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Country Info
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The Central Highlands
Naro Moru
The Journey
To get to Naro Moru we follow Thika Road past the busy Githurai
town. Main road access to Naro Moru is directly from major towns by
bus, matatu or private transport. The dual carriageway road is
mostly good, though the weather gets colder and a drizzle has
started by the time we pull into the BluePost Hotel where the Chania
Falls offer a pleasing watery sight during the rainy season when
there's ample water.
As the journey progresses the weather gets even worse. The green
scenery along the way is evidence of previous long spells of
rainfall. On our way to Sagana we stop to ask for directions on the
Tana river bridge over the nearly overflowing Tana River. This is a
good spot to buy fresh river fish - assuming you're on your way to
somewhere where it can be cooked immediately.
In Karatina town the famous Karatina Open Market beckons. This is
the second largest open market in the world after that in Timbuktu,
Mali, and the largest in East Africa! It isn't a market day though
so it's quite empty. Market days are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday,
and it serves as a marketplace for the small holders from the
surrounding densely populated highlands.
Finally the weather warms up as we stop in Nyeri for a lunch of
steak and vegetables at a very good price!
Sites
Before heading to our hotel we decide to stop over at the Baden
Powell Park in Nyeri town. The late Baden Powell was the founder of
the Scouts movement while his late wife Olave founded the Girl Guide
movement, both of which have registered thousands of school children
over the years in Kenya. As you walk into the park there are
engraved stones showing the pledges that guide members of the two
movements, as well as the scouts' promise. This park is maintained
by scouts and receives very many guests, some of who come to have
picnics in its tranquility. Others come to visit long departed
family members in the graveyard nearby which dates back to the
colonial days and bears witness to the colonial victims of the
Second World War in Kenya.
The Baden Powell's were buried here in a huge grave set-aside
exclusively in their memory.
And in the name of conservation, you may also plant a tree in the
park. The Honourable Wangari Maathai has already done so!
Accommodation
The Central Province is north of Nairobi. Its fertile lands form
a patchwork of coffee fields and tea plantations. The road from
Nyeri to Naro Moru is very good, passing by huge ranches. A murram
road leads into the Alliance Hotel's Naro Moru River Lodge where I
receive a surprise warm welcome from schoolkids here on a holiday
retreat. The lodge is popular with schools that treat their children
to holiday trips.
The lodge is also known as the ‘base for climbing Mount
Kenya' and hiking gear is prominently on display at the
reception while the lounge has t-shirts displayed all along the
ceiling rafters. T-shirts of those who've conquered the mountain,
with messages like "We saw, we ascended, we sweated, we descended -
we made it!" Certainly inspiring for those who may not initially
think of taking the challenge.
And then, dinnertime in the warm dining room. Dinner is
accompanied by traditional Giriama, Kikuyu and Luo dances performed
by the Drumbeats of Africa dance troupe, with a comedy show thrown
into the bargain. Soon enough they grab some of the teachers and I
to join the dance around the swimming pool. Even the kids join in!
After all that physical exertion, it's time to relax by the
lounge fireplace with a glass of white wine before retiring to the
bedroom that has a fireplace readily lit for me to warm the room as
I settle down and finally- sleep.
The next day I get a chance to see more of the lodge. The
architecture consists of wood and stonewalls. The rooms are
standard, deluxe or superior, and there are cottages complete with
all the rooms in a standard house- living room, dining room,
furnished kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms. All rooms have a
fireplace.
Trout Tree cottage
Alternative accommodation in Naro Moru can be found at the Trout
Tree cottages which are actually more popular for their Trout Tree
restaurant. What's so good and different about it is the fish that
are freshly caught from huge tanks dotting the grounds where they
are bred. They are so soft that you can easily crunch their bones
and wash this down with a beer pulled up from the river in a kind of
trolley basket. Not to mention the setting which is literally in the
treetops- lovely.
The cottages are homely and great for groups so you can all eat
around the privacy of your own dining room and balcony.
Activities
Later in the day I get to try out fly fishing. Maina the guide
takes me through the ropes, showing me the fishing line that can
catch fish weighing upto 2.5 kilogrammes, and attaching the bait
which isn't worms or bread or cheese, but a professional rainbow
fish bait. We move to find deeper water, and after a few seconds I
manage to catch – a tree branch! I give Maina quite a hard time
retrieving the hook from the branches, until finally he moves me
even further downstream away from any vegetation. It doesn't matter
though, I still don't have any luck catching any fish.
So we go on a nature walk instead during which I catch a glimpse
of the rare Hartlaub's Turaco bird. A type of aloe plant grows here
that is a good antiseptic; Maina uses it on his finger where the
fishhook scratched him while he was retrieving it.
Naro Moru lodge has a special course geared towards corporate
teambuilding. This includes challenges like the wall, spider web,
balance rod, and weightlift, all which have proven very useful to us
as 4More
Ltd when we take clients into the field for teambuilding...more on this?
Mau Mau caves
Driving back to the main road junction we cross over onto a very
rough road that leads to an area with some important Kenyan history.
Accompanied by children from St. Christophers school I explore the
Mau Mau caves that are close to Mt. Kenya. We walk for a few hundred
metres through dense thicket and forest before getting to the
massive cave.
 Mau cave
The cave is dark and has signs of a fireplace as well as hollow
sections that resemble bedrooms. The children and I received a
valuable lesson in history as our guide explains the circumstances
leading to the Mau Mau fighters hiding within the caves from the
colonialists. Facing the caves is an observation point that acted as
a lookout for the main cave, which in those days was covered by
thicket to conceal it from aircraft.
And there's a wall on which you can leave your name.
Other caves dot the vicinity, spread out for the sake of security
in days gone by to delude the colonialists. One particular cave
opens out to a beautiful waterfall and pass through the rock's as in
the first picture above; the water so clear and cold that it was the
perfect anaesthetic for boys about to be circumcised.
By the time we get back to the lodge it is really cold, so I
spend some time in the lodge's sauna and steam bath.
And to end the second day I play a game of pool with friends, te
last time I play the game because I seem to do more damage than
good, shooting the balls in dangerous directions. Ah well, just
another game to stay away from after fly fishing...and golf...and
the list just goes on...
Accommodation rates
and images
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