lake turkana and crossing into Ethiopia from Kenya questions
 

Hi there!
I will be driving from Kenya to Ethiopia next month and I am planning to cross at the lake Turkana crossings - Fort Banya or Todenyang. I have read that there is no Kenya immigration officers at this post and I will not get an exit stamp on passport from the Kenya Authorities. I am told that the Ethiopian authorities may refuse me to enter the country if i dont have the exit stamp on my passport. Somebody suggested that i get a "forward exit stamp" in advance on my passport in Nairobi.
Has anyone had that experience and knows how to deal with this?
Also, what is the state of the road on the eastern side of lake Turkana?
Is it a nice route with interesting villages along the way?
How long does it take from loiyangalani to Fort Banya? I am not even sure if there is a road there!
thanks so much!

Yes, you definitely want to get the Kenya exit stamp in Nairobi. It's a simple visit to the Immigration office in downtown Nairobi.

I did the east side of Lake Turkana into Ethiopia in 2016, through Sibiloi Park, on motorbike with a buddy. Heading north, Loyangalani is the last sizable settlement you'll see for some time. Our route was through some rugged territory... you encounter a fair bit of deep sand, rock and dry bed river crossings... unless it's been raining, they they can be real river crossings.

Remoteness defines that route. There were a handful of Kenya park officers in Sibiloi Park, but at the southern end at Koobi Fora, a very basic campsite on the lake with rooms and maybe fuel and beer if you're lucky. Preparation with ample fuel, water and food and fuel is important, and good GPS. If something went wrong inside the park, it could be many days before someone happened upon you, so prepare accordingly.

Once exiting Sibiloi at the north, you arrive at the village of Ileret. You can stop at the police station and "register"... but note, it's not a passport stamp, so be sure to get that in Nairobi. We camped at the police station, had a lot of fun.

From Ileret you're off to Ethiopia. In places it's just bush track, but GPS will get you north to the paved east-west road. Take that west to Omorate and check into the Ethiopia Immigration office with passport.

Overall, it's an amazing and unforgettable route, and you encounter many tribal peoples (though not inside Sibiloi itself). Challenging and rewarding in equal measure. I can't really speak to other routes, only the one I did.

thank you so much for this invaluable information!!!

I agree with everything RideFar has written: the situation was the same for us in September 2017.
The East side of Lake Turkana was one of the highlights of the whole trip from Germany to Iran and Cape Town to Germany!

You can also get your carnet and passport stamped in Eldoret, just over the border from Uganda, if you are not intending to travel to Nairobi.
The locations are marked in the iOverlander App.