Thika, Kenya. 1

I remember this trip like it was yesterday.

I’d never been to Thika before, so when I told my sister that I’d be taking a road trip there, she wasn’t really comfortable with the idea.

It had to be done though…

I’d taken solo bus trips to Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia a couple of weeks prior to this and they turned out super amazing!!! So adding the fact that I was home and that everyone around me spoke either Swahili or English (or both) made me feel quite comfortable.

It took me about one and a half hours to get to Thika from Nairobi’s CBD by bus. Then sat in a van (matatu) that drove along the Thika-Garissa road for another 20 minutes to get to the junction that led to Fourteen Falls.

Then I took my first ever motorbike ride! Ha! 😀

That was excitement and fear rolled up into one single “Ha! :D” up there.

That summed up my feelings for the next 10 minutes as we rode through a very, very dusty road.

Anywhoo, once I got to the gate, I paid about 2 USD as entry fee. The rates are a little higher for non-citizens. Also, my excitement was now over the roof because I could hear the sound of water gushing and splashing all over!

Finally, we’re here!!

The falls were gorgeous! And sorta polluted. 😦

But still…

I had a lovely guide showing me around. Thing is, when you get there, you are supposed to cross over to the other side of the river for prettier views. You can do so by foot right before the falls, or by boat right after the falls. The former seemed like a more interesting idea until I slipped and slit my heel a little on a rock just two steps in. Then I was all about the boat life! 🙂

I’ll let you enjoy the pictures now.

PS: All that time I was thinking, “I’m glad I came.”

Always be kind.

Dee.

❤

Kisumu, Kenya. 2

While in Impala Park, Kisumu, I decided to take a break from walking because it was scorching hot outside. The guard at the gate had mentioned that there was a hotel within the park so I decided to go check it out.

It’s called Impala Eco Lodge. I ordered some traditional cuisine (fried fish, mashed potatoes and kale) for lunch. The service was pretty amazing I must say. I’d give it a 10 out of 10. Just as I was about to finish my lunch, the chef came to find out if I’d enjoyed my meal! Well, that’s never happened to me before so I felt pretty special! 🙂

I also took a private boat ride courtesy of the hotel. The gentleman operating the speed boat noticed that I had a camera around my neck and was kind enough to offer to ask his friend to tag along so that he could take pictures of me. How amazing was that!?!

Needless to say, I had the most breathtaking time out there!

Always be kind.

Dee.

❤

Kisumu, Kenya. 1

I’d been waiting all week for a friend’s friend to confirm a possible trip to Maasai Mara. He’s an organiser. Gets you the best rates and all. I’ve never been to Maasai Mara before so I was pretty excited about this “possible” trip. Well, it never happened. The group I was to join postponed the trip.

So, when it got to Friday, I decided to take a trip to Kisumu instead. And I wasn’t disappointed.

It’s an hour and a half away by road from my hometown and I’ve been there a number of times. I had never been to Impala Park before though. Situated by the lakeside, it’s home to a number of wild animals. I’m AGAINST caging animals so I only took pictures of those that were allowed to roam freely. They have cheetahs, giraffes and white rhinos, all of which are restricted in not-so-big fenced areas. Big cages if you may.

I got there around noon. Paid roughly 3 USD to enter the park. It was scorching hot that day and the guard at the gate told me that the animals in the park were probably seeking shade at that moment. Therefore, it would be hard to spot them. Not until later in the afternoon.

He also let me know that there’s an amazing hotel within the park where I could relax for a while as I wait for the heat to cool down. It’s called Impala Eco Lodge. Very nice place. Amazing service.

I’ll write all about it in the next post! 🙂

Always be kind.

Dee.

❤

Naivasha, Kenya. 4

On the last week of August, I took a solo day trip to Naivasha. Yes, a solo day trip.

I woke up at around 7 in the morning, on a Tuesday, with no agenda. So I lay in bed thinking of how I should spend the rest of the day. Then it hit me. A day trip! 🙂

I needed to find an interesting place to visit that wouldn’t take me more than 2 hours to get to. Also, I wanted to get sorta physical. Sporty, if you will. It had been a while since I’d gotten a good workout in so I had to include something challenging in this trip.

And that’s how I decided to take a solo day trip to Hell’s Gate National Park!

I was so unsure of the whole idea since I’d never been to Naivasha by public means. Google came in handy though. I left the house at 11, four whole hours later, because I was still trying to convince myself that taking that trip would probably be one of the best things I would’ve done during my summer holiday.

It took about 2 hours to get there, rented a bike for 5 USD at the gate, paid another 3 USD because I was getting in with a bike, and another 7 USD (I don’t remember the exact figure but it was around that much) for my entry to the park. Non-citizens are charged way more by the way.

There are a couple of local tour guides who’ll want to rip you off, but thanks to TripAdvisor, I was already aware of that. The park has road signs inside so getting lost is not an issue.

It was a downhill ride from the gate with the most amazing and peaceful scenery. I saw a whole lot of zebras, warthogs and antelopes on the way.

Once at the gorge, you might want to ask for a little help from the rangers and guides at that post. It’s pretty twisted in there. But boy is it beautiful!

Everyone I ran into was surprised that I was travelling alone and kept asking if I’d left “my group” somewhere along the way. Haha! 😀 They were all super nice to me though.

I got really tired after all the hiking that I hitched a ride from the gorge back to Naivasha town. That was at 6 in the evening. It goes without saying really, that the trip was totally worth it! 🙂

Oh, and by the way, according to Wikipedia, the setting of the animated film, The Lion King, is “heavily modelled after this park”.

Always be kind.

Dee.

❤