After hiking Ngong Hills, I never wanted to engage in another hike. The hike was down right torturous. However, I guess I had not seen more than just seven brutal hills. I found myself immersed in another escapade at Mt. Longonot.
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| Our Journey begins at Milimani, Nairobi |
Our tour started at 0900hrs from Nairobi and we arrived at the Mt. Longonot Park entrance at around 1000hrs. We paid the entrance fee and started the hike on a straight path with a false sense of security. Little by little, the terrain started getting steep and my "guards" were disarmed. The trail mainly consisted of fine dust or lose gravel. After one hour or so of hiking underneath the scorching sun, we got to the rim of the crater.
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| At the Park's Entrance |
I have always thought Mt. Longonot to be fascinating; with its wide and round rim around the deep crater. My curiosity was quenched when I finally go to the top and saw that the rim and the crater were actually filled with trees and bushes. I had always thought that it was just all types of rocks and lava.
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| Mt. Longonot |
We then started our journey around the rim and it was more difficult than the journey up towards it. However, when we got to the highest point that is Kilele ngamia, every painstaking step was worth it. We took a few photos and continued with our journey. The journey around the rim would take two hours depending on ones fitness level. In a few hours we were back to the same spot we started and proceeded with our journey back down.
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| At the highest Point |
As hard as the journey was, I survived it because;
- I trended at my own pace
- I took plenty of water in between
- I took time to rest in between
- I was in light clothing
- I am moderately fit.
- And I was determined not to give up; well, mainly because there was no where else I could go in the middle of nowhere.
- In the future I would also invest in better shoes with a tighter grip as the trail was very steep and slippery especially when we were coming down.
In the end, the journey was worth while. I got to see antelopes and gazelles grazing at a distance, the sightful Lake Naivasha on the floor of the rift valley and the splending flora around the mountain and on the floor of the crater. This was a challenge worth taking and I would gladly do it again maybe at Mt. Suswa.
