The Day Early morning: Out before the traffic wakes up Pickup at 0630 hrs and you leave Nairobi early, before the city has finished its first coffee. The road opens up, the sky turns gold and the day begins.

Breakfast: A proper start in Masaku Around 0800 hrs you roll into Machakos, known to many as Masaku, and pull in at Tea Tot for a proper breakfast. Hot tea, a generous spread and a slow start to the day, because the best road trips begin with a good breakfast.

Mid-morning: Hills, valleys & the sound of benga Then the road glows red under your tyres and the landscape starts to show off. The hills of Ukambani roll out in every direction, one ridge folding into the next, with deep valleys opening up beneath you like secrets. Your driver host turns up the Kamba benga, those bright, bouncing guitar riffs that make even the quietest passenger tap a foot. Windows down, red dust in the air, the whole van swaying gently to the rhythm.

Craft stop: Wamunyu Next comes Wamunyu, the craft stop. Browse handmade carvings, baskets, jewellery and bright beaded art, and meet the Kamba artisans behind them. Look around and you will notice the colour: bold fabrics, beaded accessories and, of course, the famous Kamba yellow, glowing like sunshine against the red earth. Take your time. Bargain kindly. Watch the hands that have practised this for generations.

Late morning: Masii & the fruit stalls From Wamunyu the road winds back through Masii, past village life, red earth and roadside stalls. And here the day gets sweet. Ukambani grows fruit like it is showing off: heaps of juicy oranges stacked in glowing pyramids, tiny pixies so easy to peel they practically unwrap themselves, and mangoes golden, fragrant and heavy with sunshine. Sample a pixie and your face will do that involuntary scrunch of joy. Bite into a ripe mango, juice running down your wrist, and you will understand why people drive for hours to get here. Choose, taste and haggle with a smile. You will leave with more than you can carry, and none of us will blame you.

Lunch: Wote By early afternoon you arrive in Wote for lunch at a local cafe, with mutura, maandazi and mboga kienyeji, the comfort foods that taste like home. Eat slowly. Nobody is in a hurry here.

Afternoon: Golden light, long roads Then back toward Nairobi with golden light, wide skies, acacia silhouettes and roads that never seem to end. The benga comes back on, the hills glow amber and the day settles into a warm, happy hum. Somewhere on the way, pull over for nyama choma at your own cost, because a road trip is not complete without it. Back at your hotel in Nairobi by about 1900 hrs.