a holiday hike

The term is finally over at the 'w' place and the sun seems to be here to stay. Now that it is so sunny and hot it is easy to forget that it ever rained. 

Some friends and I decided to go for a wee hike on the Ngong Hills on the weekend.

‘Bandits’ are known to be around that area, but you can pay for an escort or you can just walk to the top of the first hill, as at that point there is a sign where the ‘bandits’ do not pass. So up to there you are safe!? 

This made our walk, the equivalent of Ben Nevis, (yes OK, we started a bit higher in the first place!) much more enjoyable. As we could just picture the ‘bandits’ standing at the other side of the ‘do-not-proceed sign’ waiting for people to pass it.

Gordon took this photo-I was too busy on 'look-out' duty!

We all survied our we walk and felt much healthier and happier, for being outside in the sunshine, knowing we had a few cold Tuskers in the car to quench our thirst.

We were told of the best Nyama Chomo restaurant (traditional roasted meat, off the bone) in the area, Olepolos Country Club, looking out onto the Rift Valley. (I have been there to stay, in a previous life before I lived here, but this was a different experience to that).

(Vegetarians, turn away now...)

The animals are butchered on site, then the meat is taken to one of the cooks at the many fires. You  order the meat and which part of the animal you wished, then it is cooked for you and cut up skillfully hacked, in front of you  (Remember, we had just hiked in the sunshine. This was all a bit much for us-I think I just kept repeating the words ‘food’ and ‘four people’!) We were then found the best table with views of the Rift  Valley, where we enjoyed the wine we brought in the ice-box. We were all pretty close to eating the rice cakes I had packed, when 2 hours later our meat turned up!!

It was great, although we all decided that next time we would try to pre-order from Nairobi! But really, with a view like this, the wait was no hardship.