KK & Chris' Kenya Adventure

  Shortly after the Ngare Ndare Forest trip, we had a 5-day weekend and traveled to the Great Rift Valley with two colleagues for 3 days. On the way we stopped at Thomson Falls in Nyahururu. The falls is 75 meters, almost as high as a football field is long.  This is not the rift valley but a valley carved by the Ewaso Ny'iro river below the falls. The elevation on top is about 7500 feet. After the falls, we stopped at a small butchery and hotel for Kenyan tea, similar to a chai tea, and chapati. Hotel here means restaurant, not accommodations. Most of the butcher shops have small restaurants attached. The sides of beef or goat hang in the window. You can purchase whatever cut or amount you want. Further into our voyage, we stopped to ask for directions to the road that leads to... Mt. Longonot, outside of Naivasha, another stratovolcano. Now we are in the Great Rift Valley. The entrance to Mt Longonot National Park Chris has wrestled with the Kenyan park system website a...

  Greetings family and friends from the Ngare Ndare Forest Reserve. We did this trip with two colleagues in February. Our hike through the forest, with an armed guard of course, led us to this paradise. The swimming was wonderful, cool but not cold. Although, the Kenyans who were swimming feel the cold much more than we do. We heard lots of birds but this was the only wildlife we saw. The next walk was through the forest canopy. I believe the bridge was half a kilometer long and we opted to walk to the end and then walk back on the bridge. We were hoping to see animals below, but no luck. Just a squirrel in one of the trees. The steps up to the suspension bridge See you at the other end! We walked through, above, and below some amazing trees! This water berry tree has strangler figs growing up around the trunk. Eventually, the original tree dies and the fig continues to grow. The man who would not give up! He fixed our flat tire by creating a tool to remove the single lug nut that ...

  Most of our time is spent at school, teaching, coaching, and living. Friday mornings the school has a flag raising ceremony. The band plays the National Anthem, the school song, and one or two other selections. "Oh When the Saints..." is a popular one and also one they play well. Students participating in the St. John Ambulance Club do the flag raising. St. John Ambulance is a volunteer organization of first responders. They have cadets in schools who learn basic first aid practices and get to wear a special uniform. Fridays are fun because the staff takes turns bringing food to share during the morning tea break. 3 staff members are assigned to each Friday. They plan, prepare, and put together plates for 25-30 people. It is a FEAST and always delicious! We don't eat breakfast on Fridays and many of the teachers skip lunch. The morning tea break is 30 minutes so there is time to sit around in the staff room, enjoy the food, talk, and laugh. In general, the Kenyans are v...