Famous For

Linda Lou Burton posting from Sarova Lion Hill Lodge, Lake Nakuru National Park, Nakuru, Kenya –We headed out from Sweetwaters at 8:07, I checked my watch. It was 1:33 when we got to the gate of Lake Nakuru National Park, so, you figure it, we were in the 4×4 for at least 5 bumpy hours between breakfast and lunch. I always say, about travel, read the brochure BEFORE you go so you’ll know what you’re looking at (and what to look forward to!). I mean, a wide open space with only one tree is pretty boring, unless you know that all that land is Solio Game Ranch, 45,000 acres containing a 19,000-acre conservancy taking care of rhino, doing important work like Ol Pejeta. That’s cool.

So, here’s your brochure, a list of places we passed through, or by, with only a little slowing down. Maybe knowing what was “cool” about them will keep you from nodding off, at least, it worked for me! Our route was A2 south from Nanyuki; then B5 west, if you want to google map it; the roads were twisty, winding, up and down; we crossed the Equator five times!

Nyeri.  Population about 200,000, most residents are Kikuyu. Tea and coffee and milk processing companies, maize millers here. Major industry FARMING. Crops: coffee, tea, maize, beans, peas, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, spinach, kale. Livestock: dairy cattle, goats, sheep, chickens. Tourism: a museum about Kenya’s colonial history; Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Scouting movement lived here; you can visit his grave. It’s a place of pilgrimage for worldwide Scouting and Guiding members who congregate there often.

Aberdare National Park & Treetops Hotel. Almost 190,000 acres; varied landscapes and terrain in the Aberdare Mountain Range. Historical moment — in 1952, when Princess Elizabeth became Queen! She was staying at the Treetops Hotel in the Park (yes, a hotel in a treetop) when her father, King George VI, died. Jim Corbett, the famous hunter who had accompanied the Princess and Prince Phillip, wrote in the Treetops Logbook: For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl climbed into a tree one day a Princess and…climbed down from the tree next day a Queen – God bless her.

Other “names” who’ve stayed at Treetops – Charlie Chaplin, Lord Mountbatten, Joan Crawford, and Queen Elizabeth AGAIN. Paul McCartney stayed there while on safari in 1966. Here is a “far out” really? story about his flight back from Nairobi to London; he claims that’s where he came up with the concept of “Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Really?

Nyahururu. Population about 36,000. Due to its high elevation – over 7,000 feet – it is frequented by marathon and cross-country runners for practicing before major events. Famous Person Samuel Wanjirŭ, the Olympic Marathon Record holder and the first Kenyan to win the Marathon at the Olympics, called Nyahururu home until his death on May 16, 2011. Area is mainly agricultural; maize, potatoes, flower farming. Major highways connect here, good roads to Nairobi, Nakuru, Nyeri. Famous waterfall here – 243 feet high, coming from those Aberdare Mountains; gate charges for tourists; many resorts in the area. We DID stop at Panari Resort for a quick potty break, but we didn’t go to the falls. “Too many tourists” was Abdi’s reason. https://www.panarihotels.com/resort-nyahururu/

Subukia. Polish born Father Kazimier Szulc designed the famous Subukia National Shrine, 200 acres in the heart of Subukia Hills. The name “Subukia” is derived from the Maasai word “isupuku,” which means “higher grounds.” The shrine is now known as the Village of Mary Mother of God, or the National Marian Shrine. Pilgrims come to pray and fetch water from a spring at the shrine. The water is believed to have healing powers and many who come here carry some home. Everyone but me said they could see the Shrine, but I never did spot it. We were on the road all the way across the valley; this is an online photo.

Menengai Crater. A massive shield volcano with one of the biggest calderas in the world, in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya. Volcanic formed rich loam soils enrich the adjacent farmland arounds its flanks. The crater is on the floor of the Rift Valley. The caldera floor is covered with numerous post caldera lava flows. Sorry folks, I didn’t see this nor can I find any photos online that show its grandeur. So here’s our stop at a market along the way in this fertile valley, where Abdi helped Venita select a bunch of bananas to share in the 4×4.

Nakuru. Population 570,674, third largest city in Kenya. Elevation 6,000 feet. Archaeological discoveries located about 5 miles from the Central Business District at the Hyrax Hill reserve have been dated to the prehistoric period; archaeological investigation began in 1937 with Mary Leakey. Big attraction – Hyrax Hill Museum. Nakuru is home to Lake Nakuru, one of the Rift Valley soda lakes, which forms part of the Lake Nakuru National Park. And that, my friends, is where Daniel brought us at 1:33 today. Ta da!