NGARE NDARE FALLS GET AWAY AND CANOPY WALK.

 I owe this to my two buddies whose actual efforts bored fruits into convincing me why not explore the equator environs and its vicinity for a weekend get away since Nairobi and the mokoyeti environment was our everyday pursuit.For a change i thought this was perfect to unwind since it was a while i had not done the old country road to sagana sides and makuyu this time round my interest being laikipia county and the neighbouring meru county.

At 0530 hrs we have converged in the old city in the sun though chilly with my perky cronies Nito and mansa.There is always beauty about being timely and for this i give credits to the team.As we sip mocha we get acquainted with the team and to cheer our spirits is the nguruman warrior saitoti as he introduces the captain of the cruise Raj a perky soul indeed.Amidst one or two chity chat and everyone is aboard ready for our scheduled departure 0600hrs E.A.T.

A promising day it seems and of that am sure,energy is right sorrounded by wonderful people we are all laughs and good vibes in the air. Am going a trip down memory lane literally as i admire my old route to the mount kenya ecosystem rich in bio diversity.The landscape down sagana so picturesque owing credibility to the rising beams of the highland sun and the hillside backdrop.

Couple of hours we are picking our refreshments and our first significant stop over is at pontianak, the 'Equator line Nanyuki ' .A couple of shots at the beacon as Mansa and i experiment the match stick funnel water drainage theory.south of the cruise equator the match stick rotates anti- clockwise as north of the equator the match stick rotates clockwise.later aluta continua we are identifying trees species when i spot mt.kenya's peak ushering me to the ecosystem.

Veering off the tarmac to the dusty corrugation are electric fences enveloping large parcel of land and my intuition is certain Ngare ndare is our pursuit on the link road .sooner or later we check in at the conserancy gate.The team gets a briefing as we indulge in a team building exercise to uplift our spirits ready for the hike.

Am impressed by the guides mention of a 'no plastic policy ' in the forest lest a reusable water pack.Kudos to the conservation efforts! Amped , in a file we kick start our pursuit of the  natural's forest's waterfalls as we immerse ourselves in this floral fauna  eden.we do a 7km hike as time is not on our side to pursue the 7 waterfalls but everyone heaves a sigh of relief at the sight of the water fall . Euphoria precedes self destruct as we all long to plunge on the rock cold water flowing down the fall as the over head sun scorches like a cast spell.

The inevitable has to happen , after a scenic moment of the azure pools, cooling off and dives we have to go uphill and in small groups we encourage each other as Nito and i engage our guard in a geo-bio diversity talk .I noticed the wild olive as the dominant tree species (olea europaea) with quite humongous mugumo tree(ficus natalensis)  some 200 years old as this is habitat to laxadonta africanas and rhinocirotidae.

in life they say do hobbies as well as fears- Bunduzman, to paramount our day  the team joins the canopy walk after a successful trip down.the canopy is 10 metres high and 450 m lomh being the longest and highest canopy walk in Africa! The canopy is wobbly with an excusite perspective such that you get a god`s perspective of the ecosystem and crown it all the watering point where elephants and rhinos or even when lucky spot a leopard.

Of worth noting is ngare ndare is a corridor vital to elephants that link to it`s neighbour LEWA WILDLIFE CONSERVANCY and BORANA CONSERVANCY-  home to;

•  lewa house ( 5 star rated)
• Elewana kifaru house (4.5 star rating)
• sirikoi logde( 5 star rated)
• lewa safari camp (4.5 star rated)
•  sieku glamping
• lewa wilderness hotel( 4 star)
• laragai house ( 5 star hotel)
• borana logde( 5 star rated)  

  

 A quiet a wonderful exprerience it was thanks to the guides at ngare ndare on behalf of the team .we value your conservation efforts indeed. Back on the road with our captain Rajab as some take a nap only to wake up to a rude awakening of double wheel tyre burst- a clear indication you have been to the bunduz. we join hands and fix our hitch and by 0700hrs we are at Nanyuki town picking up some grabs as we enroute to Nairobi. Thumps up to our Tour consultant  and travel manager Franklin Saitoti ( #GATSEXPERIENCE) and our captain Rajab not for forgeting the wonderful team onboard. A GATS EXPERIENCE 2020.

"ONCE THE TRAVEL BUG BITES THERE IS NO ANTIDOTE,AND I KNOW I SHALL BE HAPPILY INFECTED UNTIL THE END OF MY LIFE-MICHAEL PALIN''

BY SAITABAU CASTRO.

( The writer is a wildlife manager, conservationist, bird watcher and professional tour guide. email- dialnpick@gmail.com or call +254707678809 for travel related assistance)