jungle junction
 

Hi guys

Would anyone have the new postal address for jungle junction in Nairobi Kenya. I need to get some parts sent their. Currently in Sudan heading south. Thanks guys. I have been looking but the net is so slow I can't cope.
I have emailed the owner but have got no response and I know they just recently moved.

Hi Kev,

Jungle Junction
Amboseli Rd. Lavington, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel. +254 722 752865 / +264 723 392014,
E-mail: jungle_junction_nairobi@yahoo.com

GPS coordinate S1 17.325 E36 45.634

Cheers,

Gee

That is the old address isn't it? They are in Karen now. There is no postal service in Kenya anyway. Normally you have to go to the forwarders to collect your items or have a post box.

:oops2:you're right doh
Haven't got a postal address for the new place in Karen, just the coordinates:

S1 21.767 E36 44.438

Cheers,

Gee

I had some things sent by DHL to JJ. I was there waiting for them.

The taxes were CRAZY. 100% Tax and all kinds of admin and fees.

The most expensive parts I have ever received. Be warned !

I have send spareparts to Nairobi last year from Germany with the normal post service. In Germany this is "DHL" but it has nothing to do with their courier branche where you pick up the parcel/documents at a specially dedicated DHL-Shop. Every post-office up here is run by DHL and it costs around 20€ to send 5-10 kilo so not comparable to the courier service rates !

There is no need to send it to an adress like Jungle Junction, I have used the "poste restante" service many times in Africa and always received the parcel ! ( Marocco, Togo, Uganda, Congo, Kenya )

Sometimes its faster, sometimes slower. On average you have to wait around a month before you can pick it up at the central post-office ! The good thing about the "poste restante" service is, that they store it for you for a month, in Togo i payed around 5 Dollars for that service.

I sent used engine parts, a new piston, seals and a cellphone to Nairobi. My advice would be let the stuff look like it is used, apply oil and dirt to it, create scratches and try to hide expensive parts like electronics if possible. Be nice, don´t push the people at the office even if it seems to take forever, try to make friends with everybody you meet. I told about my trip whenever possible and that I am stuck without the parts ! In the end i payed not one single cent of import duties, same thing the other times when I sent stuff.

cheers,
Chris

Well, I reckon that's probably happened more in the South of France than in Africa..

Sad to hear that about Jungle Junction. I felt as safe as house there and found the locals in the neighbourhood to be friendly.

I was actually there just before and immediately after this happened (Luckily was in Amboseli the actual night of). It was two or three guys, they robbed a bunch of guests at gunpoint and shot and killed one of the dogs.

The only problem I had with JJ was the lack of any kind of security. The only staff are basically gardeners or cleaners, so there is no deterrent to any thieves looking to come in and take advantage of travelers.

I didn't get the sense that Chris had any intention of changing the security situation after the attack. I'll probably stay somewhere else next time. It's a comfortable place otherwise, and Chris is a nice guy.

24 hour askaris at Karen Camp. Plus, I think all workers do this weird 2 day on, 1 day off schedule, sleeping on site. Since there's a restaurant/pub, plus workers for the gardens, there's a shlew of people here. There's also two dogs, but they're old and VERY fat. Doubt they'd deter anyone....
Off Marula Lane in Karen. Their website is crap. Home

Actually something similar happened at JJs mid this year too. the gunmen were ill equipped, fired off 3 shots and ran out of bullets. Hit a dog just above the eye. nobody hurt and nothing stolen. sounds like they came better equipped this time.

hopefully Chris will move away from Amboseli soon. JJs is an institution for overlanders.

That would be quite a feet to move that big house/hostel along with the workshops..

It doesn't matter where you go. If people want to rob you with guns, they will..

I

House was sold when I was there in 2012 - Chris was looking for places then and has since moved out to the Karen area as per the original posting asking for the new postal address.

Did the attacks happen in the new Karen camp or the old house near Junction shopping Mall?

Re: PARTS - if you have a carnet you should be able to argue that you don't need to pay duties as it will leave the country shortly with your bike/vehicle on the carnet (show how the parts fit the model on the carnet etc - take the old parts if practical). You might need to visit the courier company and/or customs and get the right person. I helped 5 people do this in other countries - usually a lot of waiting around for the big cheese to ok it, but always worked, even in corrupt as bollocks Tanzania. Once they saw the yellow carnet cover it was signed off within a few minutes… surely somebody has also achieved this in Kenya and could detail the process?

The attack I referenced happened at the new Karen camp.

Worked for me in Ethiopia. The process is a bit protracted, but easy once you figure out how.

I had parts dhl shipped to jungle junction. I had to pay for everything online and up front before they would deliver. No one to talk to. No one to barter with...

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

Buy 3 bags of patience, go to DHL head sorting office (airport?), deep breaths, smiles, patience, start asking and explaining politely but slightly firmly until you get what you want….

Take food, drinks, water, a book to read and snacks that you can share...

More effort than it was worth........ Lazy I know.

Jungle Junction: Street adress and safety issues
 

Hi there,

the new adress in Karen is:
GPS Coordinates: S1 21.767 E36 44.438
Kongoni rd,
Karen Hardy
Nairobi

We had our passports sent to this address by DHL and it worked out.

We stood for a week (Jan 2014) in the Jungle Junction and really liked it. The place is now very safe, the security has been heavily upgraded: 2,5 m walls with barbed wire, 3 watchman at night on duty, 200m to the police station, watch dogs, emergency buttons and a armed security company. That's what I call pretty safe.

May be it wasn't this good before, but now I think there can't be done more.

Thanks for the update!

Travel safe,

Gee

Hi,

Visited JJ last week and can't agree on the comment above. After this terrible incident, Chris has taken a lot of security measures, such as a fenced wall, double gate, extra guards, new dogs, etc.
We've been camping at Karen Camp (went here after we read this thread), but I think that the security measures of both camps are now at an equal level, or would say JJ is even ' ahead' of KC. In terms of atmosphere both are nice, but would choose again for KC because it's somewhat closer to the city/embassy area.

We fixed some things on our vehicle, they did a good job. We were unpleaseantly surprised by the high tariff per hour though (~30 euros) If you have quite a 'simple' job to be done on your 4WD, I'd go to a cheaper place. I've heard that for BMW motorbikes it's still one of the best places on the Cape-Cairo route though.

Ciao,
Marloes

JJ's
 

I'm staying at JJ's right now and everything is calm and probably better than the old JJ's. I believe the incident happened soon after the move, but now Chris has got the security tightened right up with razor wire, secure perimeter and armed response. It's still a great place to be.... Look's like the old place but three times the size. Same friendly staff, great food and workshop. But, it is a shame about the bitch and she is the same one that was shot last May. Apparently, she locked on to to the intruder's leg and they shot her to get her off.......she was a lovely dog. Rufus, her brother is still here though. ( Info for any dog lovers out there !)

It seems that there was a considerably worse incident shortly after the one that I wrote about, I just read the write up from a traveler I met in Tanzania: The truth about ‘that’ night in Nairobi | Morgan Safari


It's good to hear that Chris finally woke up and fixed things though.