Tuesday 27 October 2015

Fort Jesus-Mombasa



I took these on my last week in Mombasa.
Had been in the coastal city for 3 years yet for some reason never found time visit the fort.The place is actually more interesting that i imagined. This fort holds a lot of ancient culture, incredible details about the first world war and the dreadful slave trade.

There's a lot to say about this place...but i'd rather not get into it.So i'll just leave the pics here. In this collection is the within and outside views from Fort Jesus.














































Day out on Ololosokuan Nature trail


Ooops! I forgot to ask what the name means!

But if i was to take a wild guess,i'd say a dry savanna,rocky terrain with a splendid view of Ngong hills and the Kajiado plains-but that does not even begin to describe this place!

I came here by chance,practically dragged by my travel junkie +grace njeri .Love this girl,she brings out my fun side.




Together, we are  rediscovering Nairobi, after years away from the big city. Getting our adrenaline pumping going on hikes,mad rides, trips and any low budget travel adventures we can get our hands on.But that's a story for another day.

We got to Ololosokuan at the Savanna Sunset resort around 10 a.m. Dusty place this is,my sinuses could not keep up at first.

We started with a walk down a rocky slope.The trail was bushy with twigs hanging overhead shielding us from the smoldering sun that was already creeping in. The thorny shrubs on either side of the trail were unforgiving. Painfully tearing  against our skins as we walked past .For tall folks like Grace, it was a game of bendings!

Down the slope we went ,until we came across some gorry looking caves. Selfie time it was and a lot of  goofing around until our guide said we have to get to the top via the cliff face.Imagine that!

Believe me its harder than it sounds.

 We practically had to crawl in between upward-facing  rock tunnels and pull ourselves between cliff faces.But it was worth the pain when we got to the top.










The first sight up there is the beautiful Kajiado plains. The valley marks the onset of the Great Rift valley.The valley is a large stretch of savanna grassland ,scrubs and scattered Maasai settlements.The houses look tiny from up there. Up ahead was a range of hills,Ngong hills perhaps,again i forgot to find out. One of them had wind mills on top characteristic of Ngong hills,so i think that's about right.

It was fun trying out poses on top of the one of the hanging cliff faces. Headstands, one-leg Maasai poses and some i can not even come up with a name for.I found out pulling that bolt pose is not as easy as it looks.

When the selfies were done we headed down the cliff to the valley bottom.It was a treacherous journey down there  all scrubby scrubby with the vegetation getting thicker with every step. We took selfies along the trail,unknowingly separating ourselves from the rest of the group.





Finally we reached the plains.The group was nowhere to be seen and for a moment i panicked.Luckily one of the guides was waiting for us.

 It was fun walking through the savanna grassland and through a dry river bed.We walked upstream on a rocky surface on the river bed into a valley.

At the end of this trail was a cave with a pool of muddy water at its mouth ;wonderful spot for more photos.Also a great chilling spot if you want  to hide from the rest of the world. Someone said the place reminded him of the Mau Mau caves in Kirinyaga,central Kenya. There is a web of caves and tunnels there where the freedom fighters hid from the colonists.

We took a break at the caves replenishing our energies for the 60 ft climb back to the top of the valley.It wasn't easy. But the guides were good. they helped us along ,showing where to step,hold and when to pull up. After what seemed like forever,we all made it to the top.




We took a dusty trail back to the Sunset resort where we started.A buffet was in waiting! Our hosts had prepared a local delicacy  Nyama choma ,ugali , muthokoi and vegetables .Si we ate!

After the meal we explored the resort before heading back to the city.

The Sunset Resort is a nice place.If you are into nature ,wild dining and bush catering,you will love it here. They have big 4 bed tents and single bed ones-all self contained.

Bummer! i din't take photos of the resort ;was too tired i guess. But will do so on my next visit.Then you will see how marvelous this place is!