Alison Conquers Mt. Kenya

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After 10 hour bus ride from Kampala, we landed in Nakuru, Flamingo Capital of East Africa. Early next morning, we took a game drive into Lake Nakuru National Park. We expected to see lot of flamingoes, but we were flabbergasted by what we saw. When we arrived at the Lake shore, there were millions of Pink Flamingoes and White Pelicans. For both Alison and I, the sheer volume of the birds in the lake and the spectacular fashion in which the birds they moved was breath taking.

We drove around the lake and saw several Rhinos, Giraffes, Zebras, Gazelles etc. Once again, we were unlucky not to see any lions ! But, the Flamingoes have been the most amazing sight so far on this trip.

Next, we headed to Naru Moru, the base for trekking up Mt. Kenya. We hired a guide and two porters to take us up the mountain. We started on Feb 1st afternoon from Naru Moru with our supplies to Mt. Kenya Park Entrance in a battered car. Of course, the car broke down 4 kms from the Park Gate. We got hold of a Kenya Wildlife Services Tractor that gave us a ride to the Park Gate in the tropical rain. We are definitely using all modes of transport here...

We hiked for 2.5 hours through the Bamboo forest that is home to various types of monkeys, buffaloes and Elephants. We reached our camp, Met Station, and I could already feel the altitude. We were at 10,000 ft/3000 mtrs. Our porter/cook quickly whipped up a hot meal and we went to bed early in the hut shared with three British Helicopter pilots.

After a early morning breakfast, we started a 13 kms hike to Mackinder's Camp at 14,200 ft/4,200mtrs. After the first 1.5 hours, we reached the edge of the forest and entered bog/marsh land. Then, we had a treacherous 2 hours climbing up the vertical bog until we hit the ridge of the mountains. At this point, I was getting severe headaches - early signs of Altitude Sickness. We had taken Diamox to battle this problem with limited success.

We then walked along the ridge at 4000 metres with spectacular views of the valleys and mountains below. Alison was enjoying the views, while I was looking at the ground trying to take a step at a time and get to the camp asap.. We finally reached our camp after 6 hours of grueling hike for me and pleasurable walk for Alison !

At Mackinder's camp, my headaches worsened and my head was pounding due to limited oxygen in the air and my body unable to adjust to it. I decided I wasn't going to go up further, but Alison decided she will push forward despite mild headache she was experiencing.

We barely slept the night at Mackinder's camp, as we were sharing the hut with Austrians, especially one who was snoring loudly throughout the night.

The next morning, Alison and Bernard the guide, started trekking at 3 am with full winter and head lamps to tackle the mountain and see the sunrise from the top. It was a very steep climb with heavy wind and a rocky terrain. Alison and Bernard slowly made their way up with stops along the way. They passed Austrian Hut at 4790 mtrs and close to Pt. Lenana at 4900 mtrs/16400 ft. Alison saw the spectacular sunrise and also Mt. Kilimajaro in the horizon. By this time, the wind and altitude was having an affect on Alison and they started making their way back to Mackinder's Camp by 8:00 am.

In the meantime, I got up at 7am and took some good pictures of the beautiful landscape and serene surroundings and made my way back to Met station camp with a porter to reduce my altitude sickness.

Alison, Bernard and the other Porter -Steven, made their way down to Met station (13 kms) an hour later. After a breather at Met station, we slowly made our way to the Park Entrance by 3:30 pm. It was one long day for Alison, having started the hike exactly 12 hours earlier.

I know Alison is a tough cookie, but today she even surprised me with her will power and determination to conquer the mountain. She says it was a torturous day, but I'm sure she will have good memories about it in the future.

After a day's rest in Nakuru, we are heading to the famous Masai Mara National Park to see the wild life and meet the Maasai Tribe.

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Photos

Flamingoes Galore
Flamingoes in Lake Nakuru, Kenya

Mt Kenya at Sunrise
Alison was somewhere up there while I stayed back at McKinder's Camp

Meet my son
White Rhinos at Lake Nakuru 15 feet away from our car