six days.

Nonetheless, the couple enjoyed their good moments exploring the African territory.