14 July 2016

Hiking the whole stretch of Ngong Hills; 7 peaks; 7.5 miles; 5.5 hours; 8,070 feet in elevation

A view of Ngong Hills from far shows the four most prominent peaks.

While my friend, Anna, was back in Kenya for a visit, we made plans to hike the full stretch of Ngong Hills. It was her first time to ever be up there and my first time in several years to hike the whole length.

Ah... but the daily rain kept foiling our plans! Because we were so keen to do it, we remained confident that the weather would eventually cooperate. On one of our proposed days, we both fell on a rain-slick, algae-covered brick driveway. Ouch! I got a nasty and painful bruise, with a lot of swelling, on my left shin. On that particular day, the rain never did let up... forcing to postpone yet again.

Finally the day arrived when we were both available and there was no rain! I live at 6,400 feet in Ngong town and we were going up 1,670 feet higher where the peaks were completely socked in with dense fog. Additionally, my shin was still quite sore and tender to the touch. However, it was now or never... and we were determined to accomplish our goal!

We grabbed a couple of motorbike taxis to take us to the gate, cutting 1.5 miles off our otherwise 7.5-mile hike. We paid our entry fee and hired an armed guide to go with us.

Indeed, we had an absolutely fabulous time!

At times the ever-present fog was so thick, we had only 20-30 feet of visibility.
The top of the massive wind generator is completely obliterated by the fog.

Entirely focused on communing with God, this guy wasn't even aware of our presence.

The fog created an unearthly-like atmosphere, adding to our sense of grandeur and awe at God's incredible creation. 


The beauty of life is in each precious moment. Stop and smell the roses.



An orange butterfly lands at my feet, appearing out of the fog

A bit of blue sky, albeit brief

Stunning beauty at 8,070 feet elevation


As the fog began to clear, it simultaneously warmed up a bit and we were able to shed our jackets.
The bottom of the Great Rift Valley also came into view a bit more clearly.

A look behind at where we've already been reveals the fog's continued presence

It's not a true visit to Ngong Hills unless you see many, many Maasai sheep

Such stunning beauty! At this point we've almost reached Kona Baridi, the end of our journey.

By pure coincidence - or God's provision - Moses and his 39-year old 'White Maasai' vehicle happened upon us
at the end of our hike.... just when we were wondering how we would get back to Ngong!

Being the elder of the group, I sat up front with Moses, while Anna and our guide bounced along in the back.

Original philosophical wisdom on the side of Moses' vehicle... a perfect end to our day

6 + 3 = 9, but so does 5 + 4. 
The way you do things is not always the only way to do them. 
Respect other people's way of thinking.

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