Monday was a holiday here - Madaraka Day. Having not been able to go away as planned to minister in Kimilili in western Kenya, due to a heavy cold, and feeling somewhat better by Monday, I really wanted to get out of the city at least for part of the day. In the end, a colleague and I went for a drive a
round the Ngong Hills, which are about 20 miles from Nairobi. I’d walked the length of them before, and had driven over them to go to Lake Magadi (a soda lake near the border with Tanzania), but had never done the circuit. It was great to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, and be out on the open road. Some of it was tarmac, but all of the road at the back of the hills (which is effectively in the Rift Valley) was murram. Quite a contrast going from one side to the other. On the Nairobi side, it’s all pretty green and cultivated. On the far side, it’s dry, th
e landscape dotted with flat-topped acacia trees, and with the occasional Masai manyatta (dwelling), with their thorn fences. The hills themselves are quite beautiful, with their folds, and undulating peaks. We had lunch under an acacia, with the backdrop of the Ngongs. No traffic noises, just the sounds of different birds, and of cowbells as cattle were being herded. Most of the traffic we met was on the way back, when we passed a large number of pickup trucks packed with Masai! They’d evidently been out for the day too! An extra detour took us on the tarmac road going down (literally!) on the way to Magadi. Amazing views, several potholes and some interesting encounters with cows in the road!
Monday was a holiday here - Madaraka Day. Having not been able to go away as planned to minister in Kimilili in western Kenya, due to a heavy cold, and feeling somewhat better by Monday, I really wanted to get out of the city at least for part of the day. In the end, a colleague and I went for a drive a
round the Ngong Hills, which are about 20 miles from Nairobi. I’d walked the length of them before, and had driven over them to go to Lake Magadi (a soda lake near the border with Tanzania), but had never done the circuit. It was great to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, and be out on the open road. Some of it was tarmac, but all of the road at the back of the hills (which is effectively in the Rift Valley) was murram. Quite a contrast going from one side to the other. On the Nairobi side, it’s all pretty green and cultivated. On the far side, it’s dry, th
e landscape dotted with flat-topped acacia trees, and with the occasional Masai manyatta (dwelling), with their thorn fences. The hills themselves are quite beautiful, with their folds, and undulating peaks. We had lunch under an acacia, with the backdrop of the Ngongs. No traffic noises, just the sounds of different birds, and of cowbells as cattle were being herded. Most of the traffic we met was on the way back, when we passed a large number of pickup trucks packed with Masai! They’d evidently been out for the day too! An extra detour took us on the tarmac road going down (literally!) on the way to Magadi. Amazing views, several potholes and some interesting encounters with cows in the road!
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