LA VISTA MAII MAHIU

LA VISTA MAII MAHIU

The vista is one of its kind. From the undulating plains to the forest of fresh flowering trees. The flowers are blooming and the waft in the air is appealing. It is at 2141 feet altitude. You experience a whirlwind as you try to scan the scenery. Monkeys and baboons are lovely companion in this side of the savannah. This is Mai Mahiu escarpment.

A chilly morning as mist hugs the horizon. The sun can be seen lazing from the Eastern horizon. It is trying to overcome the mist and send its radiant rays all over the place. We set out to see what we have been missing. Lots of tales have been told of Maii Mahiu panorama. Seeing is believing and so the journey is commenced.

Nairobi Shuttle is the means of locomotion chosen. Ngong is such unforgiving yet sweet place weather speaking. It is very cold and almost freezing. We snake our way through the chronic jam that characterizes Ngong road. Buses are bumper to bumper. Some are trying to overlap on the wrong side. Expletives are exchanged between drivers stuck in wrong side without exception. They say it is like a ritual to them. You have to have a ‘dirty mouth’ to weather this storm of driving along this route. They are already accustomed to it.

After an hour we make it past Nairobi central business district. Destination is Rift Valley – the land of enjoyment. Seated in a corner a notebook and a pen on the ready, I listen to some Bongo music as I feed my curious eyes. We pass through Westland with the bus now cruising. There are no potholes and the air is cool and cathartic. You realize that people on this side are the real occupants of Nairobi. They live the city and not survive in the city.

We pass through Kangemi, Uthiru, Kinoo and Kikuyu. These places are teaming with traders of various wares. On my window I can sample how Kenyans are a hard working lot. If not a ‘mahindi choma’ stand somewhere, there is a man peeling off sugarcane on the roadside. Women are not to be left behind. Most are running along the vehicles as they entice the passengers with peeled pineapples, mango, oranges and apples. You realize we are an agricultural hub indeed.

At Limuru the weather takes a turn for the worse. It is very cold. Trees are all over and the breeze is titillating. It leaves you in nostalgia. Do you wrap yourself in isolation or stick out your nose out and breeze through? I find it alluring as I enjoy goose bumps forming on my hands. The road is winding with bends at unforgiving corners. Your heart skips a pulse every time the driver swerves to avoid an oncoming vehicle. But again you remind yourself that this is what makes such expeditions fun and forever memorable.

We manage to leave Limuru weather behind after a half an hour of top speed driving. We are alerted with our guide to let our eyes do the talking. He tells us we are now approaching the famous escarpment and we should leave no scene unturned literally by the eye.  The scattered vegetation, sparse homes and monkeys manning the roads are some of things that catch our eyes at first. Close control of the brake and steering wheel is of utmost importance. The road is hanging menacingly on the edge of the escarpment and it winds at dangerous corners where head on collision is a reality. We are told to hold our breath every time the bus veers and swerves as that is a common thing in this road.

We are now face to face with Maii Mahiu. We alight from the bus with cameras on the ready to forage what is on offer. We are divided into a group of three. We start our journey into this auspicious experience. I tell you, it is love at first sight. I am left in awe as I imagine what we have been sitting on for long without exploring.

There are small huts built along the escarpment which are used for viewing. We enter one called ‘Hakuna Matata’. In here we are given leopard skin to wear complete with slippers made of tyres commonly known as ‘akala’. We are told to take our time and feel free. We are given binoculars to aid us in our viewing. It is heart wrenching as we zoom in and out from 2141 feet up. It is simply breath taking. At the foot of the escarpment are scattered villages with few homesteads. We can see goats, sheep and cattle grazing from our binoculars. The vegetation leading to the foot is dense, green and inhabited by wild animals.

Monkeys jump from one tree to the other with the accuracy of a surgeon. Baboons are eating away the bananas we are throwing at them with swag. You take a moment to recall evolution theory as these primates behave exactly like human beings. And did I talk of the snakes? I saw all kinds of snakes from cobra to black mamba.

The icing on the cake wound up our sojourn. We were taken on an aerial view of the place in a hot air balloon. With lack of a better word, I would say it was stupendous! I have never been airborne and being a first in such an environment made it the more thrilling. I wish hot air balloons could replace planes. For those who are looking for a way to throw away the weekend then Maii Mahiu escarpment is the place to be.