Around the mountain

his post has been a long time coming due to moving and all so without much further ado...

A few weeks ago on the weekend of the 26th and 27th September some pals and I decided to go on a road trip. It was pretty spontaneous but ended up being the most fun weekend I've had in a long time and probably in my life. There was a lot of long night driving but the company and scenery all made it worth the effort.

Started off on Friday evening from Nairobi at around 6 p.m and I being the genius I am decided to use the Bypass route from Embakasi to Thika road. After asking for a few directions we found our way to Kangundo road where as per directions we continued on a murram road and came literally to the end of the road- and this was at night mind you. Lost in an unfamiliar place in the cover of darkness is not a very nice experience believe me. Fortunately there were some Maasais around who guided us back to safety.

After that brief detour we got back on the Kangudo road and got on Thika road and arrive at Thika town to meet my pals at round about 8. After stocking up on energy drinks for the long night drive to Embu we set off. Gone down that road many time before so I was able to navigate well even in the dark to the next rendezvous point at Embu town. met the rest of the party there and headed on to Kamburu dam for the night.

On Saturday morning the adventure continued with a drive to Kiambere club right at the end of the Seven forks Dam series. Place was like a steaming cauldron with all that head and some of us took the inevitable swim. We hang around there till even then went on to Embu en route to the next destination- Kangu Baraka farm in Chuka.

More night driving but I had a nagging headache and so bought some pain killers at the supermarket in Embu. However after a can of XL energy drink the headache miraculously disappeared must have been the lack of sleep. We finally got to the farm some time after nine after a long delay on the road which was in particularly bad condition all the way from the Meru road junction. We were so wasted after the journey so a quick supper of sandwiches was enough and off to bed we went.

Got up early on Sunday morning as we had to be in Nanyuki by 9 to visit some 'surprise location' which was '20 min' away from the town. So 6 a.m found us ready to depart with pick up full of hay. The morning drive to Nanyuki gave us a very clear view of Mount Kenya before the clouds gather around it- was very picturesque, however the ice cap on the mountain was conspicuously absent- global warming anybody. 9 a.m found us in Nanyuki so we were right on schedule just 20 min left- right? Shock on us!

We left Nanyuki and followed our "guide's" Directions. Somehere about one hour later and over 10 kms from the end of the tarmac we had to stop and ask whether we are on the right track and he re-assured us that we were. You can imagine how we felt bwing far from civilization and the surroundings looking like this but we accepted that not all have the gift of estimating time and distance.


After a few more minutes on the dirt road we finally reached our destination- Ol Jogi game reserve. One of my ever resourceful mates whipped out his phone to check our location in google maps an to our surprise we were in Anaheim, California- I kid you not!







The joint is pretty neat- a private wildlife reserve owned by some Mzungu as usual. The landscape was beautiful but what was really interesting was the array of exotic animals there like

The Albino leopard

Russian bear- The only one in tropical Africa.


The show stopper however was a couple of our very own African elephants like the one at the top of the page.

After feasting our eyes on the show we made our way back to Nanyuki where we spent some time fixing auto issues caused by our roads and at about 4.30 we started the return to Nairobi. Arrived in Nairobi at about 8 tired but satisfied after a super fun weekend.

After this trip I truly understand how beautiful my country is and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Just want to thank all my pals who made this weekend so much fun- You know yourselves.