.Kenya is the most amazing country for tourism. It's got everything; mountains which are amongst the most spectacular in the world; savannahs filled with lions, zebra, giraffe and elephants; restaurants serving a mass of different cultural cuisine, not to mention masses of stretches of unspoilt coastline with white candy like coastline. If you put Eilidh and me together, we've done all of the above.
I got an overnight bus from Kampala to Nairobi. Already having been warned of the abrupt nature of Kenyans, I was even more concerned after being warned not to wear my phone on a pocket bag around my neck by a very polite Kenyan woman who was also on the bus. Why was I going to a city where robbery was famed above anything else & pickpockets apparently walked the streets during the daytime praying on innocent tourists? 'Nairobbery' as it is named in the Lonely Planet Guide, thankfully, did not live up to its reputation. All the Kenyans' we met were polite and friendly. The only noteworthy exception being the boys experience of a toothless con-man, well known to both 'Backpackers' and the 'YHA' for trying to claim that he works for either said hostels and then demanding fuel money. The guys didn't give him any and so all they suffered was some rude, but harmless abuse.
When we planned our trip to Kenya we only imagined we would stay in Nairobi for a single night before heading straight to Mount Kenya. However as one of our group was ill we decided to stay a couple of extra nights to see if she would recover. During this time we got to explore Nairobi. Apart from spending one Saturday desperately seeking a forex before they all closed at noon, and another travelling all over town in order to book our accommodation in Mombassa, we had a pretty laid back couple of days. We visited on of the tallest office blocks in the city and looked from the Heli-pad at the top at the expanse below. The guide pointed out the "dangerous taxi park" which is where we where to have lunch. (A trouble free one I might add!) We walked around the city for a bit then me and Aiden treated ourselves to a cappuccino at the coffer shop (real coffee - wow!) and a chocolate fudge cake. I can't wait to get home and line in Starbucks!
Another day we spent a day in the park plying frizby and vortex. Or at least we played frizby until Zoe accidentally threw it in the boating lake. Then to the amusement of all the locals, Neil and a park rower tried to locate the spot where the frizby had fallen and drag it out with a along stick. Not surprisingly, this attempt was not wholly successful!
For the first time whilst being in Africa I felt like I was in a real city. This isn't just because of the presence of tarmaced dual carriageways and concrete bridges that are obsolete in Kampala, it's also because of the availability of contrasts. There are large city parks to sunbathe in that are framed by high rise glass office building, Mercedes Benz next to dishevelled public buses, posh hotels and fatty snacks. These contrast are also evident in the choices of food in the city. There are your regular African establishments, with the usual menus (half of which you try to order but cannot as "it is over" - you only find this out after you have ordered and been given a totally different substitute!), fast food joints not to mention top class restaurant from around the world.
We ate out at two amazing places - one significantly cheaper and perhaps more interesting, and another that would be a regular haunt if it was located anywhere near my home in England. Both served amazing food. The first one we went to before Mount Kenya to stoke up on vital energy. It was an Italian restaurant in the city's posher district. We all ordered pizza and drinks - even cocktails were on the menu! We were then served a starter of crusty fresh bread topped with tomato and herbs. The pizzas were delicious! All thin based "real" Italian ones with just the right amount of topping. We weren't planning on getting deserts but decided to take a look at the cabinets downstairs anyway. (We were sat on an upstairs terrace overlooking the streets) The cakes looked delicious, then we found the ice creams! There must have been about ten different flavours, including sorbet, yum! Mae an me had an amazing chocolate and a portion of ice cream, with obligatory hot chocolate sauce! Heaven.
The second amazing place we went to for dinner was after Mount Kenya. We were going to order in pizza, but as it was expensive and not necessarily that good, we decided to eat out instead. One of the girls at backpackers recommended a place called (I think) "The Pink Lady". Apparently it is especially cheap, as it is an illegal restaurant! Really it's a hair salon but everyone knows they serve food. With this in mind we set off rather nervously! When we got there though it was fantastic! You drive through a dubious looking back alley and pull up outside a (surprise, surprise) hair salon. Then you walk through a small door by the side and enter a brightly decorated corridor. The restaurant is Ethiopian. Which I guess is what inspires the decoration - and instead of eating in a single room there are little 'boudoirs' off a short corridor. Each is brightly furnished with painting and sculptures.
The restaurant serves the most amazing juice, and after having these we waited in anticipation. The carnivore's food arrived first. They had a large tray for all three of them on which stood a pot, which was about 6 inches high. On the lower half of the pot there was a real fire, and on top sat succulent pieces of meat. There was a small dish of spicy sauce to the side and then three pieces of rolled up, traditional Ethiopian bread. The waiter demonstrated how to pick up a piece of meat with the bread and then dip it in sauce, he then proceeded to feed it to Tom! It was pretty spicy! The carnivores finished the tray off and ordered another dish, meanwhile the vegetarian's food arrived. We also had a massive tray between three. The base of the tray had a huge circular piece of bread on it (it was almost 2 foot wide) and then in the centre we had a spicy tomato thing, with another piece of bread over the top. The waiter moved this to the side and poured in another chick pea sauce thing, it tasted amazing! You eat everything with your hands by kind of pinching the sauce, it was a really great meal.
