The Orange Hat

Location: Longonot National Park, Kenya

We met outside the Hilton at 7:45 as planned, and left at a little past 8 to search out a Matatu to take us to Naivasha, the closest town of size to Mount Longonot, a 2777m volcano in the midst of the Rift Valley which runs through central Kenya.


Our trip to Naivasha took approximately 1.5 hours from down town Nairobi, upon which we passed an over look of Longonot and a view into the crater of the dormant volcano.

When in Naivasha, we found another Matatu to take us to the village of Longonot.
30 minuets later, after passing through the tow, we found ourselves on the side of a well constructed (a rarity in this area) road, in sight of the mountain, but with no obvious direction to a gate, or path to our destination.

Laughing, we trudged over to a group of construction workers, and asked for directions to the mountain that was obviously in front of us. Guiding us onto a a nearby road, we thanked them, and walked 2-3 km from where the matatu dropped us off on a sandy road, passing farms and smiling children who persistently called after us “How are you?” to our destination.

At the gate, we had to convince the guard that three of us were residents and not tourists (it’s implied if you speak Kiswahili that you’re a native, and three of us didn’t). The tourist fee is 2,000 ksh, the equivalent to about $30 USD- way more than we wanted to pay for a day hike. With this knowledge we brought our work agreement papers, stating that we were staying over six months to work, and thus would qualify for a residents notice (or the equivalent) and should not be charged the 2,000 ksh for each of us foreigners (Dunia, Florent, and Sean [myself]). After much talk in Kiswahili between Michelle and the guard at the gate, non of which I understood, it was agreed that all three of us would pay 2,000 ksh combined. Kenyan natives pay nothing (after all they pay taxes). We seven proceeded into the park.

From the base of Longonot, you cannot see the peak, it simply looks like a rounded off mount much like Kilimanjaro and over shield volcanoes. The summit itself is 1000m off the floor of the rift valley, but the edge of the rim of the crater, which is 2km wide varies from 700m up to the peak, a sizable difference when you first approach and cannot fathom what you are actually hiking.

On the way up we encountered no one except the exceptionally thorny trees in the area. The thorns on the flora are not the small prickles I find back home (which are still very painful, though not nearly as violent as when I encountered here) but huge picks, which if given the opportunity could run themselves through your hand. I do not believe them poisoness, but these suckers hurt, and you have to be really careful to avoid them.

On of the reasons we left at 8 am to reach Longonot was the rains that have been occurring later in the afternoon for the past week. We wanted to be off them mountain by about four. As we began hiking, this seemed a better and better idea, as the path we were hiking was very dry. Dust covered our clothing and belongings; making we seven look like a ragtag bunch. The tail itself was not exceptionally easy, in many areas there were 30-40 degree slopes, with a terrain I can only compare to drainage ditches and caves; steep shallow cannons’ of about 1-1.5 meters with foot holds carved out and collapsed areas with roots growing in.

We quickly divided into two groups: Florent, Dunia, Kirt, and Sean in one, Wanja, Michelle, and Estel in the other. We met us occasionally, at the fist plateau about ¼ the way to the peak, and on short stops on the way, but overall we were not together.

After the fist plateau, there is a steep incline to the rim of the crater, which overlooks the 2km wide forest inside of Longonot, walled off from the rest of the valley by the steep walls on the outside, and ever steeper cliffs on the inside of the crater. The floor is flat, though and covered with a lush forest, and what appeared to be small lakes. The peak is visible across the crater, and obviously towers over the rest of the rim, looking to be a generally steep incline. There are pick neck tables, and a few people were resting on the way around the crater. The group in front stopped for a sack at the rim, and ate fruitcake, cucumbers, muffins, and glucose. Preceded around the north side for the crater, which is slightly steeper, but the shorter path to the peak, made up of several shorter peaks that we managed as best we could (some have side paths).

We made it to the rim in about an hour, and then to the peak in about two. From the peak Mount Susa (2357m), Mount Leastima (4001m), the Ngong hills, and the area around Lake Naivasha are all visible. After a twenty-minuet rest, we continued our trek around the crater. The remaining side is much less steep, though longer, and was much more accommodating to the knees.

The decent down the rim was steep and quick, probably not taking more than half and hour at most. We ( the group which went ahead) met up with the others at the gate, where we drank coke, and relaxed until we decided it was time to leave.

Walking back, we realized we were going to pass the town on the road we were on and needed to veer through farms for a more direct route. A local guided us through, and lead us to town where we could get a Matatu. On the way I took this picture of garbage in the sun:

Trash like this is all over town, and not just this one, and no one really seems to care.

Three Mazungus (white people) and four Kenyan girls then tried to catch any form of transportation away from the town of Longonot. We had offers from truckers who wanted to sit next to a white girl, and stoned Landrover drivers toy with us for half and hour, and plenty of passerby’s. In the end we managed to catch a Matatu, and overload it to about 26 people (they’re made for 14). I personally had two eight year olds on my lap, and the conductor was worried about my breathing.

The Matatu’s we got on could only take us to Mahi Mahi (I have no clue how it’s spelt, but listening to my Dutch friend Florent say it made everybody in the Matatu laugh.) From there we transferred into another Matatu that would take us to Nairobi.

In this Matatu we had to hide out money in our shoes, because the Kenyans I was with were worried about being mugged by the suspicious people in the front of the van.
Luckily nothing happened, until later.

We all arrived back in Nairobi tired and worn out, but went our separate ways home with promises to call each other. I took a bus to Kilimani where I stay, and greeted the guards at my gate as I always did with a short lesson in Kiswahili, then texted Dunia, telling her I hadn’t gotten mugged, and arrived home safely.

I then went ot my room exhausted and called my parents. As I was on the phone with my father, I received a text, that Dunia:

“Shanky there was this man with poop and a knife and uggggh… are you ok?!”

I was confused, I didn’t see a man with poop or a knife all day, but apparently she had, and was asking me if I was all right. I hadn’t seen her in about half and hour, but to be honest I wasn’t all the worried as she still had a phone, and was able to text me. The last time I was mugged, I had neither a) a phone b) my consciousness c) the ability to be concerned about other people… or even me for that matter.

That message was later followed by:

“yea, so technically we were mugged. Glad I got that out of the way, shit.”

“We” was Dunia and Kirt, who had agreed to walk Dunia to her Matatu stop. I later found out that Dunia only found out they were mugged after the who incident happened. Kirt (who speaks Kiswahili- the language the whole conversation with the poop wielding knife possessor was spoken in) told me both her and Dunia were in an area which they should not have been in late at night waiting for Dunia’s Matatu. A man who stated “I usually stab people with needles and smear shit on them, but I’m being nice I want 100 ksh from you” approached them! Kirt said, “I don’t have any money,” mind you Dunia has no clue what’s going on, and I don’t think saw what was in his hands. He keeps on demaning money, and Dunia, getting some kind of clue figures he wants money to take them to a Mataut, so she pulls out a 1000 ksh note, after kirt askes for 100 ksh. She then askes if he has change. Mr. Poopy gives them back change. Then Kisses Dunia’s hand. Then leaves.

Dunia goes home with kirt.

The End.