When I started hiking in 2021 I didn’t think that I’d ever go out camping, let alone summit Mt Kenya. The thought of being out in the woods, with bare necessities did not seem fun, and summiting Mt Kenya seemed completely out of question, as it involved camping for more than a day!

But after a year of hiking around Kenya, the mountain called me. After spending some time in Olmaroroi house in November and Kilifi in December I was ready.

 

 

 

Summiting Mt Kenya and First Time Camping

In February 2023  I started my 4 prep hikes alongside my friends: Monicah, Yuji, and Collin who made the process easier with the friendship and camaraderie. To prepare for the hike and the altitude, we hiked Ragia Falls, Mt Kipipiri, Elephant Hill, and Mt Satima. Of these 4, Mt Kipipiri was new to me as I had hiked the rest prior.

 

Mt Kenya prep started in February and ended in late March, then we summited Mt Kenya on 1st April. It was great to cross off Mt Kenya from the bucket list! Here are some of my favourite pictures. You can go through the entire Mt Kenya diary on my Instagram page highlights here.

 

I had fun hiking, being silly, shooting content and pictures in dresses and just being disconnected from the world. I carried 3 power banks, to last me enough to be able to take pictures. 

 

 

 

Hiking Two Hills and Camping in Taita Taveta

Around the end of  April, Monicah invited Weru and I to Tsavo House and it was such a delight to observe two creatives filming content, having their own travel companies and doing their best to push forward.I was awed by their skills. We arrived one fine evening by the SGR and spent the night at Tsavo House, an AirBnB, before hiking Wesu and Kasigau Hills. 

 

The pictures, videos and company were great and I was so grateful to hike in Tsavo, which is such an unexpected hiking destination but very pretty.  You can go through the entire Tsavo House diary on my Instagram page highlights here.

Giraffe Center 

When May arrived I decided to go out and feed the giraffes at Giraffe Center. Though near my house, I had never been there. I enjoyed watching the giraffes walk, so gracefully, shuffling themselves from person to person for some pellets. 

They have long necks and equally long tongues! More about Giraffe Center here.

 

 

Kamweti Falls, Kirinyaga County

After Tsavo Hills I was cooped up in the house, coding and catching up with ALX assignments. In July, I decided to pursue Kamweti Falls with the Trek Tribe. The weather was terrible. As someone who schooled in Kirinyaga county, I don’t know what I expected. I slept the entire journey.

Kamweti Falls is colder than a witch’s left titty, as someone I know would say. We got rained on and had to manoeuvre around the trail a lot. I took some great pictures, met some great people and decided to hike no more in that dreadful weather.

 

 

 

 

I’m yet to go back to hiking since Kamweti Falls. While I do have some bucket list items, I’m not sure when I’ll cross them off. Ngare Ndare and Kilimanjaro are up there on my bucket list. What are your 2024 travel plans?