After we had stayed in Nairobi for about three days we knew we had to do Mount Kenya soon or we would run out of time. Unfortunately Mae was still ill so we had to do it without her - we were all really gutted. Nonetheless the five of us set off with eager anticipation. The first day was a little frustrating at first, we set off late and drove to a town near the mountain so the porters could collect food and supplies
When this was done & we had bought some essential hats - both for warmth and for sun protection - we set off to the base of the mountain. On the way up we passed some zebra! I was waking up at the time so it was land of sleep - ooo zebra! zebra gore! We arrived to start walking at abound three and set off for base camp. It was a pretty easy walk and our guides - Eric and Steven seamed pretty nice. When we got to the huts we were very impressed. Form just outside we already had an amazing view of the savannah bellow - we watched the sun setting. Immediately we were served biscuits and popcorn by the porters. Our $70 a day included all food, which made the walk much more enjoyable than Mount Elgon! (mainly because the food we were served was much nicer!) Later we had soup followed by mashed potatoes, vegetable sauce and spinach.
We had a quick look at the stars - which were very clear! Before crashing out in beds - We had our own dorm with comfy beds. I wasn't too cold but then again I was wearing two pairs of trousers, a top, a fleece, neck warmer and two hats, all under my three seasons sleeping bag! The next day was fairly uneventful apart from "teacher Tom" explaining all the glacial events that would help form the valley. In the morning we got our first glimpses of the summits, covered in ice, they rise behind the rest of the mountain. In the evening we were to stay right at the end of the valley, surrounded by the horseshoe of the three towers. It was stunning.
Originally we had planned to spend the third day acclimatising by doing a small walk slightly higher, however this would mean we couldn't do the full circular route around all the peaks. Instead we decided to attempt the summit the next day, having climbed 4200 meter in about 24 hours! Then continue around the whole of the circular route.
We had to wake up early at 3 am so we would reach the summit at sunrise. Zoe and Me had shared a bed to stay warm (this works amazingly well) but I did not sleep that well because of the altitude. I had a mild headache all night but what was more disconcerting was waking up and breathing as fast as you had been doing a marathon rather than doing nothing at all! Damn the lack of oxygen.
We dragged ourselves out of bed and quickly layered up the clothes before having a quick cup of tea, biscuit and banana for breakfast. When we stepped outside the view of the summit was stunning. There was a full moon and the stars were really bright. In front of us stood the highest peak, covered in rivers of snow which reflected off the moon to give it a luminous quality. The light around us was bright enough so we didn't need torches.
As we climbed to the summit we all suffered kind of dizzy, drunken, hangover feeling that comes with altitude. Tom and me sang camp songs but by the time we finished one verse we had to stop and gasp for breath before starting the next. We stopped for about 20 minutes in an alcove near to the top so we would hit the peak at sunrise - you don't want to be waiting that long on the ice capped windy summit! At this point Tom calculated the altitude sickness to be equivalent to six pints and two shots.
We got to the top and waited a couple of minutes for the sun to rise. It was stunning. The light reflected off the clouds bellow and we could see for miles. Mount Kilimanjaro could just be made out in the distance and the highest peak rose behind us. (You can only walk to the third highest - the rest are climbing routes.) It was one of the most impressive sights I have ever seen. Then we descended gradually, the drunken feeling decreasing. We stopped for a quick snack at the Austrian hut, the highest of all the camps before continuing. The circular route took a long time and was hard work. We had three more climbs to do. The last one was the hardest as it culminated in a really steep assent up a gravel sand dune. Fortunately the climbs were spaced with downhill bits - massive screes that you have to ski step down. These are pretty fun (although dangerous) to run down - I ended up with a nice purple bruise on my thigh! We finished walking about 12 noon-ish - 9 hours! We were all exhausted but the views from the walk had made it well worth while. We were relieved as well that everyone had made it to the top despite altitude sickness!
The next day was a nice gradual descent down. The route we took is supposed to be the most beautiful and it certainly had some fantastic views. My favourite had to be the one we saw as we climbed over a small ridge. To either side stretched out steep red cliffs bellow which hung a huge savannah. The savannah was green and boggy with a few "typical" flat topped African trees. In front the two skirts of cliff almost met creating a thin band of clear blue which joined the sky. It would be amazing to rock climb anywhere on the mountain! Behind the orange rock rose dark grey mountain tops peaked with ice and snow. It was stunning.
We walked quickly and only stopped for a couple of photos and a bit of rock climbing. I've got an amazing picture of me attempting a massive boulder (no one need know I fell off before getting on top of the massive overhang!) That day I realised how big the mountain is. It's nothing like an English mountain with one peak - it's got loads of smaller peaks, meadows and rock faces inside the massive area. You could spend months exploring (if you could pay the equally large park fees!)
That night we stayed in our own small huts with comfy single beds and our own small sitting room with a log fire. It was a pity to be away from the other climbers - we met a really sound American and a really interesting Israeli. Still, it was good to have the last night in comfort! The next day was supposed to be a nice, gentle two hour stroll before the car picked us up. Unfortunately the driver was new and went the wrong way so we had to walk the 32 km all the way back to the village! Ouch! It was so good to sit down for our last meal!
I would definitely recommend to anyone to climb Mount Kenya. Even if you don't reach the summit, if you love walking it is worth it purely for the views on the way up. I would also recommend spending a few nights in "Nairobery". It's a great city with great food and good entertainment, as long as you don't go out after dark and are fairly street wise, you hopefully shouldn't have any problems.