Getting to know Tana River... (in the news lately)...

[P_7878 6,761]

Here is another of my "Getting to know River XYZ..."...🙂...and bits of Geography Lesson via MSFS (for myself too). I am particularly curious about World Rivers that are not so well-known outside of their countries. I might have heard about them, but always curious to know a bit more. So, here we go. We all know of the famous Nile River of Africa, longest in Africa, and arguably the longest river in the world (running toe-to-toe with the other famous river, Amazon of South America). Nile may have originated near Kenya Border (Lake Victoria) with 11 countries sharing its water, but my subject, here, is the forceful and furious (Kenya's) Tana River that's wholly contained within Kenya.

The other motivation for today's post is my wish to fly the (distinctive) V-Tail Beech Bonanza (I recall, I'd purchased both the PA34 Seneca and the V35 Bonanza, as Carenado's SALE items together, a long while ago, but have not got to fly the Bonanza yet). It's ironic, for those of us who have been engaged in this hobby long enough, how many times we keep purchasing the same aircraft, over and over again, often from the same developers...🙂...e.g., props (like this one) and jetliners (like 7x7/3xx). I do recall from decades ago, when Carenado was allowing its early aircraft to be included free as part of other vendor's scenery products. We now pay top $ for their aircraft...with not that many SALEs...🙂...Nonetheless, they have stuck around producing a/c that are pleasing to look at...🙂...for sure. This V-Tail Bonanza, one of my favorites, since my earliest SIM days, has frankly never looked better to me (see below, for close-up shots of it).

Now, Tana River is the longest and deepest river of Kenya, and a major contributor to Kenya's sustenance (water, agriculture, hydro-energy, and ecosystem). Here is another curious fact, I found about Tana. The mouth of a River (where the river meets the sea) is typically dictated by the river itself and natural processes. In Tana's case, however, more than a century ago, humans had created a canal on Tana, for containing its natural flow and using it for navigation. The flooded river, instead, cut through to the canal, and found an easier way to the Indian Ocean using the same man-made canal. So, currently, Tana's main course into its mouth is an artificial one, rather than the complex (natural) system of channels and distributaries of its former mouth (which still exists today). See my concluding images of the river's merger with Indian Ocean, and you'll see how there seems to be just one mainstream flow emptying into the sea, radically different from that of e.g. Mississippi or Po, that I'd shown before here.

Tana originates in the mountainous range from an elevation of ~11,000 ft, ~85 miles north of Nairobi, near about the region of Mount Kenya (which has named the country after it and is the 2nd highest peak in Africa after Kilimanjaro). The river would then flow for 1,000 kms through Kenya's coastal plains meandering its way to the Indian Ocean. Lately, the river has been running rampant, causing havoc and devastation in Kenya townships. Kenya has two rainy seasons, the major one in Mar-May (about now), and another minor one in Oct-Dec. There are 5 (large) dams constructed along Tana River, and while humans try to contain and leverage the river's power this way, Tana, in recent weeks (and months), fed by torrential rainfall, is bursting through its banks, overflowing multiple of these dams, creating flashfloods and landslides...

Here, I explore the (peaceful) sites of Tana's origin and dissolution. First, I've taken the short flight from Nairobi (HKJK) to the river's source in the Aberdare Mountains (until I've spotted its thin trickle emerging from these highland forests, see shot #s 8-12). Next, I've taken off from Mombasa (HKMO), traversing, as the crow flies, the 120 miles, most of it over Indian Ocean, to the mouth of Tana River. See my last 7 pictures, as the Sun is rising in the east, off the Indian Ocean, behind my back, and I've reached the confluence of this river and the sea, and then I'm heading inland up the (single and broad) stream of Tana River...

In the final 3 images, my a/c is exactly aligned with the course of the river, with the moon above me...🙂..., and Tana below. The metallic skin of my (V-Tail) Bonanza is glowing in this morning light...of this speedster a/c that had defined beauty and class more than 50 years ago, its follies and troubles of the 80s, now almost forgotten...

Thanks for viewing. Hope you enjoy...!

[Alaska738 8,517]

Great set of shots! 😉 

[John F 2,457]

Great set! Always liked the V-Tail. Your posts are providing me with a painless way to learn more geography...much more.

[pmplayer 9,640]

Fine set of shots, thanks for showing !

cheers 😉

[P_7878 6,761]

On 4/30/2024 at 9:47 PM, Alaska738 said:

Great set of shots! 😉 

Will, many thanks for the comment...!!

 

On 4/30/2024 at 9:58 PM, John F said:

Great set! Always liked the V-Tail. Your posts are providing me with a painless way to learn more geography...much more.

Appreciated the note, John, and yes, totally agree with the latter part of the observation ...reading is good of such things, seeing pictures is better, but flying over and along it...is the best ...🙂...one learns a lot more ...

 

On 4/30/2024 at 11:26 PM, pmplayer said:

Fine set of shots, thanks for showing !

cheers 😉

Thank you, pmplayer. Glad you liked the shots, and you're welcome ...! Cheers...!

[bernd1151 6,018]

Another great post of yours, P_7878! I have been fortunate to have visited Kenya a few times, so these shots bring back fond memories 🙂

[Stiller Water 254]

What a fantastic geography lesson! And flight, by the way. Did you bring some Roses from Kenya?

[andiflyit 473]

Very nice set P_7878. The Bonanza is well done, looks perfect, but I think it's a bit nervous in the vsi...at least in my msfs.

[P_7878 6,761]

On 5/4/2024 at 5:29 AM, bernd1151 said:

Another great post of yours, P_7878! I have been fortunate to have visited Kenya a few times, so these shots bring back fond memories 🙂

Thanks, Bernd. I recall you have visited Africa....often adding (RW) personal bits of experience with your post...

 

19 hours ago, Stiller Water said:

What a fantastic geography lesson! And flight, by the way. Did you bring some Roses from Kenya?

Appreciated the comment, Gerold. The lesson part was mutual...🙂...I will ask a close friend of my wife from Kenya...to bring some roses, next time I see her...🙂...

 

2 hours ago, andiflyit said:

Very nice set P_7878. The Bonanza is well done, looks perfect, but I think it's a bit nervous in the vsi...at least in my msfs.

Thank you, Andreas. BTW, I didn't go over I think 2,000 ft either around Tana or around Malta...🙂...but that little (separate) ALT/VS selector on the flightdeck seemed to work well...I got good at pushing the knob once (or twice) for setting ALT and VS....not sure how the a/c reacts in higher altitudes...will give it a try ...