Every Sunday morning George Otieno and his neighbour, Jashon Odhiambo, leave their homes in Uyoma, Rarieda for a 20-minute journey to Luanda Kotieno beach.
They use a motorcycle for the first leg of their journey.
At Luanda Kotieno, the pair teams up with another group of livestock traders who are also on a similar mission.
"We are always on time because the vessel has scheduled departure and arrival times. Its operators will not wait for whoever wastes time," Mr Otieno says.
Usually, the vessel leaves Luanda Kotieno beach in Siaya at 8: 30 am for a 30 minutes’ trip to Mbita Town in Homa Bay and costs Sh200.
Upon disembarking the traders hire motorcycles to Kipasi market which is famous for livestock business.
Mr Omondi says buying cows in Homa Bay is more convenient compared to Siaya.
"There are a lot of markets in Homa Bay and a lot of animals to choose from. Traders purchase livestock depending on how much they have," he says.
Animals range from Sh7,000 to Sh50,000 depending on their size.
After buying the animals, traders prepare for another journey to Homa Bay Town where they board another water bus back to Siaya. The journey from Kipasi to Homa Town takes at least two hours on foot.
"We walk alongside the animals purchased at the market. We use canes to guide them along the way," Mr Omondi says. For the many years Mr Otieno and Mr odhiambo have been in the business, they have come to learn that they should leave Kipasi market at exactly 1 pm.
This is to give them ample time to walk to Homa Bay Town and rest for a couple of minutes as they wait to board a water bus which arrives at 4pm.
Soon after the on board passengers have alighted, ferry operators then instruct new passengers to take their seats and create room for the cows that occupy spaces at the back and infront of the vessel. The spaces are usually set aside for animals and other items such as motorcycles and construction materials.
For 15 minutes before the vessels set sail for Siaya, traders drive their animals onto the water bus.
Some of the cows would be shepherded across the aisle to the back while others would are tethered on the metal rails in the front.
It is a dramatic scene as the animals are forced into the vessel with most resisting boarding an unfamiliar vessel. The captain of the ship would give directions on how the animals should be arranged to balance the vessel.
Mr Otieno explains that using water transport cuts costs.
"Each trader pays Sh600 for a large bull and Sh300 for a small cow," he says.
This is besides Sh400 which they pay as fare from Homa Bay Town to Kunya Beach, in Siaya county.
So, the total amount of money paid for the trip depends on the size of the herd a trader has, mostly an average of 10 cows.
But often they would negotiate with operators of the vessels to offer them discounts.
"We used to rely on wooden boats in the past. But those ones had a lot of disadvantages including safety issues," the trader says. Cases of animals falling off the boats were a common occurrence.
Mr Otieno says the small vessels also limited the number of animals a trader would ferry and the journey was quite expensive.
"We would pay between Sh500 and Sh1,000 for each animal. But most of the time the boat owners would insist that we hire the vessel and pay for all the seats even if you were just transporting two cows," he says.
There are stopovers at Doho and Kajimo beach in Karachuonyo to drop and pick passengers before moving to other beaches in Uyoma, Siaya County. The boat rides would take at least three hours to reach its final destination at Kunya beach where the animal traders alight before heading home.
"We usually arrive home after 8 pm," Mr Otieno says.
The following day, they drive the animals they had bought in Kipasi to Aram market.
Mr Otieno says animals that are not sold are taken back home for another market day on Thursday.
In the meantime, traders prepare for another journey across the lake on Tuesday morning to Sindo Town to purchase more animals.
Mr Otieno says that just like the trip to Kipasi market the journey to Sindo also involves taking a water bus from Luanda Kotieno to Mbita.
From Mbita, traders ride on motorcycles to Sindo Town where they buy cows. The journey back to Mbita is usually on foot and takes at least four hours.
By the time the traders arrive in Mbita Town, water bus services are usually unavailable but luckily a ferry which plies the same route to Luanda Kotieno is on standby. The journey back to Siaya starts at 6pm and traders get to their destination at night.
"We spend the night at the harbour and proceed home the following day," Mr Omondi says.
Traders later take the animals to Aram Market on Thursday.
"We rest on Friday and Saturday before the cycle begins on Sunday," Mr Otieno says.
Mr Jashon Odhiambo, a livestock trader says they enjoy doing the business even though it has a lot of risks.
"Our profits are very minimal because we spend a lot of money on movement. Our peak season is usually in December when a lot of people buy animals," he says.
During movement, traders are required to have permits as a means of proving that the animals are not stolen.
Besides the livestock traders, other ferry users say they prefer lake transport because it is convenient and has made movement between Homa Bay and Rarieda easier, safer and reliable.
The geographical proximity of the two regions via Lake Victoria makes lake transport the most efficient means of travel between the two places.
In case someone decided to use the road from Mbita to Uyoma they would be forced to travel to Homa Bay and proceed to Kisumu before heading to Ndori, a distance of over 200 kilometres.
It costs up to Sh1,000 and the journey can take up to five hours if one is using public service vehicles.
Water transport has cut the cost by half and it takes a maximum of three hours to cover the entire journey.
Mr John Odera, a resident of Homa Bay town, says accidents in the lake have reduced because of introduction of modern transport vessels.
Mr Odera says many people who have access to the lake use vessels to ferry agricultural goods from Karachuonyo to Homa Bay.
"We cannot wait for the full restoration of lake transport. It will indeed make movement very easy, safe and cheap,’ he says.
Lake transport used to be quite vibrant in the 1980s and 1990s.
Stories are told of how ships sailed across the lake from neighbouring counties to Kisumu.
Other vessels moved from Siaya to Migori through Homa Bay as they ferried goods and passengers.
Jetties in major towns along the lake such as Kendu Bay, Mbita, Sena and Muhuru Bay were a beehive of activities.
But in the late 90s, all activities in the said areas took a nose dive.
Nearly all the vessels were withdrawn from the lake by their owners, collapsing water transport and causing the death of places such as Kendu Bay old town whose economy was anchored on economic activities in the lake.
However, there seems to be a glimmer of hope with the recent revival of some of the piers such as the one in Homa Bay where workers are currently putting final touches on the infrastructure before it is fully operationalised.
Several players are eagerly waiting for full restoration of lake transport, hoping that it will cut the cost of movement and boost the economy of various lakeside towns.
In the past the traders have been using canoes and small boats to ferry their animals to the market, a means of transport with great limitations.
However, with the entry of big vessels like water buses and ferries in the lake transport business livestock traders have gotten the much needed shot in the arm.
According to the traders the vessels offer affordable, reliable and safe means of water transport.
Water bus is operated by a company called Globalogy Limited and has a fleet of vessels that operate in different routes in the lake.
The government is keen on reviving lake transport and is currently engaged in an ambitious project of restoring dilapidated piers.
